Today's Gospel Reading - Sunday, November 4, 2012 with Reflection

1^ST READING - Deuteronomy 6:2-6

P S A L M - Psalm 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51

R: I love you, Lord, my strength.

1 [2] I love you, O Lord, my strength, 2 [3] O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer. (R) My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold! 3 [4] Praised be the Lord, I exclaim, and I am safe from my enemies. (R) 46 [47]The Lord live! And blessed be my rock! Extolled be God my savior. 47[51] You who gave great victories to your king and showed kindness to your anointed. (R)

2^nd READING - Hebrews 7:23-28

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord; and my Father will love him and we will come to him.

 

Mark 12:28-34

28 One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” 29 Jesus replied, “The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! 30 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. 31 The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, ‘He is One and there is no other than he.’ 33 And ‘to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself’ is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

SABBATH

LAYING THE RIGHT FOUNDATION   We think that our sins will not affect our children or that we are immune to the sins of our parents and ancestors. In reality, the choices our ancestors have made, whether for good or bad, affect our lives. If my father is a drunkard or my mother a gambler, this is going to affect my life in numerous ways over which, at least when I am still a child, I am virtually powerless to stop. The reality of sin is that innocent people get hurt. Sin always has far-reaching effects than we realize at first. The psychological effects of things that children witness can take years to manifest for them to be adequately addressed. In dealing with them, it is critical to remember that the innocent party is not responsible for whatever has happened to them. It is also important to remember that a reaction by an innocent sufferer to his tormentor that is sinful is never acceptable. We may understand the way a person responds to sin but this does not make it a legitimate response. An essential aspect of any response to sin must be forgiveness. This is why it is so important that parents lay the right foundation to their family life in order that their children be given the best opportunity possible to grow in the way God wants them to grow and not just according to every emotional response to the events of their lives. The Book of Deuteronomy reminds us of this principle in today’s first reading. Let us seek to heed this age-old wisdom and follow the example of Jesus in forgiving all who have hurt us. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL   REFLECTION QUESTIONS: What sort of a foundation do you have for your spiritual life? Is there anything you can do to make this foundation better?   Holy Spirit, empower me to always choose the path of goodness and right in responding to God’s call on my life and all the things I will experience in it. St. Charles Borromeo, bishop, pray for us. Do you want to receive this in your email. To get Bo Sanchez to send it to you personally, register and log-on to http://kerygmafamily.com. Lots of surprises await.