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29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B, 20 October 2024 Note: Homilies & Angelus / Regina Caeli of Pope Saint John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI & Pope Francis I had been compiled for you after the Mass Readings below. Happy Reading! Liturgical Colour: Green.
Readings at Mass: See below or EWTN, USCCB. Commentaries of Saints: Mark 10:35-45 from CATENA AUREA BY SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS.
First Reading: Isaiah 53:10-11 If he offers his life in atonement, what the Lord wishes will be done
The Lord has been pleased to crush his servant with suffering. If he offers his life in atonement, he shall see his heirs, he shall have a long life and through him what the Lord wishes will be done. His soul’s anguish over, he shall see the light and be content. By his sufferings shall my servant justify many, taking their faults on himself.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 32(33):4-5,18-20,22 May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
The word of the Lord is faithful and all his works to be trusted. The Lord loves justice and right and fills the earth with his love.
The Lord looks on those who revere him, on those who hope in his love, to rescue their souls from death, to keep them alive in famine.
Our soul is waiting for the Lord. The Lord is our help and our shield. May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
Second Reading: Hebrews 4:14-16 Our high priest is one who has been tempted in every way that we are
Since in Jesus, the Son of God, we have the supreme high priest who has gone through to the highest heaven, we must never let go of the faith that we have professed. For it is not as if we had a high priest who was incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us; but we have one who has been tempted in every way that we are, though he is without sin. Let us be confident, then, in approaching the throne of grace, that we shall have mercy from him and find grace when we are in need of help.
Gospel Acclamation John 14:6 Alleluia, alleluia! I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord; No one can come to the Father except through me. Alleluia! Or: Mark 10:45 Alleluia, alleluia! The Son of Man came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Alleluia!
Gospel: Mark 10:35-45 The Son of Man came to give his life as a ransom for many
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached Jesus. ‘Master,’ they said to him ‘we want you to do us a favour.’ He said to them, ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ They said to him, ‘Allow us to sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.’ ‘You do not know what you are asking’ Jesus said to them. ‘Can you drink the cup that I must drink, or be baptised with the baptism with which I must be baptised?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that I must drink you shall drink, and with the baptism with which I must be baptised you shall be baptised, but as for seats at my right hand or my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted.
When the other ten heard this they began to feel indignant with James and John, so Jesus called them to him and said to them, ‘You know that among the pagans their so-called rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all. For the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’
Acknowledgment: We thank the Publisher for allowing us to publish the Mass Readings to be used as reference for Homilies & Angelus / Regina Caeli of Pope Saint John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI & Pope Francis I as a source of God’s encouragements to all of us around the World.
Homilies, Angelus / Regina Caeli
Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face is the youngest of all the "doctors of the Church" , but her ardent spiritual journey shows such maturity, and the insights of faith expressed in her writings are so vast and profound that they deserve a place among the great spiritual masters.
In the Apostolic Letter which I wrote for this occasion, I stressed several salient aspects of her doctrine. But how can we fail to recall here what can be considered its high point, starting with the account of the moving discovery of her special vocation in the Church? "Charity", she wrote, "gave me the key to my vocation. I understood that if the Church had a body composed of different members, the most necessary and most noble of all could not be lacking to it, and so I understood that the Church had a heart and that this heart was burning with love. I understood that it was love alone that made the Church's members act, that if love were ever extinguished, apostles would not proclaim the Gospel and martyrs would refuse to shed their blood. I understood that love includes all vocations.... Then in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: "O Jesus, my Love ... at last I have found my vocation; my vocation is Love!'" (Ms B, 3vº). This is a wonderful passage which suffices itself to show that one can apply to St Thérèse the Gospel passage we heard in the Liturgy of the Word: "I thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes" (Matthew 11: 25). Pope Saint John Paul II (Homily, 19 October 1997)
Today, World Mission Sunday, we turn our attention especially to St Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, whom this morning I had the joy of proclaiming a doctor of the universal Church. She is a model of missionary commitment and the patroness of the missions, although she never left the cloister of the Lisieux Carmel.
It could be said that Thérèse made her own the exceptional missionary vision of Mary most holy, who inspired the first apostolic community with her prayerful presence and perfect charity, so that the dynamism instilled by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost would carry the proclamation of the Gospel to the very ends of the earth.
From early childhood there was a deep bond between St Thérèse of the Child Jesus and Mary. She attributed her miraculous healing at the age of 10 to the unforgettable experience of Mary’s smile, seen on the face of the statue placed in her room (cf. Ms A, 30rº). The "Madonna of the Smile" would also stand in front of the infirmary bed where the saint ended her brief life consumed by illness.
The spirit of filial abandonment to Our Lady, which marked little Thérèse’s whole life, is offered to us today as an example to imitate.
May St Thérèse of the Child Jesus help us to love, follow and imitate the Blessed Virgin, Mother and Queen of All Saints. Pope Saint John Paul II (Angelus, 19 October 1997)
The Church wants to proclaim Jesus, the Christ, the son of Mary, by following the way that Christ himself did: service, poverty, humility, the cross. Therefore, she must forcefully resist the temptations that today's Gospel allows us to glimpse in the behaviour of the two brothers who wanted to sit "one at the right and one at the left" of the Master, but also of the other disciples who showed that they were not indifferent to the spirit of rivalry and competition. Christ's words draw a clear dividing line between the spirit of domination and that of service. For one of Christ's disciples, being first means being "the servant of all".
It is an inversion of values, which can be understood only by looking at the Son of man "despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53: 3). These are words which the Holy Spirit will enable the Church to understand in relation to the mystery of Christ. Only at Pentecost will the Apostles receive the ability to believe in the "power of weakness" revealed in the Cross.
At this point my thoughts turn to the many missionaries who, day after day, in silence and without the support of any human power, proclaim and, even before, bear witness to their love for Jesus, often to the point of giving their lives, as has recently happened. What a sight opens before our heart's eye! How many brothers and sisters generously spend their energies on the far frontiers of God's kingdom! They are Bishops, priests, religious and lay people who are a living image of Christ for us, showing him concretely as the Lord who came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life out of love for the Father and for his brethren. My appreciation goes to them all, along with my warm encouragement to persevere with confidence. Courage, my brothers and sisters! Christ is with you.
But the entire People of God must be at the side of those who labour in the front lines of the mission "ad gentes", with each one making his contribution, as the founders of the Pontifical Mission Societies understood and stressed so well: everyone can and should participate in evangelization: even the young, even the sick, even the poor with their mite, just like the widow whom Jesus held up as an example (cf. Luke 21: 1-4). Mission is the work of all God's People, each one in the vocation to which Providence has called him. Pope Saint John Paul II (Homily, 22 October 2000)
The Jubilee celebration we are about to conclude was preceded in the past few days by the World Mission Congress, in which Bishops, priests, religious and lay people from every corner of the world took part. I cordially thank all those involved in such an important ecclesial meeting, which is so promising for the new evangelization.
Every local Church arises from mission, and the presence here of representatives from so many countries of the world shows the unanimous gratitude being raised to heaven for the gift of evangelization they have received. Every Church grows and matures when she sends missionaries to proclaim the Gospel to other peoples. This is the meaning of the mandate, which is being given today to many "missionaries" along with the cross. At the beginning of the third millennium, therefore, this signifies a new, courageous start for a renewed missionary season.
The congress participants have symbolically brought here a bit of soil from various countries, which has been combined with the others in a single container. In this "soil of all the soils" an olive tree, a symbol of peace, will be planted in remembrance of this Jubilee day. The Gospel of Christ, in fact, is the Gospel of peace. May every nation open itself to Christ and find the way of peace! Pope Saint John Paul II (Angelus, 22 October 2000)
BEATIFICATION OF MOTHER THERESA OF CALCUTTA "As you did to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me" (Mat 25: 40). This Gospel passage, so crucial in understanding Mother Teresa's service to the poor, was the basis of her faith-filled conviction that in touching the broken bodies of the poor she was touching the body of Christ. It was to Jesus himself, hidden under the distressing disguise of the poorest of the poor, that her service was directed. Mother Teresa highlights the deepest meaning of service - an act of love done to the hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick, prisoners (cf. Matthew 25: 34-36) is done to Jesus himself. Recognizing him, she ministered to him with wholehearted devotion, expressing the delicacy of her spousal love. Thus, in total gift of herself to God and neighbour, Mother Teresa found her greatest fulfilment and lived the noblest qualities of her femininity. She wanted to be a sign of "God's love, God's presence and God's compassion", and so remind all of the value and dignity of each of God's children, "created to love and be loved". Thus was Mother Teresa "bringing souls to God and God to souls" and satiating Christ's thirst, especially for those most in need, those whose vision of God had been dimmed by suffering and pain.
"The Son of man also came... to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10: 45). Mother Teresa shared in the Passion of the crucified Christ in a special way during long years of "inner darkness". For her that was a test, at times an agonizing one, which she accepted as a rare "gift and privilege". In the darkest hours she clung even more tenaciously to prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. This harsh spiritual trial led her to identify herself more and more closely with those whom she served each day, feeling their pain and, at times, even their rejection. She was fond of repeating that the greatest poverty is to be unwanted, to have no one to take care of you.
"Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you". How often, like the Psalmist, did Mother Teresa call on her Lord in times of inner desolation: "In you, in you I hope, my God!". Let us praise the Lord for this diminutive woman in love with God, a humble Gospel messenger and a tireless benefactor of humanity. In her we honour one of the most important figures of our time. Let us welcome her message and follow her example. Virgin Mary, Queen of all the Saints, help us to be gentle and humble of heart like this fearless messenger of Love. Help us to serve every person we meet with joy and a smile. Help us to be missionaries of Christ, our peace and our hope. Amen! Pope Saint John Paul II (Homily, 19 October 2003)
Today, we celebrate the 80th World Mission Sunday. It was established by Pope Pius XI, who gave a strong impulse to the missions ad gentes, and in the Jubilee of 1925 promoted a grandiose exhibition which later became the current Ethnological-Missionary Collection of the Vatican Museums. This year, in the customary Message for the occasion, I have proposed the theme, "Charity, soul of the mission". In effect, if the mission is not inspired by love, it is reduced to a philanthropic and social activity. For Christians, however, the words of St Paul are valid: "The love of Christ impels us" (II Cor. 5: 14). The charity that moved the Father to send his Son into the world, and moved the Son to offer himself for us even to death on the Cross, that same charity has been poured out by the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers.
Every baptized person, as a vine united to the branch, can therefore cooperate in the mission of Jesus, which can be summarized thus: to bring to every person the good news that "God is love" and, precisely for this reason, wants to save the world. The mission arises from the heart: when one stops to pray before a Crucifix with his glance fixed on that pierced side, he cannot but experience within himself the joy of knowing that he is loved and the desire to love and to make himself an instrument of mercy and reconciliation. This is what happened about 800 years ago to the young Francis of Assisi in the little church of San Damiano, which was then dilapidated. From the height of the Cross, now preserved in the Basilica of St Clare, Francis heard Jesus tell him: "Go, repair my house which, as you see, is all in ruins". That "house" was first of all his own life, which needed repair through authentic conversion; it was the Church, not the one made of stones but living persons, always needing purification; it was all of humanity, in whom God loves to dwell.
The mission always initiates from a heart transformed by the love of God, as the countless stories of saints and martyrs witness, who in different ways have spent their life at the service of the Gospel. The mission, therefore, is a workshop where there is room for all: for those who commit themselves to bringing the Kingdom of God into their own family; for those who live their professional life with a Christian spirit; for those who are totally consecrated to the Lord; for those who follow Jesus, the Good Shepherd, in the ordained ministry to the People of God; for those who in a specific way go to announce Christ to those who still do not know him. May Mary Most Holy help us to live with renewed ardour, each one in the situation in which Providence has placed him, the joy and courage of the mission. Pope Benedict XVI (Angelus, 22 October 2006)
Today, the Third Sunday of October, we are celebrating World Mission Day. To every ecclesial community and to each Christian it is a strong appeal for commitment to witnessing and proclaiming the Gospel to all, especially those who do not yet know it. In the Message I wrote for this occasion, I found inspiration in a phrase in the Book of Revelation which echoes a prophecy of Isaiah: "By its light shall the nations walk" (Revelation 21: 24). The light mentioned is that of God, revealed by the Messiah and reflected on the face of the Church, portrayed as the new Jerusalem, a marvellous city in which the glory of God shines out in its fullness. It is the light of the Gospel which directs the people's journey and guides them towards the fulfilment of a great family in justice and in peace, under the fatherhood of the one, good and merciful God. The Church exists to proclaim this message of hope to the whole of humanity, which in our time "has experienced marvellous achievements but which seems to have lost its sense of ultimate realities and of existence itself" (Encyclical Redemptoris Missio, n. 2).
In the month of October, especially on this Sunday, the universal Church highlights her missionary vocation. Guided by the Holy Spirit she knows she is called to pursue the work of Jesus himself, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom of God which is "righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14: 17). This Kingdom is already present in the world as a force of love, freedom, solidarity and respect for the dignity of every person, and the ecclesial community has a heartfelt urge to work, so that the sovereignty of Christ may be completely fulfilled. All her members and structures cooperate in this project, according to their various states of life and charisms. On this World Mission Day I would like to recall the missionaries priests, religious and lay volunteers who devote their lives to bringing the Gospel to the world, also facing hardship and difficulty and sometimes even outright persecution. I am thinking, among others, of Fr Ruggero Ruvoletto, a donum fidei priest, recently killed in Brazil; of Fr Michael Sinott, a religious kidnapped a few days ago in the Philippines; and how can we forget all that is emerging from the Synod of Bishops for Africa, in terms of extreme sacrifice and love for Christ and for his Church? I thank the Pontifical Mission Societies for the valuable service they render to missionary animation and formation. Further, I ask all Christians for a gesture of material and spiritual sharing in order to help the young Churches in the poorest countries. Pope Benedict XVI (Angelus, 18 October 2009)
The Son of Man came to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (cf. Mark 10:45)
These words were the blueprint for living of the seven Blessed men and women that the Church solemnly enrols this morning in the glorious ranks of the saints. With heroic courage they spent their lives in total consecration to the Lord and in the generous service of their brethren. They are sons and daughters of the Church who chose a life of service following the Lord. Holiness always rises up in the Church from the well-spring of the mystery of redemption, as foretold by the prophet Isaiah in the first reading: the Servant of the Lord is the righteous one who “shall make many to be accounted as righteous; and he shall bear their iniquities” (Isaiah 53:11); this Servant is Jesus Christ, crucified, risen and living in glory. Today’s canonization is an eloquent confirmation of this mysterious saving reality. The tenacious profession of faith of these seven generous disciples of Christ, their configuration to the Son of Man shines out brightly today in the whole Church. Pope Benedict XVI (Homily, 21 October 2012)
Saint MARIA OF MT CARMEL SALLÉS Y BARANGUERAS - no detail record in Wikipedia, can someone please update?
The prophet Isaiah depicts the Servant of the Lord (53:10-11) and his mission of salvation. The Servant is not someone of illustrious lineage; he is despised, shunned by all, a man of sorrows. He does not do great things or make memorable speeches; instead, he fulfils God’s plan through his humble, quiet presence and his suffering. His mission is carried out in suffering, and this enables him to understand those who suffer, to shoulder the guilt of others and to make atonement for it. The abandonment and sufferings of the Servant of the Lord, even unto death, prove so fruitful that they bring redemption and salvation to many.
Jesus is the Servant of the Lord. His life and death, marked by an attitude of utter service (cf. Philippians 2:7), were the cause of our salvation and the reconciliation of mankind with God. The kerygma, the heart of the Gospel, testifies that his death and resurrection fulfilled the prophecies of the Servant of the Lord. Saint Mark tells us how Jesus confronted the disciples James and John. Urged on by their mother, they wanted to sit at his right and left in God’s Kingdom (cf. Mark 10:37), claiming places of honour in accordance with their own hierarchical vision of the Kingdom. Their horizon was still clouded by illusions of earthly fulfilment. Jesus then gives a first “jolt” to their notions by speaking of his own earthly journey: “The cup that I drink you will drink… but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared” (vv. 39-40). With the image of the cup, he assures the two that they can fully partake of his destiny of suffering, without, however, promising their sought-after places of honour. His response is to invite them to follow him along the path of love and service, and to reject the worldly temptation of seeking the first place and commanding others.
Faced with people who seek power and success in order to be noticed, who want their achievements and efforts to be acknowledged, the disciples are called to do the opposite. Jesus warns them: “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant” (vv. 42-44). These words show us that service is the way for authority to be exercised in the Christian community. Those who serve others and lack real prestige exercise genuine authority in the Church. Jesus calls us to see things differently, to pass from the thirst for power to the joy of quiet service, to suppress our instinctive desire to exercise power over others, and instead to exercise the virtue of humility.
After proposing a model not to imitate, Jesus then offers himself as the ideal to be followed. By imitating the Master, the community gains a new outlook on life: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (v. 45). In the biblical tradition, the Son of Man is the one who receives from God “dominion, glory and kingship” (Daniel 7:14). Jesus fills this image with new meaning. He shows us that he enjoys dominion because he is a servant, glory because he is capable of abasement, kingship because he is fully prepared to lay down his life. By his passion and death, he takes the lowest place, attains the heights of grandeur in service, and bestows this upon his Church. Pope Francis I (Homily, 18 October 2015)
Saint MARY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION - no detail record in Wikipedia, can someone please update? Saints LUDOVICO MARTIN and MARIA AZELIA GUÉRIN
Important Note: We found these News record (starting from 19 April 2023). We prayed to God for direction on what to do next, we were instructed to stop updating the Homilies, Regina Caeli/ Angelus and the General Audiences from the Vatican (until the matters are resolved) as we lay persons are unable to discern quickly what is beneficial/detrimental to our souls and yours, and this work is supposed to be a Thanksgiving to Him who loves us and has blessed us. Thanks for following us.
Note: This webpage has many hyperlinks to the Vatican Webpage. The above extracts were compiled for your easy reading. This Publication is aimed to encourage all of Goodwill around the World. It is not for business or profit purposes but it is our way to thank our Creator for His continuous blessings!
Compiled on 21 October 2018 Last updated: 13 October 2024, 18:38 SGT
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