November 17th, 2018

Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious

LECTIONARY
496

FIRST READING
3 JN 5-8

Beloved, you are faithful in all you do for the brothers and sisters,
especially for strangers;
they have testified to your love before the Church.
Please help them in a way worthy of God to continue their journey.
For they have set out for the sake of the Name
and are accepting nothing from the pagans.
Therefore, we ought to support such persons,
so that we may be co-workers in the truth.

PSALM
PS 112:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

Response: Blessed the man who fears the Lord.

Blessed the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed.

Wealth and riches shall be in his house;
his generosity shall endure forever.
Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.

Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice;
He shall never be moved;
the just one shall be in everlasting remembrance.

GOSPEL
LK 18:1-8

Jesus told his disciples a parable
about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.
He said, “There was a judge in a certain town
who neither feared God nor respected any human being.
And a widow in that town used to come to him and say,
‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’
For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought,
‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,
because this widow keeps bothering me
I shall deliver a just decision for her
lest she finally come and strike me.’”
The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.
Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them?
I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Daily Reflection

17th November 2018

Jesus tells us two things about the unjust judge: “he neither feared God nor regarded man.” In other words, these two marks of the judge are obstacles to his helping the widow. First, he has no fear of God and is, therefore, prone not to help her. This means that the fear of God would prompt a judge to help a needy widow. And if the fear of God would prompt a judge to help a needy widow, then God is not like the unjust judge but is the kind of God whose heart inclines to help those who cry to him.

The second mark of the judge was that he had “no regard for man.” The widow was unknown to him, and he had no interest in her. The assumption is that if he cared about this widow, if she were his mother, he would help her. Jesus argues, if an unjust judge can be moved by persistent petitions to help a stranger for whom he has no regard, how much more "will God help his own chosen ones who cry to him day and night!"