27 Oct Fri 29th Week in Ordinary Time
Eph. 4:1-6
Ps. 24:1-6
Lk. 12:54-59
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     The Evangelist Luke attempts to give security to his largely gentile audience that despite the widespread Jewish rejection, God's plan of salvation has been fulfilled in the person of Jesus and that the ekklesia (the Church or the assembly of those who have been called) forms the new people of God. In today's Gospel, Luke has Jesus admonish the blindness of the Jewish leaders who fail to see what is before them. Stubbornly holding on to their own preconceptions, they fail to discern the signs of the times, the presence of God in Jesus.

    Preconceptions and beliefs are formed because of our human experiences and they dictate the way we view reality. Sometimes, they hinder our ability to gaze at reality truthfully and sincerely. Today, Jesus is calling us to a freedom that comes from our relationship with Him. We are called to be attuned to His call, to discern His will, to read the signs of times in our own concrete experiences and respond to Him generously. How attuned am I to Jesus' call in my own life each day?


     Lord, help me to be attentive to Your call at each moment of my life. Amen.
DAILY OFFERING
Eternal Father, I offer You everything I do this day; my thoughts, words, joys and sufferings. Grant that, vivified by the Holy Spirit and united to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, my life this day may be of service to You and to others. I also pray that all those preparing for marriage discover in Sacrament the source of Christ's grace for living a fithful and fruitful love. Amen.

PRAYING WITH THE CHURCH
INTENTION
That young married couples may be sustained by the example and assistance of their parents and other families
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P R A Y I N G    W I T H    T H E    C H U R C H    

INTENTION : That young married couples may be sustained by the example and assistance of their parents and other families

The testimony and help that parents and other families must offer to sustain young married couples finds its place in the ambit of post-matrimonial pastoral care. Parents and other families are the most suited to offer this assistance to young spouses because clearly they have lived personally the values which they must transmit. These parents show faithfulness through living in the best possible way the commitments assumed during their marriage.

One could ask, but why is it necessary for young couples to be sustained by the testimony of their parents and other families? The answer is, because today there are many negative attitudes which scandalise and discourage young people. Being new to the condition of matrimonial life they need advice, encouragement, moral support, correction and prayer. They cannot be left alone or abandoned in this phase of their lives. Couples need to take advantage of the wealth of the experience and wisdom of their parents.

"The pastoral action of the Church must be progressive, also in the sense that it must accompany the family, following it step by step in the various stages of its formation and development," (Familiaris Consortio n65, 69).


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