Daily Reading
First Reading
Ephesians 1:11-14
In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.
Psalm
Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 12-13
Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous.
Praise befits the upright.
Praise the Lord with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.
For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.
The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees all humankind.
Gospel Reading
Luke 12:1-7
Meanwhile, when the crowd gathered by the thousands, so that they trampled on one another, he began to speak first to his disciples, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy.
Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops.
“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Reflection
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us, “Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.”
In Jesus Christ, you are connected to the very power of God, to that which is here and now creating the universe. You stand above the vagaries of space and time. You are in the center of the wheel of fortune. No matter how much it turns, you stay the same. You are in the Interior Castle.
Now think of saints like John Paul II and José Sánchez del Río. The young Karol Wojtyła operated behind locked doors, preserving the great works of Polish literature during the Nazi occupation. That same man, now come of age and newly elected as pope, said to all the world, “Be not afraid!” This from someone who had experienced the worst barbarism of the twentieth century.
During the Cristero Rebellion in early twentieth-century Mexico, the young José Sánchez del Río stood for his faith despite enormous opposition, torture, threats, and finally the firing squad itself. He wasn’t afraid of those paper tigers who could only kill his body.
So, no matter how much violence is going on, we have a place of safety.