October 26

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Saturday, October 26

LUKE 13:1-9
Repent

Prayerthoughts

a. Tragedies happen in life with some regularity. They were presented to Jesus no doubt with the thought of why these things happen. It is the same way today. Do I try to see God working through the tragedies that are happening?

b. Jesus knew that the people involved in the tragedies suffered, saying that it was not their fault. Have I misjudged those people who are involved in tragedies?

c. Tragedies are a reminder to us and Jesus says that we will perish spiritually if we do not see that we should repent of our sinfulness. Do I look at the tragedies in my life as a reminder to improve my life?

d. Repentance here means the thought that there are many things in my life right now that I should change or make better. In particular, what are some things in my life that I should work on to make better?

e. Obviously we do not want to perish spiritually. Am I devoting enough time in my life to prayer and thinking about Godly things?

f. We are all given a chance to “blossom” as the fig tree. Am I developing a spiritual life as well as I can? What could I do better?

g. Our God is a patient God. He continually gives us a chance to better ourselves. Am I as patient as I should be? (This is the task of the meditation.)

f. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will spend some time thinking

about how to improve my patience with others.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

REPENTANCE FOR A TRULY SPIRITUAL PERSON

+ The principal message of today’s Gospel from Luke is that there is evil in the world and we will see it

- Pilate had deliberately murdered some Galileans—perhaps some of their relatives were in the audience to whom Jesus was speaking

- also, there had been an accident in a near-by town, again perhaps some of the relatives of those who died were there listening to him

- bad things happening to good people

- Jesus knowing that they want to ask “why” and wonder what wrong these people had done in order to be punished by the evil that befell them

- tells them that no one is being punished—by no means, he says—as if to say:

- bad things happen to good people: there is pain in life

- but that does not prove that there is no God or that God punishes as the Hebrew Scriptures believed

- what it does prove is that we have to be prepared for God when God calls us in whatever way we die

- and Jesus says that we will come to the same end—death, only eternal death—if we do not repent

+ The operating word in the Gospel, of course, is that word “repent”

- Jesus wanted the Israelites to repent and reform their lives, and he wanted them to do it soon

- we only have one year, so to speak, as we study the parable—

- the tree had better bear fruit or else it will be cut down

+ What does that word “repent” mean in particular for us who have initially repented long ago

- and who in fact, have initially repented long ago or else we wouldn’t be here

- it was one of the foundational principles of the spiritual life

- I think repentance for us has to do with understanding the graces that we have been given, and responding accordingly:

- the first reading begins with Paul’s statement to the Ephesians that “Grace has been given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift”

- each of us has gifts from God, and once we have repented,

- the way to repent well is to use the graces that we have on behalf of God

+ Repentance means something in general for us—being more charitable, more forgiving, more at peace, putting the proper priorities into life, being generous with regard to our life, making the effort to understand what life is really all about, etc.

- but it means something in particular for us as well

- and that something is what we have to discover

- what is the special gift that you/I have and how are you/am I using it on behalf of others?

- it makes for a great personal meditation

+ The more we understand repentance, the more we will understand that we must repent even now

- and repentance means action both in a general way and in a particular way.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "Black Adam" -- final session

MAKING THE FIRST MOVE

The Gospel

JOHN 14:15-18

Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you."

Gospelthink: I promise that the Holy Spirit will be with you.

Ostensibly Adrianna's friend, Ishmael revealed himself as the leader of Intergang and kidnapped Adrianna's son Amon who had stolen the crown of Sabbac. Ishmael finally tricked Adrianna into giving him the crown and was about to kill Amon which sent Teth-Adam into his final rage before he willingly gave up his power. The Justice Society took Teth-Adam to a secret underwater black site, and as they returned to the city, they found that Ishmael has become the Sabbac who is terrorizing Kahndaq once again. The people rallied behind Amon, Adrianna and Karin but were unable to save the city. As Fate fought Sabbac, he released Adam from his prison and came to join Hawkman, Atom Smasher and Cyclone to free the city. Adam finally killed Sabbac, and declared that he had become Black Adam to be the protector of the city.

It is significant that in the story of Black Adam, while Teth-Adam was voluntarily being held in exile, that normal people rallied the people of Kahndaq to fight against the evil of the Intergang. Usually, in the DC Comic series and in stories told in movies and television, it is the super-power who is the hero. Indeed that is the final case in the movie "Black Adam," but it was "normal people" who began to take their city back. Then they needed help, but it began with them.

It is the story of the Holy Spirit in the Gospels. Jesus knew that we could not keep the commandments by ourselves. It was too awesome a task. And so, he makes a point of saying to us to keep his commandments which becomes our directive as we embrace the faith in Jesus, but we cannot do it alone. We absolutely need divine help no matter how committed to the task we may be. We need the "super-power" to help us in our task.

The beauty of our faith is that once we have made the commitment to follow the Lord's commandments, we are given the Holy Spirit at the same time who will give us the aid that we need in order to carry out our task. We do not need to "wait" till things are so bad that the super-power must come. We are given that super-power, the Holy Spirit, at the same time that we make the commitment to obey Jesus's words.

The "problem" is not the gift of the Holy Spirit which is given to us, nor in the knowledge of what Jesus's commandments are. They are automatic in the sense that once we understand our faith, we have them. The problem is our own action in following the Lord's directives. We remain sinful human beings, and often our following of the Lord's directives simply is not what it should be.

As Amon and the people of Kahndaq had to turn to action before their super-powers would help them, you and I must be devoted to follow the Lord's ways. And the Holy Spirit will automatically be there for us.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, Your Son promised the Holy Spirit to us if we would follow what he taught, and we believe that it is so. Help us initially to put into practice what the Lord has directed us to. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: Everyday people give hope when evil has taken over, but they need help in order to achieve their purpose.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 58 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2. In your own words, describe the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. (Wisdom, Understanding, Reverence, Courage, Awe, and Right Judgment).
3. It is Catholic doctrine that there is only one gift of the Holy Spirit as such, namely love. In general, have Christians honestly learned the lesson of love? Yes or no and why?
4. In what way can we "normal people" who do not have a lot of power help humankind?
5. In your opinion, what are the three most important commandments of Jesus? Why did you choose these?
6. What does the movie "Black Adam" teach young people?