good

September 17

media presentation below]

GospelThink

Tuesday, September 17

LUKE 7:11-17
I have pity on a family who needs it.

Prayerthoughts

a. The death of someone is the occasion for this discussion. If a person close to me dies, do I do enough to help the family in their sorrow?

b. The situation that the Lord observed was a very sad one. Am I as aware as I should be of the sad situations in my locale. Can I do more to help them?

c. As often happens, the Lord had pity on someone. Do I show pity toward the people in my life who need it?

d. Jesus brought the man back to life. Obviously, we cannot follow the Lord completely, but do I try to "bring back to life" those who are hurting for whatever reason?

e. The people said that God was among them. Do I show the evidence of God's action in my words and deeds?

f. My prayerthoughts….

Today I will read 1 Corinthians, chapter 12:1-30, and write an
important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

COMPASSION

+ Paul makes a special point of saying that there must be unity in diversity

- one Church, one institution

- and many people who make up that Church, all with individual gifts, make a special contribution to the Church

- there are many gifts, and we are called to choose the greater one, leading to the famous passage on love which is in tomorrow’s first reading

+ What are the greater gifts?

- love is certainly one of them

- and one connected with love is compassion

+ Jesus showed sincere compassion to the widow in the Gospel today

- and presents some characteristics that Christians should follow

- the world needs compassionate people

- and compassionate people show some of the characteristics that Jesus showed:

1 – an awareness of the need

- the widow in the Gospel has no man in her life

- in a patriarchal society, that means that she had a future of rejection

- Jesus knew that the widow needed her son

- he was not called by her—Jesus went to her

- in our lives, there are people who need compassion in a real way

- compassionate people will understand that

2 – it is real

- after seeking her out, Jesus touched the dead man, something the Hebrews were forbidden, and restored her son to the widow

- we have to make the moves to help someone

- again we are faced with the concept of being able to measure what we do, point to it, not in bragging, but just doing it

- the visit to the hospital, nursing home

- the offering of money to people in need, etc.

+ Jesus is praised because of his compassion

- this is significant for us also, not in the sense that we want the praise

- but in the sense that the world needs compassion, and will rejoice when it is present.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "good 4 u" -- Olivia Rodrigo

SARCASM AND ANGER SOLVE NOTHING

The Gospel

MATTHEW 5:4,7

Jesus said: "Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."

Gospelthink: I want you to be a person who forgives and has mercy on everyone if those who have wronged you. How well do I do that?

"Well, good for you; I guess you moved on really easily. You found a new girl and it only took a couple weeks. Remember when you said that you wanted to give me the world. And good for you, I guess that you’ve been working on yourself. Well good for you. I guess you’re getting everything you want. It’s like we never even happened. What is up with that? Well, the heck with you. You will never have to hurt the way you know that I do. You look happy and healthy. Not me, if you ever cared to ask. Maybe I’m too emotional, but your apathy’s like a wound in salt.” [Lyrics adjusted]

Good moral behavior must be a guide for a person who wants to live a good life. It is a fact that if the human being is involved in behavior which is wrong or hurtful to others, the person will not enjoy happiness the way he/she wants. Jesus knew that fact as he spoke his Beatitudes at the beginning of his Sermon on the Mount. He knew that if a person could not mourn well or a person who was not merciful toward others would have a difficult time in life.

It is a fact that is true not only in living one's regular life, but especially true when the element of romantic love is added to it. It is a case in point for just about every young human being who is discovering the love of another in a romantic way, that is, when a person begins to date. Most of the songs in whatever genre of music one studies are about romantic love. And of course, many times those different romantic involvements do not work out. And the person will move on to another love situation.

In the dating world, such a fact is called a "break-up." As is often mentioned in these meditations, It is generally known that people will not marry the first person that they love. Granted that there are a few exceptions, but for the most part, the fact means that people will have a “falling out” with people that they once liked, even loved. Many times such a break-up is hostile and angry, and burdens the person for a long time.

Such is the case with Olivia Rodrigo's song "good 4 u." The lady in the once-upon-a-time relationship is very angry at the man in that relationship even while she sarcastically says “Good for you.” The relationship has ended, obviously: they had some problems that they could have talked out, but they ran away from the problems rather than try to solve them.

The point must be made that her sarcasm and anger not only did not solve any problem that she and her friend had, but it ruined her life at least for a time. Jesus's thought about mourning well and showing mercy could very easily help the lady in the relationship to get over the pain a lot quicker than simply remaining angry and sarcastic. It is axiomatic that if we manage to be a little bit better in our relationships with others, we will feel better ourselves.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we fall in love in our lives here on earth as you designed it to be. Help us recognize that even in very difficult situations, especially in close personal relationships, we should be open to try to reconcile with others rather than try to hurt them. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: In dating, when a person breaks with a partner, being sarcastic and angry will not help the situation.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "good 4 u" teach young people?
2. Read all of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-12 and determine the meaning of each one.
3. In general, why are people not happy when they treat others poorly?
4. Does every "break-up" necessarily involve some hurt? Yes or no and why?
5. What causes most break-ups?
6. The meditation mentions that a poor break-up will ruin one's life for a time. Is this a statement that is always true? Yes or no and why?