TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1ST 2024.

TWENTY-SIXTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B.

MEMORIAL OF SAINT THERESE OF LISIEUX, Virgin & Doctor of the Church.

FIRST READING
“Why is light given to him that is in misery?’’
JOB 3: 1 – 3, 11 – 17, 20 – 23

Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. And Job said: “Let the day perish on which I was born, and the night that said, ‘A man is conceived.” “Why did I not die at birth, come out from the womb and expire? Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should nurse? For then I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept; then I would have been at rest, with kings and counsellors of the earth who rebuilt ruins for themselves, or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver. Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child, as infants who never see the light? There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest. “Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul, who long for death, but it comes not, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures, who rejoice exceedingly and are glad when they find the grave? Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in?

The Word of the Lord.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 88: 2 – 3, 4 – 5a, 5b – 6, 7 – 8 (R.) 3a.

R/. Let my prayer come into your presence, O Lord.

O Lord and God of my salvation,
I cry before you day and night.
Let my prayer come into your presence.
Incline your ear to my cry. R/.

For my soul is filled with evils;
my life is on the brink of the grave.
I am reckoned as one in the tomb. R/.

I am like a warrior without strength,
like one roaming among the dead,
like the slain lying in their graves,
like those you remember no more,
cut off, as they are, from your hand. R/.

You have laid me in the depths of the pit,
in regions that are dark and deep.
Your anger weighs down upon me;
I am drowned beneath your waves. R/.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Mark 10: 45

Alleluia
The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Alleluia.

GOSPEL
“He set his face to go to Jerusalem.’’
LUKE 9: 51 – 56

When the days drew near for Jesus to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But other people did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. And they went on to another village.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Chipiri 1 Gumiguru – October;

Zuvaguru raTeresa womwana Jesu, Mhandara Tsvene neNgwazi yezvechitendero

Chiverengo chokutanga: Isaya 66,10-14c

Inzwai chiverengo chinobva mubhuku roMuporofita Isaya
10 Pemberai nokufara neguta reJerusaremu,
muchirifarira imi mose munorida.
Farai naro muchipembera nokufara imi mose
munorichema.
11Kuti muyamwe zvenyu muchiguta pamazamu
aro anonyaradza, kuti munyatsoyamwa
muchinakirwa noupfumi hwakawanda
hwomukurumbira waro.
12Chiripo ndechokuti zvanzi naTenzi,
Teererai munzwe, ndichaita kuti upfumi,
norugare ruerere kwariri serwizi,
upfumi hwavamarudzi huchiita sorukova
rwakafashukira kuzara. Muchayamwa zvenyu makaita zvokutakurwa
parutivi paro muchivaraidzwa muri
pamakumbo paro.
13Semwana ari kunyaradzwa naamai vake
ndokunyaradza kwandichakuitawo imi.
Muchanyaradzwa muri muJerusaremu.
14Muchatozvionerawo moga mugofara
mumwoyo, muchinyatsokura zvakanaka
muviri kuita souswa.
Ndopazvichazikanwa kuti simba reruoko
rwaTenzi riri pavaranda vake.
Shoko raMwari.

Rwiyo rwokutsinhira: Nziyo 131,1bcde.2.3

(D) – TENZI ndichengetei murugare ndiri pamuri.
1 TENZI ini handizvitutumadzi, zvokuvhaira
handichavhaira.
Handiite mwoyo nezvinhu zvikurukuru,
kana zvinonyanya kushamisira kwandiri.
(D) – TENZI ndichengetei murugare ndiri pamuri.
2Ndakazvidzikamisa ndikazvitonhodza
somwana anoyamwa, ndozvandakaita,
somwana anonyaradzwa, ndozvandakaita.
(D) – TENZI ndichengetei murugare ndiri pamuri.
3 Iwe Isiraeri tarisira kuna TENZI,
kubvira zvino kusvikira nokusingaperi.
(D) – TENZI ndichengetei murugare ndiri pamuri.

Kupemberera Shoko Rakanaka:
Mateu 11,25

Areruya, Areruya “Ndinokutendai Baba,
Tenzi wedenga napasi, kuti makazivisa zvakavandika zvoumambo hwedenga kuvana vaduku.”
Areruya.

Shoko Rakanaka:
Mateu 18,1-5

Inzwai Shoko Rakanaka rakanyorwa naMateu
1Nenguva iyoyo vadzidzi vakauya kuna Jesu vakati,
“Ndiani mukuru kupinda vose muumambo hwedenga.”
2 Jesu akatora mwana akamuisa pakati pavo 3 akati,
“Chokwadi chaizvo ndinoti kwamuri kana mukasapinduka muchiva savana vaduku, hamumbopinda
muumambo hwedenga. 4 Ani naani wose anozvirereka somwana uyu, ndiye mukuru kupinda
vamwe vose muumambo hwedenga. 5 Ani naani
wose anogamuchira mwana muduku akaita souyu
muzita rangu, anogamuchira ini.”
Shoko Rakanaka raTenzi.
GOSPEL REFLECTION: Courage to Conquer Fear
October 1, 2024

When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. (Luke 9:51–52)

Shortly after Jesus spoke to His disciples about His pending suffering, death and resurrection, we read that Jesus “resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem.” There is much to reflect upon in that short statement.

First of all, Jerusalem was the place of the Temple where the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament took place as a prefiguration of the one and ultimate sacrifice to come. Jesus came into this world as the Lamb of God, the Sacrificial Victim Who would die for our sins. He knew His ultimate end in this world, and He knew it would require much suffering. This knowledge of His future suffering is the foundational context of this passage today.

As Jesus’ suffering and death drew close, He became more and more determined in His human will to fulfill the will of the Father by laying down His life. Of course, Jesus always fulfilled the will of the Father, but little by little the human manifestation of Jesus’s determination became more and more pronounced. The specific human virtue that slowly became manifest was courage. Spiritual courage is the supernatural ability to embrace the will of the Father when His will leads a person into a life of sacrifice. Within our fallen human nature, we tend to avoid sacrifice. We often work to avoid conflict and suffering and to embrace the easy way in life. Therefore, to come face-to-face with some future suffering brings forth a temptation to fear—and that fear requires courage to overcome it. As His suffering drew closer, the temptation to fear grew stronger and, as a result, His perfect virtue of courage became more manifest. Note that Jesus not only decided to go to Jerusalem to offer His life sacrificially, He “resolutely determined” to do so. There was no wavering, no doubting the Father’s will, no hesitancy, no fear. His perfect sacrificial love slowly became manifest for all to see.

Another reason Jesus became resolute in His determination to travel to Jerusalem was to witness His love to His disciples. They needed courage themselves. So, as they listened to Jesus speak about what was coming in Jerusalem and as they witnessed His unwavering determination, they were also encouraged and were strengthened to overcome the temptations to fear. Of course, they only perfected that virtue later in their lives when they also followed in the footsteps of our Lord, laying down their own lives as martyrs.

https://youtu.be/YFNz4OCeo8Y?si=Tzg0B2HE04jJhvYq

Reflect, today, upon that which causes fear and anxiety in your own life. If that suffering is of your own making, then seek to rectify it. But if that suffering is a cross that our Lord is calling you to embrace with love, then do so sacrificially and with much determination. Do not be cowed by the heaviness of the cross you are given in life. The crosses we are called to embrace are always able to be transformed into grace. Allow courage to grow within you and allow the witness of our Lord to encourage you as you seek to imitate His sacrificial love.

PRAYER:
My courageous Lord, You faced Your suffering with much courage, strength, surrender and hope. You saw the value of Your free embrace of Your suffering and chose it with all the power of your soul. Give me the grace I need, dear Lord, to also resolutely determine to journey toward the cross I am called to embrace in life, so that my free embrace of my cross will unite me more fully with You. Jesus, I trust in You.