FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27TH 2024.

TWENTY-FIFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B.

MEMORIAL OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL, Priest.

FIRST READING
“’There is a time for every matter under heaven.”
ECCLESIASTES 3: 1 – 11

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the sons of men to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time; also he has put eternity into man’s mind, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

The Word of the Lord.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 144: 1a and 2abc, 3 – 4 (R.) 1a

R/. Blest be the Lord, my rock!
  
Blest be the Lord, my rock.
He is my merciful love, my fortress;
he is my stronghold, my saviour,
my shield in whom I take refuge. R/.

Lord, what is man that you regard him,
the son of man that you keep him in mind,
man who is merely a breath,
whose days are like a passing shadow? 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        
You are the Christ of God. The Son of man must suffer many things.
LUKE 9: 18 – 22

Now it happened that as Jesus was praying alone the disciples were with him; and he asked them, “Who do the people say that I am?” And they answered, “John the Baptist; but others say, Elijah; and others, that one of the old prophets has risen.” And he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” But he charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, “The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

*Chishanu 27 Gunyana – September;**Kurangarira Vinsendi de Pauro, Mupristi -**Chiverengo chokutanga:* _Muparidzi 3,1-11__Inzwai chiverengo chinobva mubhuku raMuparidzi_1 Chinhu chimwe nechimwe chine nguva yacho, uye basa rimwe nerimwe rine nguva yaro pasi pedenga.2 Pane nguva yokuberekwa nenguvawo yokufa.Pane nguva yokusima nenguvawo yokudzipura zvakasimwa.3 Pane nguva yokuuraya nenguvawo yokuporesa.Pane nguva yokupaza nenguvawo yokuvaka.4 Pane nguva yokuchema nenguvawo yokuseka.Pane nguva yokuungudza nenguvawo yokupembera.5 Pane nguva yokukanda mambwe uko nokoko nenguvawo yokuunganidza mabwe.Pane nguva yokumbundirana nenguvawo yokusambundirana.6 Pane nguva yokutsvaka nenguvawo yokurasa.Pane nguva yokuchengeta nenguvawo yokurasa.7 Pane nguva yokubvarura nenguvawo yokusona.Pane nguva yokunyarara nenguvawo yokutaura.8 Pane nguva yokuda nenguvawo yokuvenga.Pane nguva yehondo nenguvawo yorugare.9 Ko, iye munhu anoshanda anowanei chaizvo nokushingaira kwake kwaanoita nebasa? 10 Ndakaona zvangu basa rakapiwa vanhu naMwari kuti vawane chokuita. 11 Akaita kuti zvinhu zvose zvive nenguva yazvo yakafanirana nazvo, uye akaisa muvanhu pfungwa yenguva isina mugumo asi munhu asingakwanise kunzwisisa zvakaitwa naMwari kubvira pakutanga kusvika pamugumo.*Shoko raTenzi.**Rwiyo rwokutsinhira:* _Nziyo 144,1b+2abc.3-4. (D – 1)_*(D) – Ngaarumbidzwe TENZI, dombo rangu.*1 Ngaarumbidzwe TENZI, dombo rangu.2 Ndiye dombo rangu nenzvimbo yangu yokuzvidzivirira nayo muhondo,ndiye nhare yangu nomununuri wangu.Ndiyewo nhoo yangu nediziro rangu.*(D) – Ngaarumbidzwe TENZI, dombo rangu.*3 Nhai TENZI, iye munhu chiikowo zvake wamunorangarira,iye munhuwo zvake wamunofunga.4 Munhu akaita sefemo,mazuva ake akaita somumvuri unopfuura.*(D) – Ngaarumbidzwe TENZI, dombo rangu.**Kupemberera Shoko Rakanaka:* _Mariko 10,45_*Areruya, Areruya.* Mwanakomana womunhu haana kuuya kuzoshandirwa,asi kuzoshandira vamwe, uye kuzopira upenyu hwake sorudzikinuro rwavazhinji. *Areruya.**Shoko Rakanaka:* _Ruka 9,18-22__Inzwai Shoko Rakanaka rakanyorwa naRuka_18 Zvakaitika kuti Jesu zvaakanga achinamata oga, vadzidzi vakanga vanaye. Akavabvunza kuti, “Ko, vanhu vanonditi ndini ani?” 19 Ivo vakapindura vachiti,“Vamwe vanoti ndimi Johani Muombeki; vamwewo vachiti, ndimi Eriya vamwewo vachiti, muri mumwe wavaporofita vakare wakamuka.” 20 Iye ndokuti kwavari, “Ko, imi munoti ndini ani?” Pita akapindura achiti, “Ndimi Kristu waMwari.”21 Akavatsindidza achivaudza kuti vasambotaurira izvi kana munhu zvake achiti, 22 “Mwanakomana womunhu anofanira kutambudzika zvikuru, agorambwa navakuru vakuru, navaPristi vakuru nenyanzvi dzomutemo ozouraiwa achizomutswa nezuva retatu.”*Shoko Rakanaka raTenzi.*

*GOSPEL REFLECTION: The Deepest Human Satisfaction*_September 27, 2024__Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” (Luke 9:18)_It’s interesting that Jesus was both “praying in solitude” and that “the disciples were with him.” Saint Bede explains this apparent contradiction by stating that “the Son alone is able to penetrate the incomprehensible secrets of the Father’s will.” Therefore, our Lord was always alone with the Father in the sense that only Jesus knew the Father fully and intimately. This is because He is the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, the Eternal Son of the Father.With that fact clearly understood, it’s also important to understand that as Jesus prayed to the Father within His human nature, something new took place. Though Jesus was eternally with the Father, His human nature was not eternally with the Father. Therefore, as the Eternal Son of God communed with the Eternal Father while living in human flesh, human nature was suddenly elevated to a height that it had never been before. Not only was the Eternal Son living in perfect union with the Father, but now the Eternal Son, fully human, brought His human nature into this oneness.Though this may seem a bit philosophical to some, it points to a very important reality that affects us all. Through our Lord’s human prayer to the Father, we are all invited to join with Jesus and share in this divine oneness. The Son of God, as a human being, made it possible for us as humans to share in the elevation of our very lives to oneness with God the Father. And though the Son of God will always retain a unique union with the Father, we are, nonetheless, by participation, invited to share in their life.So why is this important? One reason is that there is no greater human fulfillment we could ever achieve than to share in the prayer of the Son to the Father. Throughout our lives, we are constantly looking for fulfillment in one form or another. We want to be happy. We want enjoyment in life. We have a natural desire for happiness that we are constantly seeking to fulfill. What’s important to understand is that the greatest happiness comes by sharing in the deep human prayer of the Son to the Father. Prayer, true prayer, is the answer to our deepest desire.https://youtu.be/mmPjGP7v4gg?si=_T_-3tVbOT7axj9X*Reflect,* today, upon whether or not you regularly engage in deep prayer. Can you point to times when you, like our Lord, were alone with God, communing with Him in the depths of your human soul, being drawn to Him through prayer? There are many levels of prayer, as is attested to by many saints. Make the choice to deepen your prayer. Go before our Lord today and pour out your heart to Him, asking Him to draw you into the holy solitude of His prayer to the Father. Doing so will bring forth in you the deepest human satisfaction possible in life. *PRAYER:*_My praying Lord, as You spent time alone with the Father, You united Your human nature with Him, thus elevating our nature to a glorious degree. Please draw me to You, dear Lord, so that I may know You and the Father through true, deep and sustaining prayer. May this oneness with You be the cause of my deepest fulfillment in life. Jesus, I trust in You._