First reading 1 Timothy 1:15-17
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners
Here is a saying that you can rely on and nobody should doubt: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I myself am the greatest of them; and if mercy has been shown to me, it is because Jesus Christ meant to make me the greatest evidence of his inexhaustible patience for all the other people who would later have to trust in him to come to eternal life. To the eternal King, the undying, invisible and only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Responsorial Psalm 112(113):1-7
May the name of the Lord be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed
both now and for evermore!
May the name of the Lord be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
From the rising of the sun to its setting
praised be the name of the Lord!
High above all nations is the Lord,
above the heavens his glory.
May the name of the Lord be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
Who is like the Lord, our God,
who has risen on high to his throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down,
to look down upon heaven and earth?
From the dust he lifts up the lowly,
from the dungheap he raises the poor
May the name of the Lord be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Luke 6:43-49
Whoever hears me builds his house on a rock
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘There is no sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again a rotten tree that produces sound fruit. For every tree can be told by its own fruit: people do not pick figs from thorns, nor gather grapes from brambles. A good man draws what is good from the store of goodness in his heart; a bad man draws what is bad from the store of badness. For a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart.
‘Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord” and not do what I say?
‘Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and acts on them – I will show you what he is like. He is like the man who when he built his house dug, and dug deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man who built his house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!’
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I stand firm on Jesus, my foundation
Jesus is the Rock, the firm foundation on which we are called to build our lives. We build our lives on Jesus when we choose to listen to His
words and live out His words in our daily life. In the parable of the two houses, the difference between them is their foundation. One house was built on sand, and the other was on a rock. When the river was in flood, the house on sand was the one that collapsed. Pondering on this image of the two houses, Jesus is inviting us to build our lives on a solid foundation so that we will not collapse when we face the storms of hardships and disappointments.
words and live out His words in our daily life. In the parable of the two houses, the difference between them is their foundation. One house was built on sand, and the other was on a rock. When the river was in flood, the house on sand was the one that collapsed. Pondering on this image of the two houses, Jesus is inviting us to build our lives on a solid foundation so that we will not collapse when we face the storms of hardships and disappointments.
Let us allow Jesus’ words to shape our lives today because He is the reliable foundation we can stand on! When we build our lives on Jesus, we help others to do the same too. In these uncertain times of the Covid-19 pandemic, as many people feel the storms bearing down on them, may we stand firm and guide others to make Jesus their solid foundation.
Question for reflection:
How is the quality of the foundation on which I build my life?
How is the quality of the foundation on which I build my life?
