The happiest people are the most blessed. Today’s Reading from Romans 16: 3-9,16,22-27 tells of the Blessed People who risked their lives and fortunes to defend St. Paul’s work to save souls. These names are written in “The Book of Life”: “Prisca, Aquila, Epaenetus, Mary, Andronicus, Julia, Ampliatus, Urbanus, Tertius, Gaius, Erastus, and Quartus”. Catholics are smart enough to read their names and ask those blessed souls in Heaven: “Please, pray for me and my family!”
Then, St. Paul tells us how we may have our names written among those blessed to defend The Only Church Spoken Into Being by He Who Fulfilled the Prophecies! “And I say unto you, thou art Peter and on this rock I build My Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I give you the keys to The Kingdom of Heaven.”
To get those “keys to The Kingdom of Heaven”, we must be among those who “made known to all nations the need to bring about the obedience of faith, to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever. Amen.”
Some are blessed to cure “Confusion Headaches” with Words from Psalm 145: 2-11, “I will praise Your Name forever, Lord. Every day will I bless you… let your faithful ones (like Prisca and Aquila, and all like them!) bless You. Let them (and us!) discourse on the glory of Your Kingdom and speak of Your might.”
Today’s “Alleluia” from 2 Cor. 8:9 reminds us: “Jesus Christ became poor although He was rich, so that by His poverty you might become rich.” Today’s Gospel, Luke 16:9-15, tells us how to save our souls: “Jesus said to His disciples, ‘I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”
Then, Jesus tells us the cause of all “Confusion Headaches”! “No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
The Bible tells what those who serve the greed that is “mammon” always do! “The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and sneered at Him.”
In reply, Jesus gave us His Great Teaching about the eternal fate of “mammon” worshipers! “And, He said to them: ‘You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.'”
Seeking to be “justified in the sight of others” by “seeking human esteem” makes many souls into an “abomination” to God. Their “Confusion Headaches” never stop.
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Today’s Simple Rhyme: “Seeking people’s approval / Leads to God’s disapproval. / Forever.”
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