Shalom

27 May Mon	8th Week in Ordinary Time
	1 Pt. 1:3-9 Ps. 111:1-2,5-6,9,10c Mk. 10:17-27

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A man came up to Jesus full of good will. He had practised God's law faithfully all his life. He wanted to know what more he could do to win eternal life. Jesus was clearly moved by the man's sincerity and threw him one more challenge. He was to sell everything he had and share it with the poor. The man was shocked. It was something he could not do and "he went away sad" because he was very rich. Jesus then tells His disciples that it is very difficult for the rich to be in the Kingdom. Now it is their turn to be shocked. In their world to be rich was a sign of God's blessing and, if the rich cannot enter the Kingdom, "Who can be saved?" But the Kingdom is a world of total sharing and total caring. To be rich in a world of poverty is not possible in the Kingdom. Today I need to ask myself what is my attitude to material wealth? And, apart from money, is there anything in my life that I would find it difficult to give up if Jesus asked me?

Lord, teach me to be generous, to give and not to count the cost but only be concerned about doing Your will.

DAILY OFFERING

Eternal Father, I offer You everything I do this day; my thoughts, words, joys and sufferings. Grant that, vivified by the Holy Spirit and united to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, my life this day may be of service to You and to others. I also pray that all those preparing for marriage discover in Sacrament the source of Christ's grace for living a fithful and fruitful love. Amen.

PRAYING WITH THE CHURCH

INTENTION
That Christians may live their faith coherently and so be credible witnesses of the hope of the Gospel
Elaboration

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P R A Y I N G W I T H T H E C H U R C H

INTENTION :	That Christians may live their faith coherently and so be credible witnesses of the hope of the Gospel
That we may live a "coherent faith" that is a faith which produces the testimony of good works is the ecumenical intention of the Holy Father. In the Joint Declaration on the doctrine of justification signed between the Catholic Church and the World Lutheran Federation in 1999 it is stated that "only through grace, by means of faith in Christ and his salvific work, and not through any merit of ours, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit which renews our hearts, enabling us to perform and leading us to good works". It has to be understood that no human effort is capable of buying salvation. It is fundamentally a gift of God for which we have a duty to respond and co-operate through "faith-in-action" or "practised faith". Hence, the strengthening of one's inner faith through prayer and the sacraments will assist in the growth of charity which leads us to live the new commandment of love more fervently. Now is the time to look at charity in a new way. It is not a matter of doing the same thing in the same way. It is a time to seek and find new expressions of love for every human being. Then we become "credible witnesses of evangelical hope"
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