CATHOLIC MEDITATION: Tuesday - 1 March, 2022. 8th week - Ordinary Time, Year C.

[Music] um is [Music] [Applause] [Music] in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit amen greetings beloved of the lord and welcome it is a new month today is tuesday the 1st of march 2022 we thank god for bringing us to this new month you are listening to catholic meditation with me father blessed amban it is delightful having you in our company good morning and thanks for joining us in prayer let us pray grant us o lord we pray that the course of our world may be directed by your peaceful rule and that your church may rejoice and troubled in her devotion through our lord jesus christ your son who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the holy spirit one god forever and ever amen the first reading is taken from the first letter of saint peter chapter 1 verses 10 to 16. the responsorial psalm is taken from psalm 98 the response to the psalm is the lord has made known his salvation the gospel is taken from saint mark chapter 10 verses 28 to 31 i read from the gospel at that time peter began to say to jesus behold we have left everything and followed you jesus said truly i say to you there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the gospel who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecutions and in the age to come eternal life but many that are first will be last and the last first the gospel of the lord praise to you lord jesus christ [Applause] all the time he put a song of praise in this heart of mine [Music] his light will shine [Music] is good all the time [Applause] [Music] [Applause] all the time [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] the theme for today's meditation is sacrifice made for jesus never goes unrewarded sacrifice made for jesus never goes unrewarded beloved of god let us begin to this meditation with this verse taken from today's gospel passage you will receive a hundred fold now in this present time with persecutions and in the age to come eternal life mark chapter 10 30 these are the words of jesus to peter in response to peter's question what about us peter asked we have left everything and followed you jesus makes peter understand that no sacrifice we make for god is wasted no sacrifice we make for god goes unrewarded when we sacrifice for god we get repaid much more and over what we sacrificed many times people fear to make a sacrifice for god be it of their time be it of themselves be it of their resources there are many young boys and girls who are afraid to get into the religious life or to the priesthood they think it is a waste of their time they think it is a waste of their intelligence many fear to make a sacrifice of their time of their resources but these words of jesus to peter are words of assurance do not be afraid there is nothing beloved nothing that we sacrifice for god that goes unrewarded nothing many times we think things we do for god just go away unrewarded after all it is done for god should we expect any reward but that is not true from the words of jesus today we understand that truly everything we do for god beloved has a reward perhaps we think only humans appreciate and reward us for sacrifices done for them but god does too and even more much more than humans can do well the difference is we do not do things with the primary motive of waiting for a reward from god no but he never lets us go unrewarded so do not do something and say i am doing this god because i'm expecting a reward from you no do it because it is good do it because it is worthwhile but i tell you beloved as jesus says in today's gospel it never goes unrewarded that explains why we often say now god god bless you it is god who will bless you god will bless and reward you it doesn't mean that what you have done has been wasted no many times too we think god's reward is only in heaven or perhaps that it will take long to materialize that is why when we tell people it is only god who will bless them some say yes i know god will bless me but i want that blessing here and now of course yes jesus makes it clear god rewards us even here on earth in fact he rewards us year and year after it is a double blessing a double reward let us go back to the words of jesus you will receive a hundred fold now in this present time and in the age to come eternal life whenever then you do something for god or sacrifice something for him know that it is not free or wasted god will always repay us so when you do something for him do it wholeheartedly and do your best because he will repay you accordingly it is rather some human beings who may fail to reward us you may sacrifice lots for some people and they never appreciate or reward you but not so for god not so he repays us a hundredfold in fact sacrifice for god is to our own credit do not do something for him reluctantly or grudgingly you will be repaid a hundredfold in this life and in the next life you will still have an eternal reward heaven now beloved let us look at some persons who sacrificed for god and how they got repeat year in this life and eternal life in heaven look at abraham he sacrificed for god he left everything he followed god in this present life he was blessed yes he was given a son and a and many generations after him till this day we still call abraham our father our father in faith he was given lands and not only in this life he was blessed with eternal life in heaven look at job he loved god he trusted god he was blessed in this life and life after look at the apostles they left everything they followed jesus they were always with him never did they lack they had everything they wanted and again life after in heaven look at a blessed mother the virgin mary she was blessed in this life to have been called the mother of god god's own son and after she was blessed in heaven so you see truly god rewards us a hundredfold in this life and year after but dear friends in christ interesting is what jesus says will accompany the reward let us go back to what he says you will receive a hundredfold now in this present time with persecutions how often we forget to remember he said so the reward will come yes we will be repaid a hundred fold in this present time yes but with persecutions now what did jesus mean this means we should be ready to undergo some tough moments laughter and mockery from family and friends especially when they think that you are following god is a waste of time and being useless you claim to love god yet see all the misfortunes that befall you they will laugh at you they will mock and provoke you we have to put up with some delays those are the persecutions jesus is talking about look at abraham do you think it was easy surely people laughed at him look at the man who says he is following god and god will bless him you have not got even a son to show for it look at job even his wife told him guess god and die this is the god whom you serve and what is he paying you with look at all the misfortune that has befallen you but he persevered and look at the reward that came after look at the blessed virgin mary yes even simeon prophesied a sword will pierce your own soul too but beloved after all of this there is always that great reward that comes at the end so with you it is a perseverance that will pay off so in your worshipping god people will laugh at you it is not easy look at all the times you spend in prayer yet it seems that your reward is not coming all the masses you have offered but it seems that what you pray for is not coming beloved people will laugh at you oh see you have carried a church on your head but what do you get for it they will invite you to your own pagan side but beloved remember what jesus has said the reward is coming but not without persecutions people will laugh at you they will mock you they will provoke you but stay steadfast and be strong for god will repay you a hundred times over to conclude jesus says the first will be last and the last would be first now this is confusing what did he mean we must remember that this passage is flowing after the passage of the rich young man jesus had spoken to him to go sell all he had and give the money to the poor and it became difficult for him to detach himself from his riches then today peter is telling jesus well we might not be like the rich young man for him he has denied to forego his wealth for us we have left everything we have abandoned our families we have followed you what do we get for it and jesus tells them yes you will be repaid a hundred times over but be careful there are many who are first who will be last and the last who will be first jesus is still making allusions to the rich young man the fact that he might have found it difficult to detach does not mean we should ward him off the grace of god is there but people respond to it differently he might have gone away sad but the grace of god might still pull him back and he may finally give in and finally find himself following christ but there are many who may quickly say yes they want to follow but may not have the grace of final perseverance and may give up at the end so jesus wants them do not boast or think because you have abandoned everything and followed me now you are the best no there are many who are first who may become last and the last who may become first by these words jesus means that true we receive the grace of god differently and respond to the call of faith differently all we need do is to pray for the grace of final perseverance so that as we have responded to god's call we may persevere till the end let us pray for our many brothers and sisters that they too may respond to god's call and also may come to join the fold we wish a happy new month to all of us especially to those who will be celebrating birthdays or anniversaries of whatever kind the lord be with you may the blessing of almighty god the father and the son and the holy spirit come down on you and remain with you forever amen remember sacrifice made for god never goes unrewarded [Music]

Channel: Fr. BLESSED Ambang Njume

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Published: Mon Feb 28 2022