The Collect prayer which precedes the reading of the texts
from the Roman Catholic Lectionary at Mass today seeks a deepening of our sense
of reverence, whereby God might nurture in us what is good and keep safe what He
has nurtured. The psalmist praises the attention of God for the people chosen
to do His will. The text from the 1st Letter to the Corinthians
continues the teaching of Paul to correct divisions in Corinth between proto
Gnostic groups who claimed special spiritual status and knowledge which was not
contaminated with the state of the flesh. Friar Jude Winkler points to the attention
of Paul to the rallying of people around particular personalities as evidence
of their attention to the needs of the flesh. Paul advocates the nurturing of
what is good by emphasis on the division of labour in the task of responding to
the choice of God to call them to be evangelists of His Word. The two functions
of teaching and Baptism must work together. The reverence for which we pray is
supported by awe for the Divine plan to bring people to God through acts of
faith, hope and charity empowered by our intimate relationship with Jesus. The
Gospel of Luke presents the struggle between good and evil continuing as Jesus
keeps safe the life He has nurtured in Simon and Simon’s mother in law in
harmony with the mission to bring participation in His Life to all people. The
consequence of accepting the nurturing and healing of Jesus is confirmation of
intimacy with the Son of God.
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