Bible reading for today and reflection

Bible reading for today 8th November and reflection

Bible reading for today 8th November is taken from Romans chapter 15 verses 14 to 21. And Gospel reading is from Luke chapter 16 verses 1 to 8. Lets reflect upon our Lord's teachings.

Today’s 1st Reading Romans 15:14-21

14 I myself am satisfied about you, my brethren, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another. 15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has wrought through me to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that from Jerusalem and as far round as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ, 20 thus making it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on another man's foundation, 21 but as it is written, "They shall see who have never been told of him, and they shall understand who have never heard of him."

  

Response in Psalms 98: 1-4

 1 O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvellous things! His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory. 2 The LORD has made known his victory, he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations. 3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God. 4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!

Today’s Gospel Luke 16:1-8

1 He also said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a steward, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. 2 And he called him and said to him, `What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.' 3 And the steward said to himself, `What shall I do, since my master is taking the stewardship away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.4 I have decided what to do, so that people may receive me into their houses when I am put out of the stewardship.' 5 So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, `How much do you owe my master?' 6 He said, `A hundred measures of oil.' And he said to him, `Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.' 7 Then he said to another, `And how much do you owe?' He said, `A hundred measures of wheat.' He said to him, `Take your bill, and write eighty.' 8 The master commended the dishonest steward for his shrewdness; for the sons of this world are shrewder in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.

Reflection
We read it in this parable where Lord is saying, ‘What is this I hear about you’, of course this is just a parable, in actuality God does not need to hear anything about us since he is all-knowing yet he may very well say to us what is this as he looks over the record of our lives and reminds us that we are accountable for all our free actions.

Let us take a look in our prayer now. At the face of this father who asks what is this my son what is this my daughter. Does it perhaps express concern over a wound in our soul over something that has marred the beauty of our image as sons and daughters of the father?
A full account, yes we will have to give that full account of our every deed and the image we carry.
The sacrament of reconciliation prepared by thoughtful and prayerful examination of conscience offered us the opportunity to give that account piece by piece as a preparation for that final art.

Lets examine carefully our own image by examining our conscience. Is this our present image we are going to carry to our Lord when we finally see him? or do we need to change our image in our own eyes and in the eyes of our Lord?

We have been given many graces, are we taking advantage of it? The good Lord accuses us of being squanders. This isn't the only place in the Gospels where the word appears. Recollect that the prodigal son was accused of squandering his father's wealth. Certainly if we squander something for good and for the glory of our Lord then we will not be squanderers.

What about all the graces that God has given to us, our faith, a Catholic Church, the sacraments, the Scriptures, the example of the Saints, the rich deposit of Catholic tradition, the means that have been placed in our hands today, the time we have been offered, the talents we have been given. Are we squanderers when it comes to graces given to us? How can I respond better to the many gifts of our Lord has given me, How can I better invest my talents for the sake of the kingdom of heaven?

Let us pray, Jesus Christ awaken me to your gifts and make me enthusiastic and generous in using them for the good of the brothers and sisters you have put at my side. Through my daily examination of conscience help me to be a good steward so that one day I may arrive with you and enjoy you in paradise as my eternal reward.

Jesus Christ, where else can I turn each day but to you. One day I will make that final turn to you and it will last for all eternity, yet in everything else you set the pace, you take the initiative and you are the protagonists. You will turn under my way first and I will assist, to strive daily to make that final turn. Lets take the message from Bible reading for today and reflect upon it. At this moment of prayer, I rehearse for that final turn to you. Lord bless me today and give me the graces to work for you. Amen