Thursday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel Lk 12:49-53

Jesus said to his disciples: "I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."

Reflection

Wow! So what really hits me in the heart is the statement Jesus makes when He says, "Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division."

There are many people in the world that know about Jesus, and there are many people who do not know anything at all about Him. Of the people that claim to know Him, many would say they love Him. In the Bible it says: Deuteronomy 4-5 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." In the New Testament it goes on to say: Mark 12:28-31 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "which commandment is the most important of all?" Jesus answered, "The most important is 'Hear, o Israel: The Lord our God the Lord is one, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

But what does it mean to Love? Do you think Jesus said what He said in this Gospel reading, to show that He wants to hate on people? Could He actually have said this because He loves us? Jesus came to save us from sin. He wants us to be with Him in Heaven, He loves us.

So when a parent tells their child they cannot have a third helping of dessert, are they being hateful? Or when a parent corrects their child for being naughty, is that being mean?

How many of us are willing to put Jesus, and if you are Catholic, your Catholic faith at the highest level of importance? Many of us would put our family first. We all want to have a good relationship with our family members. This is important. But, what happens when one of our family members wants to do something we know that goes against Catholic teaching. Say for instance, live with their boyfriend or fiancé before marriage?

They can make the argument that everyone is doing it, what will it hurt? This really is what most people are doing today. Now comes the division, because if you as a parent or someone who really cares about this individual goes against this decision, there is no longer harmony in the family.

Why is it so important to the Church to have and keep the teaching of chastity? In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2350, it states: Those who are engaged to marry are called to live chastity in continence. They should see in this time of testing a discovery of mutual respect, an apprenticeship in fidelity, and the hope of receiving one another from God. They should reserve for marriage the expressions of affection that belong to married love. They will help each other grow in chastity. This is so beautiful and so important for a good healthy marriage. The Church is a mother looking out for her children. It is important for the Catholic Church to teach what God set forth in the Bible. There are so many warnings for us in the Bible. One being 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 "Avoid immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body."

"For you have been purchased at a price." How have we been purchased? By the blood spilled out from the body of Jesus Christ. With every sin, we are hurting Jesus. So if we love Jesus, what are we doing?

It was so important to the Saints to remain chaste that there are some who lost their lives to remain free from this sin. I think the world today has lost the value of what it means to avoid sin. Some would say that this is not anything new, the world has always been sinful. So, does that mean we need to succumb to the temptations of sin?

So this all implies that the couple living together before marriage will not be chaste. So the argument could be made that we will live together and remain chaste, and this will save us money. My response to this is a question. Why do you want to put yourself in a dangerous situation where you could be very tempted to do the wrong thing. Everyone has their own situations they are in and their own good intentions. Why would you want to give the evil one a foot hold into your life? This morning, I prayed the morning prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours. The concluding prayer is this: All-powerful and ever-living God, at morning, noon, and evening we pray:

cast out from our hearts the darkness of sin

and bring us to the light of your truth,

Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

God, forever and ever.

-Amen I pray this prayer for you and for all your family members, so they will be open to the truth which is Jesus Christ, and that the darkness of sin will be cast away from your hearts. Our God is all-powerful and He lives!

When Jesus said, "Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division." This is what comes to my mind. What are your thoughts on this? God bless you all.

Edits made on 10/28/23