Scripture Reflections for the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

“Through the blazing fires and gloomy darkness of our lives, the letter to the Hebrews invites us to humbly discern God’s presence in the particular circumstances of our lives. God beckons to us to humbly approach God’s awesomeness.”

“go back to the Letter to the Hebrews and realize how it's teaching us that the Mass is the pivot around which all of history turns”

“Pride and other sins put us at the centre. Love of God and others overcomes this and helps us grow and so enter the blessings God has for us.”

“to learn to delight in that selfless generosity of which Christ is our greatest teacher and example is to learn something of that divine charity which he calls us all not only to experience but also, by his grace, to share”

“Wanting recognition and the trappings of fame is actually a failure in proper self-love and self-worth”

“is he not revealing once again, at the Pharisee’s banquet...that, simply as human beings, we are all, one way or another, needy, vulnerable, incomplete and imperfect — equally dependent on the gift of love that we can never earn or deserve?”

“The crucified Christ shows us where our true greatness lies. Not in the honour or status we may bestow on ourselves, but in following Jesus along the way of the cross. Like him, we are called to serve, rather than be served, to give of ourselves, rather than grab for ourselves.”

“to find one’s place in life is not to live by avoiding treading on others’ toes, as if living in a community, in a family or in a society was just a question of not disturbing other people. To find one’s place is first and foremost to know who we are, otherwise no true relation would ever be possible.”

“what truly matters and what truly makes you happy is right in front of you in the simplest things all the time”

“In our fallen world we forget so readily that we are creatures. We forget so readily that we've been made from nothing. We come to expect things, to assume that they are owed to us. At the end of the day we start assuming that we are gods, center of the universe.”

“Dining is a most important biblical symbol. God created us out of love and for the sake of sharing his life. The more we surrender to him the more we are connected to each other.”

“That's the test that you are not the slave of ambition or honor. That you can be generous, listen now, purely because you love the other as other. Not because you are loving yourself through the other.”

“I entered into the adventure that God gave me. At one level I was just another tourist in the city. At another level, I was a fascinated woman who grew in appreciation of people all around me–and thus in awareness of the value of humility.”

“What is the connection between humility and almsgiving? It lies in seeing the poor person as like ourselves, as sharing in our humanity, as being our brother or sister. Pride involves placing ourselves above the level of other human beings, so that their needs have no claim on us.”

“it is absolutely impossible to enter into relationship with God if man does not acknowledge his “nothingness” (in the sense of a created being who could not have existed of his own accord) before the greatness of God. Hence, humility is a mother virtue which opens the door for a deeper love for God.”

“We are called to take up the gospel mandate to examine our lives in a reflective way, being more conscious of the cause and effects of our actions”

“Here’s the first lesson to living a humble life – accept that you cannot do this on your own. Realize that only Christ can help you do this. Submit yourself to His will, not yours.”

“Humility is to forget oneself and to think of others, to come outside of yourself and be concerned with the needs of other people. Narcissism is what we are trying to avoid. We are not the center of the universe where ever we go, we are simply a part of the human race.”

“our humility is not something we do simply in order to help ourselves advance in this life. Rather, it is in imitation of the immense humility of Jesus Christ, who, though he is God, reduced himself to share in our state.”

“Jesus' words call us to humility and care. His action in voicing those words calls us to speak up. This gospel urges us to ongoing conversion in our hearts, in our church, in our society.”

“in itself admiration, honor, glory it adds nothing substantial to you”