This
Sunday's Message
Home
--Directions
--Pastor's
Message
--Mass Schedule
--Clergy
and Ministry
--Upcoming Events
--Links
Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 22, 2000
The LORD was pleased to crush him in infirmity.
If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants
in a long life,
and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.
Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days;
Through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,
and their guilt he shall bear.
Second Reading--(Hebrews 4:14-16)
Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.
Gospel Reading--(Mark 10:35-45)
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." He replied, "What do you wish (me) to do for you?" They answered him, "Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left." Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" They said to him, "We can." Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared." When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. Jesus summoned them and said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Pastor's Message: Want
Success is getting what you want, while happiness is wanting
what you get! It is highly recommended that if we want money we
should go to strangers, if we want advice we should go to friends,
but if we want absolutely nothing we should go to relatives. Could
it be that a man with ten children is really much better off than a man
with ten million dollars because the man with ten children doesn't want
any more? And really, there is nothing that cures people from wanting
things like being able to afford them. Supposedly, you can get almost anything
you want by just waiting until you no longer want it. So
then if you don't get everything you do want just think of the things
you don't get that you don't want. And why is it that before marriage
a woman wants a man, but after marriage she wants a maid?
Still, some women don't really know what they want, and thus will
not give their husbands any peace until they get it. But sometimes, women
just do not know what they want until they realize they can't have
it. Basically then, a man wants all that he can get, while a woman
wants all that she cannot get.
Early in 1954, Perry Como had a song that remained in the number one
spot for eight whole weeks called: "WANTED / Someone who kissed
me / And held me closely / Then stole my heart / Wanted / Someone
I trusted / Who gave no warning / That we'd ever part / She was last seen
/ Hiding-out in someone's arms / He knew nothing / Of the danger in her
charms / A jury / May find her guilty / But I'd forgive her / If I could
see / A signed confession / That she's repented / And really wanted
no one but me."
Apparently, Jesus was trying to teach James and John, as well as the
rest of the apostles, that responsibilities surely go along with the requests
they were making of Him. Actually, Jesus wanted His future Church
to fully understand that if greatness of position, along with all of the
esteem that goes with it, is what a priest or a religious was ambitious
for, the surest way to get it would be to place oneself in the position
of being a servant to others as He Himself was doing. So Jesus told James
and John, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I
drink or be baptized in the same bath of pain as I?" (MK 10, 38) A good
thing to remember the next time we pray to God for something. Like if you
pray to God for a husband or a wife to get married to, then you have to
do your part to make that marriage really successful. If you want children
-- besides all of the responsibilities of successfully parenting them --
you are to teach them to believe and to love God and to live according
to His will. But, in order to successfully teach this truth, you have to
live it yourself. So then, it is vitally important that we really want
what we sincerely pray for. Because there is always a very good chance
that we will get it.
Fr. George Griffin