The Catholic Calendar for Thursday, October 5, 2006
Thursday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Job 19:21-27
Psalm 27:7-8a, 8b-9abc, 13-14
Luke 10:1-12

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

Today’s newspapers, computers and television networks spend endless time and money with marketing ideas and products. In the readings of today we have laid out in detail for us how Christ planned to spread the Word. We are familiar with the gospel versions of Christ selecting His apostles to organize the Church, and today we hear how Christ sent out seventy-two other disciples to prepare the way before He entered a town. The detail of Christ's directions has always been an indicator to this writer of how interested He is also in the details of our lives.

One might wonder why the reading from Job was selected to go along with the stories of the disciples. Though Job is still suffering a bit from his "pitiful" experiences, his message is one of hope. He states "from my flesh I shall see God." These words indicate a tremendous faith and speak of hope, despite his connecting statement that "my inmost being is consumed with longing." (Job 19:21-27) That too, is a strong statement. One requirement of anyone in sales or public relations is that they really believe in that which they sell or describe. Job's statement epitomizes that reality.

Do we think of ourselves as disciples of Christ in our day-to-day lives? Can we, with Job, proclaim that we believe we’ll see God from our flesh? And can we, like Job, state that our inmost being is consumed with a longing for God? Do we want that depth in our relationship with Christ? If yes, "praise God!" If not, why not?

- Joan of Jesus, OCDS
(jmurphy at utica dot edu)