The Catholic Calendar for Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
St. Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Galatians 5:1-6
Psalm 119:41, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48
Luke 11:37-41

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

In both the reading from the Letter to the Galatians and the Gospel, we're reminded that all of our seemingly laudable practices, whether they are religious or otherwise, are meaningless in the eyes of God unless they are motivated by love.

It is so easy to be carried away on the wave of the moment, the pressing task at hand or just our instinctual human desire to be gratified without stopping long enough to examine what it is that we are doing . . . and why!

When we meditate on the Word of God and take it to heart, we're led almost instantly to slow down, to seek the revelation of God’s truth and not our own or conventional wisdom.

May we then avail ourselves of opportunities to let God permeate our lives, to instruct us and lead us on His path, the path that leads to eternal life.

- Donna Nelson, OCDS
(drn3rd at hughes dot net)