The Gospel set before us this Sunday continues Christ's teaching as given in the Sermon on the Mount. The extract today is all about Divine Providence. In our modern consumerist society it is a teaching that is frequently neglected, even by devout Christians.
Sunday Readings' Discussion Questions
Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mar. 2, 2014 (8A)
From the Center for Liturgy at Saint Louis University
Sunday Mass Readings
Podcast of the Readings
Video of Reflections on Readings
Lecturas y Comentarios
Prayer of the Hours
BQ: Do we adore "Bling?" more than God?
--------------------------------------------
Questions on Sunday's Readings for use by discussion groups,
prayer groups, or for individual prayer.
--------------------------------------------
First Reading
Book of the prophet Isaiah, Chapter 49, Verses 14-15
1. “The Lord has forsaken me.” When did Jesus say this? Why do you think he endured it? Can you relate to this misery? Is abandonment a feeling or a fact?
2. The second half of the reading is God’s response: comfort to the forsaken. How do you feel when God compares himself with a nursing mother? What do the two halves of this reading say to you when you put them together?
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 62: 2-3, 6-7, 8-9
1. Why do you think the psalm stresses repeatedly the words 'alone' and 'only?' Is there any other alternative for us as a place to rest or a stronghold in our lives?
2. What do you think is meant by the verse, "I shall not be disturbed at all?" What is it that disturbs us in our lives and how do we deal with it?
Second Reading
First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, Chapter 4, Verses 1-5
1. How do the motives of our hearts relate to being good stewards of the gospel? What do you think the motives of our hearts should be?
2. Compare “then everyone will receive praise from God,” from this reading with “but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given you besides,” from the Gospel.
Gospel
According to Matthew, Chapter 6, Verses 24-34
1. Do you think the concern in this Gospel reading is about possessions or about inordinate attachment to them? What might you “seek” if you were not worrying about material things all the time?
2. Fr. John Shea suggests that this Gospel offers two scenarios: “(1) understand and inhabit your life as an anxious project for future physical survival or (2 ) understand and inhabit your life as a present gift sustained by God prior to any human activity to secure it.” What happens to the concerns of (1) if you choose (2)?
Online Sunday Bible Study Group
Please share below your thjoughts on the above Sunday Readings. May we be blessed by God's words as reflected in your thoughts and experience-sharing.
---
The Psalm contrasts the appeal
ReplyDeleteof worldly pursuits as against the
tranquility that is found in God alone.
We need not be 'disturbed' at all
by the vanity of riches or by seeking
success in wickedness and violence.
These attractions are fleeting;
they do not last; they are weightless
in their nothingness. The one solid
rock in our lives is God. He alone
is our stronghold, our salvation,
as our psalmist says. We are all
looking for inner peace and the
world does not show us how to
obtain it. Only in God is our soul
at rest. We do not put our faith
in humans; only in God do we put
our trust at all times, and having
trusted our Lord, we pour out our
hearts before him.
Amen