This Sunday’s Readings:
Wisdom 7:7–11
Psalm 90:12–13, 14–15, 16–17 (℟ 14)
Hebrews 4:12–13
Mark 10:17–30 or 10:17–27
IT CAN BE COMFORTING TO TREAT TODAY’S GOSPEL AS ANOTHER OF JESUS’S HYPERBOLES ABOUT THE CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP. However, we should not avoid its truth.
The man in the Gospel seeking eternal life had observed all the commandments Jesus named from the law. Yet to enter God’s reign, it is not enough to follow the rules. We must follow Jesus, whose very example goes beyond abiding by the law to completely handing over of his entire life to God’s will. To follow Christ, we must reorient our entire lives and give up the things we hold most dear—systems that privilege us, laws that shield us from intruders to our comfort, possessions that secure us, control that seduces us into self-reliance.
There is another truth embedded here. Your relationships, not your possessions, give you a place in God’s household. Again and again, Mark’s Jesus calls us into relationship with those most powerless in the world. To be in relationship with them is to be in relationship with Jesus, who, on the cross, gives up everything—power, riches, control, life—for the sake of the Gospel.
“Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me” (Mk 10:21). Personal engagement with the outcast and complete giving of ourselves to Christ: these are the marks of the disciple.
–Diana Macalintal
Suggested Music
GIA Hymnal Suggestions
WLP Resource Suggestions
Choral Suggestions:
Come Follow Me Forever
Patrick M. Liebergen
G-5387 · Two mixed or equal voices, keyboard
Prayer for Light
Ben J. Legett
G-7272 · SATB
I Will Follow You
Leon C. Roberts
G-4605 · SATB, assembly, piano, guitar
MYSTAGOGY MOMENT:
“For you have been my shining light and you have seen me through my darkest night”
In the words of the composer, this piece seeks to emphasize the “intimate relationships and aspirations that all Christians share with Christ.” God has a relationship with us that is closer than any other relationship we have in our lives. God sees our hearts, our minds, and our souls. Think of the power that type of relationship can have in our lives. All that we desire in this life is what God desires for us. God shares our hopes and dreams. With God on our side, nothing is out of our reach. What is in your heart that you hope to have God’s companionship and assistance with? How has God helped you achieve your goals? Where is God on your journey?
–Victoria Zibell
Give the Lord Your Heart / Le Das Tu Corazón
Michael Mahler
G-6040 · SATB, assembly, piano, guitar
The Summons
John L. Bell / Arr. Gary Daigle
G-9837 · SATB, assembly, piano, guitar
More choral suggestions for the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time…
Arise, O Church, Arise Paul Nienaber & John Angotti Three-part choir, cantor, assembly, keyboard, guitar 008480
Come and Follow Me Francis Patrick O’Brien SAB, assembly, piano, guitar, opt. cello G-4514
Del Señor Viene la Misericordia / With the Lord There Is Mercy: Salmo 130(129) Mary Frances Reza SATB, descant, cantor, assembly, keyboard, guitar 012641
Dos Cantos para las Procesiones / Two Processional Songs Pedro Rubalcava Two- or three-part choir, cantor, descant, assembly, opt. keyboard, opt. guitar 012531
I Wanna Shine Ed Bolduc Three-part choir, cantor, assembly, keyboard, guitar 008210
I Will Go as You Have Sent Me James Alberty SATB, piano G-4910
Nothing Is Impossible Michael Dryver Two-part children’s choir, solo, keyboard 007105
O Lord, My God James V Marchionda, OP SATB, cantor, assembly, keyboard, guitar 008952
Wake the World with Dawning Joy Steven C. Warner SATB, cantor, assembly, organ, guitar, flute, trumpet 007272
