COLLECT: “O GOD, WHO GAVE THE PRIEST SAINT JEROME A LIVING AND TENDER LOVE FOR SACRED SCRIPTURE, GRANT THAT YOUR PEOPLE MAY BE EVER MORE FRUITFULLY NOURISHED BY YOUR WORD AND FIND IN IT THE FOUNT OF LIFE. THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, YOUR SON, WHO LIVES AND REIGNS WITH YOU, FOR EVER AND EVER. AMEN”.
Job 9:1-12,14-16; Ps 87:10-12 and Lk 9:57-62.
“…but how can a person be justified (be declared innocent) before God? .... Though I am innocent, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty. Though I am blameless, it would prove me wicked. …. Innocent or wicked, it is all the same to God” (Job 9:2,20-22). Job uttered these words in reaction to what his friends, especially Bildad, told him as a cause for his suffering. Bildad told Job that he was suffering because he was unjust and sinful, for the Just God would not punish a just person. But Job knew he was innocent and righteous before God, and he did not think his life warranted such suffering. Bildad wrongly assumed that people suffer only as a result of their sins. The insensitive Bildad even said that Job’s children died because of their wickedness. Job’s reaction to Bildad is an acknowledgement that God is God, all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present. God knows us true and true; he is with us in our joys and sorrows, and at his own time he will act appropriately, for God’s time is the best.
The idea of the just or the innocent or the righteous undergoing suffering is one aspect of the cost or the demands of discipleship of Jesus. This has been brought out clearly in the portion of the Gospel of Luke we reflect on today. Nothing in this world, not even suffering and disappointments, should prevent us from following the Lord promptly and doing his will. It must be noted that following the Lord involves hardships and discomfort. Sometimes it is even disappointing and discouraging to follow the Lord and do his will, but the one who persists and perseveres amid all will benefit in the end.
Once again, following Jesus has a cost; it is demanding, and each of us must be ready to serve, even when it requires sacrifice. All that the Lord wants from us as his followers is total dedication, not half-hearted commitment, even when the going is tough. We are not to pick and choose among Jesus’ ideas and follow him selectively. For instance, we cannot pick and choose to be disciples of the Lord only when the going is easy and comfortable for us, and then when the going is tough, we withdraw and abandon the Lord. Nor should we pick and choose to be the Lord’s disciples only when we think that our prayers are answered by him. We have to accept the cross along with the crown. Job is a perfect example for us in this regard. We must count the cost and be willing to abandon everything else that has given us temporal security, without looking back. Nothing and no one should detract or distract us from following the Lord with dedication and commitment.
May we never take things for granted as we follow the Lord, but always be ready for everything, for both the cross and the crown, joys/happiness and sorrows. May Saint Jerome intercede for us. Stay blessed by the all-powerful Lord, all-knowing, and all-present. Happy feast to all who bear the name Jerome.
WE MEDITATE TODAY, WEDNESDAY, ON THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES: ‘THE RESURRECTION, THE ASCENSION, THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE ASSUMPTION, AND THE CORONATION ’. (WE PRAY FAITH, HOPE, LOVE OF GOD, GRACE OF A HAPPY DEATH AND TRUST IN MARY’S INTERCESSION) “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, sinners, now and the hour of our death, Amen”.
PRAYER: “MAY THESE HOLY GIFTS WE HAVE RECEIVED, O LORD, AS WE REJOICE IN CELEBRATING SAINT JEROME, STIR UP THE HEARTS OF YOUR FAITHFUL SO THAT, ATTENTIVE TO SACRED TEACHINGS, THEY MAY UNDERSTAND THE PATH THEY ARE TO FOLLOW AND, BY FOLLOWING IT, OBTAIN LIFE EVERLASTING. THROUGH CHRIST OUR LORD. AMEN.”
Rev. Fr. Aloysius Kpiebaya, Catholic Diocese of Wa, UW/R, Ghana. (00233) 0207867239/0545462863. Email: aloybaya20@yahoo.com.
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