20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (August 18, 2019)
Jer 38.4-6, 8-10; Heb 12.1-4; Lk 12.49-53
In today’s Gospel, our Lord tells us of His impatience to fulfill His baptism by dying on the cross and redeeming mankind: there is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is My anguish until it is accomplished! We too were called to fulfill our baptism by persevering in the faith.
In the second reading we are told that the life of faith is like a race. We must lay aside every sin that weighs us down and keeps us from victory. This is not easy, because we are bound to face difficulty. Jesus warns us that the truth is divisive, turning father against son, mother against daughter. How true this is, especially in the pro-life movement! A woman who chooses to keep her child may suffer rejection from friends and family.
While we each have our own race to run, we do not run alone. We are also called to support each other. Like Abimelech, who spoke to the king on Jeremiah’s behalf, we must be willing to offer help to those in need. We must be supportive of those women who have been abandoned by family and friends for choosing life. We must be supportive of those who have been rejected because of past abortions, lovingly guiding them back, so that they too may finish their race.
Pro-Life Intercession
That we may not be afraid to be faithful to Jesus’ teachings on the dignity of human life, even if our faithfulness causes some to separate themselves from us, we pray to the Lord…