I TELL YOU…

Ephesians 1:15-23 
15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints,16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,
18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe, according to the working of his great might
20 which he accomplished in Christ when he raised him from the dead and made him sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come;22 and he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church,23 which is his body, the fulness of him who fills all in all.

LUKE 12:8-12

8 “And I tell you, every one who acknowledges me before men, the Son of man also will acknowledge before the angels of God;9 but he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.
10 And every one who speaks a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
11 And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious how or what you are to answer or what you are to say;12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

MEDITATION

St PAUL compliment the Ephesus community for their unquestionable faith in the Lord and their love of the saints; the holy men and women who serve the Church, the body of Christ in their various capacities. Paul lavish the leadership of this diocese with praise, informing them that he unfailingly offer up the Holy Eucharist in the Sacrifice of the Mass for them (v16), so that they may acquire knowledge and grow in wisdom and be filled with the fulness of the indwelling spirit of Christ. 

St Luke the evangelist as well as a companion of Paul, present our Lords teaching in the first person present tense—focussing on Christs words “I tell you,” no less than twenty times! Luke makes it known to us that Christ is the actual teacher and he is the mere messenger who captured what he learned from the Lord. To be sure, Luke was not one of the twelve, however scholars do posit that he was one of the seventy disciples appointed by the Lord. Lk 10:1

You and I who are priviledged to have come to know Christ Jesus through His priesthood and in the Sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist, are eternally indepted to the Church, the body of Christ—the fullness of Him —who appointed twelve men with Simon Peter as the leader (Mt 16:18), to teach and spread the Good News to all people. Christ established a ‘Qahal,’ the Church, long before the written NT document known as the bible, came into existence. I tell you, that without “the Church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of truth”(1Tm 3:15) the magisterial leadership, you and I would have been lost and led into darkness. Be cautious of well intended but false or ignorant prophets and pastors, who distort the word of God to fit their twisted mold. 

LET US PRAY:Psalms 8:2-7 

2 by the mouth of babes and infants, thou hast founded a bulwark because of thy foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.3 When I look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast established;4 what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou dost care for him?
5 Yet thou hast made him little less than God, and dost crown him with glory and honor.6 Thou hast given him dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet,7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,

Commentary. Henry R SYLVESTER Note: The daily scripture readings are taken from the Roman Missal which the Catholic Church use in the daily Celebration of the Holy Eucharist throughout the world.Some weekly readings may differ because of the celebration of local feast days.