September 12 - One Bread, One Body
September 12, Twenty Fourth Sunday Ordinary Time
Cycle B Readings:
1) Isaiah 50:4-9
Psalm 116:1-6, 8-9
2) James 2:14-18
Mark 8:27-35
Flint-hard, yet docile
"I have set My face like flint.” — Isaiah 50:7
Flint is among the hardest of rocks. When Jesus set His face like flint, He was absolutely determined to walk toward Calvary, no matter what obstacles were placed in His path. Jesus “firmly resolved to proceed toward Jerusalem” (Lk 9:51). He set His face to walk toward the cross, humiliation, mockery, and death.
Like Jesus, we are called to set our faces like flint, but not our hearts. We are to have firmness of will to live for the Lord, but a docile, trusting heart to let it be done to us according to His will (Lk 1:38). Too often it’s the other way around: we have flint-hard hearts (see Ps 95:8) and a weak will (Mk 14:38). We then bear little fruit (see Jas 1:7-8).
Ask the Lord for firmness of faith to persevere and bear fruit even in spiritually arid times. Ask Him for the docility of heart that produces loving works of charity. By walking firmly on the path to which God calls us, we proclaim to the world that Jesus is the Christ. We take up our cross to follow Him (Lk 9:23). It requires a face of flint to walk toward the cross of suffering. Yet it requires docility of heart to walk in His peace.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, set a fire in my soul. I will follow You in the way of the cross.
Promise: “I shall walk before the Lord in the lands of the living.”—Ps 116:9
Praise: “Let me ask why you...should find it hard to believe that God raises dead men to life?” (see Acts 26:8) Do you believe the risen Jesus has power to resurrect you?
Rescript: In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Imprimatur ("Permission to Publish") for One Bread, One Body covering the period from August 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021.
†Most Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio January 12, 2021.
The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.