Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 27, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102724.cfm

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Thus says the LORD:
    Shout with joy for Jacob,
        exult at the head of the nations;
        proclaim your praise and say:
    The LORD has delivered his people,
        the remnant of Israel…
… They departed in tears,
        but I will console them and guide them;
    I will lead them to brooks of water,
        on a level road, so that none shall stumble.
Jeremiah 31:7;9

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Jeremiah was a pretty gloomy prophet because he lived in pretty gloomy times. Nevertheless, Jeremiah understood the nautre of “joy” – that heartfelt recognition that God abides with us, loves us, and heals us no matter our circumstances.

We have all met peole whose joy, despite difficulty, astounds us. Their faith inspires us, and their strength invites us to tap into that deep, unquenchable river of grace in our own hearts.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We pray for the gift of that deep joy which is rooted in relationship with God, and sustained by persevering faith.

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Poetry: Unholy Sonnet II – Mark Jarman

Half asleep in prayer I said the right thing

And felt a sudden pleasure come into 
The room or my own body. In the dark, 
Charged with a change of atmosphere, at first 
I couldn’t tell my body from the room. 
And I was wide awake, full of this feeling, 
Alert as though I’d heard a doorknob twist, 
A drawer pulled, and instead of terror knew 
The intrusion of an overwhelming joy. 
I had said thanks and this was the response. 
But how I said it or what I said it for 
I still cannot recall and I have tried 
All sorts of ways all hours of the night. 
Once was enough to be dissatisfied.

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Music: The Flow of Life – Tron Syversen