OXYGEN

16 Aug – Memorial for St Stephen of Hungary

When he succeeded his father as chief of a group of people, Stephen adopted a policy of Christianisation in Hungary for both political and religious reasons. He suppressed a series of revolts by pagan nobles and welded the Magyars into a strong national group. As king, Stephen established a system of tithes to support churches and pastors and to relieve the poor. Out of every 10 towns, one had to build a church and support a priest. He abolished pagan customs with a certain amount of violence, and commanded all to marry, except clergy and religious. He was easily accessible to all, especially the poor.

- Patron Saint Index
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Ezekiel 24:15-24

The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man, I am about to deprive you suddenly of the delight of your eyes. But you are not to lament, not to weep, not to let your tears run down. Groan in silence, do not go into mourning for the dead, knot your turban round your head, put your sandals on your feet, do not cover your beard, do not eat common bread.’ I told this to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening, and the next morning I did as I had been ordered.

The people then said to me, ‘Are you not going to explain what meaning these actions have for us?’

I replied, ‘The word of the Lord has been addressed to me as follows, “Say to the House of Israel: The Lord says this. I am about to profane my sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the delight of your eyes, the passion of your souls. Those of your sons and daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword. And you are to do as I have done; you must not cover your beards or eat common bread; you must keep your turbans on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you must not lament or weep. You shall waste away owing to your sins and groan among yourselves. Ezekiel is to be a sign for you. You are to do just as he has done. And when this happens, you will learn that I am the Lord.”’
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Matthew 19:16-22

There was a man who came to Jesus and asked, ‘Master, what good deed must I do to possess eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you ask me about what is good? There is one alone who is good. But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.’ He said, ‘Which?’ ‘These:’ Jesus replied ‘You must not kill. You must not commit adultery. You must not bring false witness. Honour your father and mother, and: you must love your neighbour as yourself.’ The young man said to him, ‘I have kept all these. What more do I need to do?’ Jesus said, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ But when the young man heard these words he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.
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If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, you will have treasure in heaven

When you have been touched by the love and grace of God, we can’t help but share this joy with the people that we meet. Some of us are blessed with great wealth, yet it is amazing to find that sometimes the poor contribute more generously than the rich. The rich often hold tightly onto their money, growing it through investments. I recall telling my friends that despite all the material wealth that we have on this earth, we are unable to bring it along with us when we pass on. It is more fulfilling contributing to the poor and being able to make a difference to the lives of others.

In the gospel reading today, the rich man asked Jesus what he must do to possess eternal life. Jesus told him to keep all the commandments which the man said he had done. Jesus then told him that if he wished to be perfect, he must sell what he owned, give it to the poor, and he will have treasure in heaven. The man walked away sadly as he was a man of great wealth and unable to part with the wealth.

If the Lord were to ask me to sell what I own to follow Him, I think I will be sitting on the fence. A part of me will worry who is going to take care of my family, yet a part of me will want to follow Him. To be able to let go of what’s holding me back and to follow Jesus – that’s where the treasure is in heaven. Being human, the least I can say is that I hope to contribute my time and gifts to serve the less fortunate. If I am blessed with abundance of wealth, I hope to contribute back to the poor and to set up scholarships for needy students and help terminally ill children.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Patricia Ang)
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Prayer: Lord, show us the way, guide our hearts. Bless us abundantly so that we can be a blessing to others.

Thanksgiving: Lord, we give You thanks for all the blessings You have given us in our lives. Continue to guide and protect us.

Upcoming Readings:
Tue, 17 Aug – Ezekiel 28:1-10; Matthew 19:23-30
Wed, 18 Aug – Ezekiel 34:1-11; Matthew 20:1-16
Thu, 19 Aug – Ezekiel 36:23-28; Matthew 22:1-14; Memorial for St John Eudes, Priest
Fri, 20 Aug – Ezekiel 37:1-14; Matthew 22:34-40; Memorial for St Bernard, Abbot and Doctor
Sat, 21 Aug – Ezekiel 43:1-7; Matthew 23:1-12; Memorial for St Pius X, Pope
Sun, 22 Aug – Isaiah 66:18-21; Hebrews 12:5-7.11-13; Luke 13:22-30; Twenty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time