Saturday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
God of might, giver of every good gift,
put into our hearts the love of your name,
so that, by deepening our sense of reverence,
you may nurture in us what is good
and, by your watchful care,
keep safe what you have nurtured.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, . . .
At the end of this week, let us recall once more the graces we as a Church have been asking of God each day. We have asked the Lord for deeper reverence, and in His Word He has been giving us many ways to stand in greater and greater wonder and awe at the good God He is. Let us consider the other grace we ask the giver of every good gift for this week. “. . . put into our hearts the love of your name . . .” In our readings today, the Psalmist cries out: “O God, by your name save me!” (Ps 54:3) What is this name by which the very saving power of God is made present? In the Gospel, to the Pharisaical complaint of the hungry seeking food on the sabbath, Jesus finishes His response by saying, “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.” (Luke 6:5) The authority of His very person is that by which the hungry disciples are mercifully allowed to seek food for themselves in the fields. The title which conveys this divine authority, Son of Man, is a title for the divine messiah found in the book of Daniel (Dan 7:13-14). What is so beautiful about this divine title is the Incarnational love which it prophesies.