First Reading
Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12

1. Water in this reading transforms all that it touches. Discuss. So does God transform everything he touches, if we let this happen? Have you let God transform your life?

2. Compare salt water with fresh water. What does the following sentence mean to you: “This water empties into the sea—the salt water—which it makes fresh”?

Second Reading
1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17

1. Pope Paul VI initiated and implemented the Second Vatican Council's vast changes. Pope Francis on Sunday, as he beatified Paul VI, called on the church to adapt to “changing conditions of society.”

God is not afraid of new things! That is why he is continually surprising us, opening our hearts and guiding us in unexpected ways.  He renews us: he constantly makes us “new.” A Christian who lives the Gospel is “God’s newness” in the Church and in the world. How much God loves this “newness”!

Mass of Beatification of the Servant of God Paul VI
Sunday, October 19, 2014

How do his remarks relate to this statement of St. Paul’s in today’s reading: “You are God’s building. Like a wise master builder I laid a foundation.”

2. Paul asks, “Do you not know that … the Spirit of God dwells in you?” If this is the case, can you ask the Holy Spirit for help when you need it?  Do you think the Holy Spirit knows what you need even when you don’t? Could you show reverence for someone because the Holy Spirit is in that person?

Gospel
John 2:13-22

1. Which do you think it was that enraged Jesus: the selling of animals within the temple itself, exchanging money within the holy place, or the exploitation of the poor? Had the community become so preoccupied with worldly business that it had forgotten its main purpose?

2. How are the poor exploited today? Can you, as a member of Christ’s Body, do anything to change things for the better? On a scale of one to ten how would you rate your present actions (10 = caring like Jesus, 1 = not caring at all)?

Anne Osdieck