Accountability and Support
“Iron is sharpened by iron; one person sharpens another.”
– Proverbs 27:17
Monthly Focus on Piety
What have I studied during the past 30 days to help me better understand the gifts of God?
M1. Bible Reading
M2. Books of Formation
M3. Periodicals
M4. Other
Discussion Questions for March 2, 2025(C) Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time
First Reading
Sirach 27:4-7
When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear;
so do one's faults when one speaks.
As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace,
so in tribulation is the test of the just.
The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had;
so too does one's speech disclose the bent of one's mind.
Praise no one before he speaks,
for it is then that people are tested.
First Reading Discussion Questions
F1. Just as a tree is known by its fruits, Sirach says, so people are known by their conduct. How would you determine your vote? By what they say, or what they do? Or both?
F2. The furnace shows what the potter molds, How does this relate to “tribulation is the test of the just”? Are you more likely to believe the words of people like Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, on the subject of anti-racism, over people who were not tested?
Second Reading
1 Corinthians 15:54-58
Brothers and sisters:
When this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility
and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality,
then the word that is written shall come about:
Death is swallowed up in victory.
Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?
The sting of death is sin,
and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters,
be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord,
knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Second Reading Discussion Questions
S1. Georges Bernanos says in The Diary of a Country Priest, “Grace is everywhere.” How could that statement apply to the first sentences in this reading: “when this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality. …”
S2. Just as grace changes the corruptible, will it also change death? How? Why does St. Paul say death will lose its sting?
Gospel
Luke 6:39-45
Jesus told his disciples a parable,
"Can a blind person guide a blind person?
Will not both fall into a pit?
No disciple is superior to the teacher;
but when fully trained,
every disciple will be like his teacher.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?
How can you say to your brother,
'Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,'
when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?
You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter in your brother's eye.
"A good tree does not bear rotten fruit,
nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.
For every tree is known by its own fruit.
For people do not pick figs from thornbushes,
nor do they gather grapes from brambles.
A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good,
but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil;
for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks."
Gospel Discussion Questions
G1. “Brother, let me remove that splinter. … ” Before we undertake correcting others’ problems, what does Jesus ask us to check out in ourselves?
G2. This Gospel ends with “From the goodness of the heart the mouth speaks.” How does Pope Francis say we can get to that point?
“The fruitfulness of our life depends on prayer,” he stated, explaining that in prayer we can ask Jesus for the gift of seeing the world with his eyes.
This way, he said, we can “love our brothers and sisters, starting from the poorest and those who suffer the most, as he did, and to love them with his heart and to bring to the world fruits of goodness, fruits of charity, and fruits of peace.”
Pope Francis: Truly Christian Life
Catholic News Agency, May 2, 2021
**From Saint Louis University & Anne Osdieck
Suggested Strategies for Managing the Clock
For those with smaller groups or those who have the luxury of enough allotted time, it is suggested that the group cover each question from the monthly focus through the Gospel discussion questions
For those with larger groups or don't have the luxury of operating on God's Time, it is suggested that the group cover the monthly focus question and then feel free to skip around and attempt to answer only a few questions - whether that’s just the gospel, or the second reading and gospel, etc.