Thursday - August 10, 2017
My Jesus, how good it is to love you!
Let me be like your disciples on Mount Tabor, seeing nothing else but you, my Savior.
Let us be as two friends, neither of whom can bear to offend the other. Amen.
-- Saint John Vianney
TODAY'S READINGS
August 10, 2017
Feast of Saint Lawrence, deacon and martyr
Lectionary: 618
Reading 12 COR 9:6-10
Brothers and sisters:Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,
and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion,
for God loves a cheerful giver.
Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you,
so that in all things, always having all you need,
you may have an abundance for every good work.
As it is written:
He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.
The one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food
will supply and multiply your seed
and increase the harvest of your righteousness.
Responsorial PsalmPS 112:1-2, 5-6, 7-8, 9
R. (5) Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.Blessed the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed.
R. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice;
He shall never be moved;
the just one shall be in everlasting remembrance.
R. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
An evil report he shall not fear;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
His heart is steadfast; he shall not fear
till he looks down upon his foes.
R. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
Lavishly he gives to the poor,
his generosity shall endure forever;
his horn shall be exalted in glory.
R. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
AlleluiaJN 8:12BC
R. Alleluia, alleluia.Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness
but will have the light of life, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelJN 12:24-26
Jesus said to his disciples:"Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
Whoever loves his life loses it,
and whoever hates his life in this world
will preserve it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, there also will my servant be.
The Father will honor whoever serves me."
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Distributors of God's Abundance
Our first reading today emphasizes how important, how holy, how essential it is to be generous. So then, why do we have such difficulty with taking risks in generosity? It's because we think, consciously or unconsciously: "God cannot or will not multiply his favors for me, he is not able to make every grace abundant for me. Maybe for someone else, but not me."
Jesus says in today's Gospel reading that to produce much fruit, we have to be like a grain of wheat that falls to the ground and dies. To be generous, what has to fall into the soil and die is our fear that we'll be toogenerous, i.e., that God will not be equally generous with us when it's our own time of need.
Let's turn our perspective around. We assume that these verses from 2nd Corinthians mean: "I'm supposed to be generous; therefore, if I am generous, God won't let me end up homeless and starving." But that's scary, and it's not what these verses are saying. It's the reverse: "I'm supposed to be generous; therefore God will give me an abundance of whatever he wants me to give away."
Ahhh, that gets us off the hook, right? If we don't have an abundance, we can keep what we do have for ourselves. Oops! The world has conditioned us to feel dissatisfied with however much we have. In reality, we have much more than we think we do.
Look at what he's given you. There are others who don't have as much.
If you're able to pay all the bills that are necessary for the basic needs of life, and if you have anything left over, God has chosen you to be his partner in distributing his wealth. If you're growing vegetables in your garden, enjoy giving it out to your neighbors as a distributor of God's harvest. If you've got time for daytime television shows, you are the answer to prayer for those who are short on time.
What else has he given to you abundantly? Love, insights, wisdom, valuable learning experiences, whatever you're talented in, the training you've had, perhaps even a swimming pool and a barbecue grill for parties, or a house with unused bedrooms.
When someone asks God for help and no help comes, it's not because God has failed. It's because we who have been given what they need are failing to do our job as distributors of his abundance.
Jesus, who multiplied bread and fish, multiplies our gifts so that we have enough to share. Jesus meets our needs and makes plenty of leftovers for others.
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God Bless You.....
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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