SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Friday - July 27, 2018

Friday - July 27, 2018

He does much in the sight of God 

who does his best, 

be it ever so little.

-- St. Peter of Alcantara

July 27, 2018

 

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Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 399

Reading 1JER 3:14-17

Return, rebellious children, says the LORD,
for I am your Master;
I will take you, one from a city, two from a clan,
and bring you to Zion.
I will appoint over you shepherds after my own heart,
who will shepherd you wisely and prudently.
When you multiply and become fruitful in the land,
says the LORD,
They will in those days no longer say,
"The ark of the covenant of the LORD!"
They will no longer think of it, or remember it, 
or miss it, or make another.

At that time they will call Jerusalem the LORD's throne;
there all nations will be gathered together
to honor the name of the LORD at Jerusalem,
and they will walk no longer in their hardhearted wickedness.

Responsorial PsalmJEREMIAH 31:10, 11-12ABCD, 13

R. (see 10d) The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
proclaim it on distant isles, and say:
He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together,
he guards them as a shepherd his flock. 
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
The LORD shall ransom Jacob,
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.
Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
they shall come streaming to the LORD's blessings:
The grain, the wine, and the oil,
the sheep and the oxen.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.

AlleluiaSEE LK 8:15

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart
and yield a harvest through perseverance.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMT 13:18-23

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Hear the parable of the sower.
The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the Kingdom
without understanding it,
and the Evil One comes and steals away
what was sown in his heart.
The seed sown on rocky ground
is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy.
But he has no root and lasts only for a time.
When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
he immediately falls away.
The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word,
but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word
and it bears no fruit.
But the seed sown on rich soil
is the one who hears the word and understands it,
who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold."

 

 

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How's your dirt?

Jesus called us "dirt" in today's Gospel reading. Well okay, he said, "soil," but the point is that if our dirt's fertilized and watered, we become rich soil and we yield a huge, fruitful crop. It's not bad to think of ourselves as dirt as long as we remember that we want to be tilled and seeded.

If our dirt has been trampled down by people who cruelly walked all over us, making us hard and our hearts cynical, and if we remain unhealed of this degrading treatment, the seeds of love that God sows in us are easily stolen away by the devil who is telling us that we don't deserve better treatment or that we must seek revenge.

If our dirt is embedded with rocks, if we're hard-headed and hard-hearted, and if we like throwing hard words at others, the seeds of love that God sows in us won't reach the soft soil underneath where the roots can grow. We need to be pulverized by the hardships of life (and you thought your life shouldn't be so dramatic). The setbacks and persecutions that so easily make us falter in our faith will either harden us or teach us compassion -- it's our choice.

If our dirt is producing hurtful, prickly briers and we're causing others to suffer, the seeds of love get choked by our stubborn disregard of the feelings and needs of others. In preferring self-centeredness, we get strangled by anxieties and stresses and loneliness. We need to prune out the briers and burn the thorns by humbly going to Jesus for help in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and, when possible, by personally reconciling with those we've hurt.

If our dirt is fertile ground for new growth, and if we let God nourish us with his Word and refresh us with his healing waters, God's love will sprout within us, our awareness of being loved will grow and blossom and we'll produce a bountiful harvest of great love for others.

How's your dirt? The next time you feel ashamed because of something you've done (the next time you feel dirty), ask yourself what kind of soil this is. If you're letting God hoe you, you'll soon be sprouting seeds that will eventually bless many people!

Today's Prayer

My Lord, give me the necessary strength and faith to leave behind everything that blocks me from following You and from letting you work in me the wonderful change You want to make in my life. Amen.

God Bless You.....

Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”