Thursday - July 19, 2018
We should have frequent recourse to prayer, and persevere a long time in it. God wishes to be solicited. He is not weary of hearing us. The treasure of His graces is infinite. We can do nothing more pleasing to him than to beg incessantly that He bestow them upon us.
-- St. John Baptist de la Salle
July 19, 2018
Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 392
Reading 1IS 26:7-9, 12, 16-19
The way of the just is smooth;
the path of the just you make level.
Yes, for your way and your judgments, O LORD,
we look to you;
Your name and your title
are the desire of our souls.
My soul yearns for you in the night,
yes, my spirit within me keeps vigil for you;
When your judgment dawns upon the earth,
the world's inhabitants learn justice.
O LORD, you mete out peace to us,
for it is you who have accomplished all we have done.
O LORD, oppressed by your punishment,
we cried out in anguish under your chastising.
As a woman about to give birth
writhes and cries out in her pains,
so were we in your presence, O LORD.
We conceived and writhed in pain,
giving birth to wind;
Salvation we have not achieved for the earth,
the inhabitants of the world cannot bring it forth.
But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise;
awake and sing, you who lie in the dust.
For your dew is a dew of light,
and the land of shades gives birth.
the path of the just you make level.
Yes, for your way and your judgments, O LORD,
we look to you;
Your name and your title
are the desire of our souls.
My soul yearns for you in the night,
yes, my spirit within me keeps vigil for you;
When your judgment dawns upon the earth,
the world's inhabitants learn justice.
O LORD, you mete out peace to us,
for it is you who have accomplished all we have done.
O LORD, oppressed by your punishment,
we cried out in anguish under your chastising.
As a woman about to give birth
writhes and cries out in her pains,
so were we in your presence, O LORD.
We conceived and writhed in pain,
giving birth to wind;
Salvation we have not achieved for the earth,
the inhabitants of the world cannot bring it forth.
But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise;
awake and sing, you who lie in the dust.
For your dew is a dew of light,
and the land of shades gives birth.
Responsorial PsalmPS 102:13-14AB AND 15, 16-18, 19-21
R. (20b) From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
You, O LORD, abide forever,
and your name through all generations.
You will arise and have mercy on Zion,
for it is time to pity her.
For her stones are dear to your servants,
and her dust moves them to pity.
R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
The nations shall revere your name, O LORD,
and all the kings of the earth your glory,
When the LORD has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in his glory;
When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
and not despised their prayer.
R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
Let this be written for the generation to come,
and let his future creatures praise the LORD:
"The LORD looked down from his holy height,
from heaven he beheld the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die."
R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
You, O LORD, abide forever,
and your name through all generations.
You will arise and have mercy on Zion,
for it is time to pity her.
For her stones are dear to your servants,
and her dust moves them to pity.
R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
The nations shall revere your name, O LORD,
and all the kings of the earth your glory,
When the LORD has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in his glory;
When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
and not despised their prayer.
R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
Let this be written for the generation to come,
and let his future creatures praise the LORD:
"The LORD looked down from his holy height,
from heaven he beheld the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die."
R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
AlleluiaMT 11:28
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 11:28-30
Jesus said:
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
******************************
FINDING REST IN THE YOKE OF JESUS
Are you weary? Weighed down and exhausted by family problems, trials at work, challenges in ministry, or maybe even spiritual attacks against your soul? Jesus said in today's Gospel passage, "Come to me when you are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you." We can rest by taking his yoke upon us.
What? Sounds like more weight to me!
Jesus' yoke is humility -- i.e., enduring trials with gentleness, patience, forgiveness, going the extra mile. But this seems like a very heavy yoke; how will it refresh us? How could it lighten our loads?
Today's first reading speaks for our yearnings: We long for God's peace. We want a smooth way through rough problems. We feel like the woman in labor, pushing painfully for hours but expelling only gas. (Isaiah used the word "wind", but don't you think he might have been referring to that stinky wind our bodies expel?)
Actually, the restful peace we need is available every moment, because Jesus is with us every moment. In accepting his yoke upon us, we bond ourselves to him. Since he is the stronger one of the team, the weight of the yoke presses more heavily on him than on us. Our burdens feel lighter. If we don't strain against the yoke by pulling Jesus in our own direction, he leads us into the kingdom of everlasting goodness through his power, his strength, and his energy.
Life's pains are easier to endure when we realize there's a bigger picture. As we plow with Jesus through troublesome fields, we are helping to sow the kingdom of God, making a difference for all of eternity. That's awesome! If we could see where Jesus is taking us with our plows, we'd be grateful about the new crop that will grow. But we can't see the future -- if we could, we'd probably ignore the fruitful harvest, focus on the sweat of the labor, drop the yoke and run.
We have to trust, instead, on the promises God is providing for our encouragement: "You will find rest for yourselves," he says. The Bible is full of promises that are guarantees meant to strengthen us and keep us plowing forward through whatever it takes to produce wonderful fruits.
We can either moan and complain about the trials, or we can forgive those who make our lives difficult. Forgiveness is the key to finding the peace of Christ that is rightfully ours. Forgiveness often requires a lot of effort, though, a lot of digging into our humility where we can find the willingness to forgive, a willingness that already exists deep beneath our pain.
The deeper we plow with Jesus, the stronger our muscles become. And the more we use these muscles, the lighter the burden feels.
Lord, I need to be docile to give You my pain and worries, trusting that Your love transforms everything. 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!”
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