Wednesday - August 01, 2018
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
August 1, 2018
Saint Alphonsus Liguouri, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 403
Reading 1JER 15:10, 16-21
Woe to me, mother, that you gave me birth!
a man of strife and contention to all the land!
I neither borrow nor lend,
yet all curse me.
When I found your words, I devoured them;
they became my joy and the happiness of my heart,
Because I bore your name,
O LORD, God of hosts.
I did not sit celebrating
in the circle of merrymakers;
Under the weight of your hand I sat alone
because you filled me with indignation.
Why is my pain continuous,
my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
You have indeed become for me a treacherous brook,
whose waters do not abide!
Thus the LORD answered me:
If you repent, so that I restore you,
in my presence you shall stand;
If you bring forth the precious without the vile,
you shall be my mouthpiece.
Then it shall be they who turn to you,
and you shall not turn to them;
And I will make you toward this people
a solid wall of brass.
Though they fight against you,
they shall not prevail,
For I am with you,
to deliver and rescue you, says the LORD.
I will free you from the hand of the wicked,
and rescue you from the grasp of the violent.
a man of strife and contention to all the land!
I neither borrow nor lend,
yet all curse me.
When I found your words, I devoured them;
they became my joy and the happiness of my heart,
Because I bore your name,
O LORD, God of hosts.
I did not sit celebrating
in the circle of merrymakers;
Under the weight of your hand I sat alone
because you filled me with indignation.
Why is my pain continuous,
my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
You have indeed become for me a treacherous brook,
whose waters do not abide!
Thus the LORD answered me:
If you repent, so that I restore you,
in my presence you shall stand;
If you bring forth the precious without the vile,
you shall be my mouthpiece.
Then it shall be they who turn to you,
and you shall not turn to them;
And I will make you toward this people
a solid wall of brass.
Though they fight against you,
they shall not prevail,
For I am with you,
to deliver and rescue you, says the LORD.
I will free you from the hand of the wicked,
and rescue you from the grasp of the violent.
Responsorial PsalmPS 59:2-3, 4, 10-11, 17, 18
R. (17d) God is my refuge on the day of distress.
Rescue me from my enemies, O my God;
from my adversaries defend me.
Rescue me from evildoers;
from bloodthirsty men save me.
R. God is my refuge on the day of distress.
For behold, they lie in wait for my life;
mighty men come together against me,
Not for any offense or sin of mine, O LORD.
R. God is my refuge on the day of distress.
O my strength! for you I watch;
for you, O God, are my stronghold,
As for my God, may his mercy go before me;
may he show me the fall of my foes.
R. God is my refuge on the day of distress.
But I will sing of your strength
and revel at dawn in your mercy;
You have been my stronghold,
my refuge in the day of distress.
R. God is my refuge on the day of distress.
O my strength! your praise will I sing;
for you, O God, are my stronghold,
my merciful God!
R. God is my refuge on the day of distress.
Rescue me from my enemies, O my God;
from my adversaries defend me.
Rescue me from evildoers;
from bloodthirsty men save me.
R. God is my refuge on the day of distress.
For behold, they lie in wait for my life;
mighty men come together against me,
Not for any offense or sin of mine, O LORD.
R. God is my refuge on the day of distress.
O my strength! for you I watch;
for you, O God, are my stronghold,
As for my God, may his mercy go before me;
may he show me the fall of my foes.
R. God is my refuge on the day of distress.
But I will sing of your strength
and revel at dawn in your mercy;
You have been my stronghold,
my refuge in the day of distress.
R. God is my refuge on the day of distress.
O my strength! your praise will I sing;
for you, O God, are my stronghold,
my merciful God!
R. God is my refuge on the day of distress.
AlleluiaJN 15:15B
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I call you my friends, says the Lord,
for I have made known to you all that the Father has told me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I call you my friends, says the Lord,
for I have made known to you all that the Father has told me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 13:44-46
Jesus said to his disciples:
"The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,
which a person finds and hides again,
and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
searching for fine pearls.
When he finds a pearl of great price,
he goes and sells all that he has and buys it."
"The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,
which a person finds and hides again,
and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
searching for fine pearls.
When he finds a pearl of great price,
he goes and sells all that he has and buys it."
******************************
Finding Hidden Treasures
Like the author of today's first reading, we believe that God's Word brings us joy, but when we're in the middle of problems that were caused by our sins and we don't know how to undo the damage, or when shame cripples us, we feel unhappily crushed by the truth. We feel stricken down by the weight of the burden.
Furthermore, if we wrestle with the truth, the burden weighs even more heavily, and the problems themselves crush us. We cry, "Why is my pain continuous, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?"
God answers: "If you repent, I will restore you .... If you bring forth only what is precious and not the vile ...."
We lose our joy when God's instructions are contrary to our self-centered, worldly (and therefore vile) ideas of what is right and good for us. We turn away from him and then wonder why we feel alone. When someone hurts us, we justify our anger and, in our lack of forgiveness, we complain that God is not helping us.
The pearl in today's Gospel reading can be any truth. Although it's always precious, if we don't see the pearl's value (because we prefer a sinful alternative), we toss it aside as worthless. To discover the beauty of any truth that we dislike, we need to humbly open ourselves to a new perspective.
I learned this from my son when he was four. David thought he'd found the jackpot of all treasure caches when we came upon a clearance table in the local toy store. I told David he could buy anything priced under $2. With as much careful decision-making as a tot could muster, he began rummaging and examining. He chose a scratched-up, much-abused, hand-size pinball game. It wasn't worth the asking price of 25 cents.
I suggested other toys that were in better condition. He looked at me with exasperation. Why couldn't I see that this pinball game was the only real treasure on the table?
It turned out to be a great purchase. David took it everywhere -- to bed, to the dinner table, to the bathroom. He also carried a baby rattle he'd recently found in some forgotten cranny of the house. That rattle had bored him in earlier years. Now when it was outdated and useless, it became one of his treasures.
To find the treasures that will bring us great joy, we have to ignore the preferences of our worldly flesh-nature and dare to trust God in his Word. We have to look for precious pearls in the redemption that Jesus brings to our sins. Great wisdom can be gained by asking: "Why am I bothered by this sin? What does it say about my desire for growth?" What a beautiful hidden treasure!
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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