Wednesday - July 11, 2018
Truly, matters in the world are in a bad state; but if you and I begin in earnest to reform ourselves, a really good beginning will have been made.
~~St. Peter of Alcantara
July 11, 2018
Memorial of Saint Benedict, Abbot
Lectionary: 385
Reading 1HOS 10:1-3, 7-8, 12
Israel is a luxuriant vine
whose fruit matches its growth.
The more abundant his fruit,
the more altars he built;
The more productive his land,
the more sacred pillars he set up.
Their heart is false,
now they pay for their guilt;
God shall break down their altars
and destroy their sacred pillars.
If they would say,
“We have no king”—
Since they do not fear the LORD,
what can the king do for them?
The king of Samaria shall disappear,
like foam upon the waters.
The high places of Aven shall be destroyed,
the sin of Israel;
thorns and thistles shall overgrow their altars.
Then they shall cry out to the mountains, “Cover us!”
and to the hills, “Fall upon us!”
“Sow for yourselves justice,
reap the fruit of piety;
break up for yourselves a new field,
for it is time to seek the LORD,
till he come and rain down justice upon you.”
whose fruit matches its growth.
The more abundant his fruit,
the more altars he built;
The more productive his land,
the more sacred pillars he set up.
Their heart is false,
now they pay for their guilt;
God shall break down their altars
and destroy their sacred pillars.
If they would say,
“We have no king”—
Since they do not fear the LORD,
what can the king do for them?
The king of Samaria shall disappear,
like foam upon the waters.
The high places of Aven shall be destroyed,
the sin of Israel;
thorns and thistles shall overgrow their altars.
Then they shall cry out to the mountains, “Cover us!”
and to the hills, “Fall upon us!”
“Sow for yourselves justice,
reap the fruit of piety;
break up for yourselves a new field,
for it is time to seek the LORD,
till he come and rain down justice upon you.”
Responsorial PsalmPS105:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
R. (4b) Seek always the face of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
R. Seek always the face of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. Seek always the face of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the LORD, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail.
R. Seek always the face of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
R. Seek always the face of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. Seek always the face of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the LORD, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail.
R. Seek always the face of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaMK 1:15
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Kingdom of God is at hand:
repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Kingdom of God is at hand:
repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 10:1-7
Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and every illness.
The names of the Twelve Apostles are these:
first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew;
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
Philip and Bartholomew,
Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;
James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus;
Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot
who betrayed Jesus.
Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,
“Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and every illness.
The names of the Twelve Apostles are these:
first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew;
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
Philip and Bartholomew,
Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;
James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus;
Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot
who betrayed Jesus.
Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,
“Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
******************************
GETTING RID OF SACRED PILLARS
Sometimes, the best way to pray for someone who needs conversion is to ask God to remove all the "sacred pillars" upon which this person has been leaning, the substitutes that have kept them from having a genuine friendship with the Lord.
Like the Israelites in today's first reading, many who resist God today are those who are fruitful in their worldly endeavors. They accumulate wealth, influential friends, or high-ranking jobs. The more successful they are, the less they recognize a need for God. They live as if they are God. They trust in their sacred pillars more than they trust in God. They see no reason to lean on God.
And there are adults who are simply too young and inexperienced to have discovered their need for God. They lean on their dreams, thinking that they are special enough to have everything they want simply by wanting it.
We all lean on wrong supports from time to time. God gives us talents and skills and training so that we can be successful, but we don't always use them in the endeavors that he has chosen for us -- endeavors that are better for our souls, our families, the world and the kingdom of heaven.
When praying for ourselves, we should ask God to remove the sacred pillars that contribute to the illusion that we can ignore him: the pillars of self-reliance, and the pillars of excuses and rationalizations that allow us to think we're fine when we're actually sinning.
Then watch out! The harder we've been leaning on these pillars, the harder we fall. Some folks have to fall a long way down to reach bottom before they will look up and cry out to God for help.
But God is gentle. God in his great mercy gives everyone many opportunities to turn to him before crashing. Then, if nothing leads to a breakthrough, God will eventually "break down their altars and destroy their sacred pillars."
Failures and fallings are really great blessings. "Break up for yourselves a new field, for it is time to seek the Lord." Let your old crop be destroyed no matter how much you feel like resisting the change. Start plowing with Jesus. Let go of what you have been trying to accomplish, for you are reaping from the bad seeds that you had sowed.
Notice the uplifting message that Jesus gives us in today's Gospel reading. "The reign of God is at hand!" Take seeds from Jesus and sow the reign of God into the fields of your failures, for miracles will spring from the new ground and the harvest will be awesome!
Jesus, I praise You for all the fallings You permitted in my life, because through them I gained a new understanding of Your love and mercy. May Your will be always fulfilled in me. 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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