The school of Christ is the school of charity.
On the last day, when the general examination takes place, there will be no question at all on the text of Aristotle, the aphorisms of Hippocrates, or the paragraphs of Justinian. Charity will be the whole syllabus.
~~St. Robert Bellermine
The school of Christ is the school of charity.
On the last day, when the general examination takes place, there will be no question at all on the text of Aristotle, the aphorisms of Hippocrates, or the paragraphs of Justinian. Charity will be the whole syllabus.
~~St. Robert Bellermine
Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 373
Reading 1
The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
“Fear not, Abram!
I am your shield;
I will make your reward very great.”
But Abram said,
“O Lord GOD, what good will your gifts be,
if I keep on being childless
and have as my heir the steward of my house, Eliezer?”
Abram continued,
“See, you have given me no offspring,
and so one of my servants will be my heir.”
Then the word of the LORD came to him:
“No, that one shall not be your heir;
your own issue shall be your heir.”
He took him outside and said:
“Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.
Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.”
Abram put his faith in the LORD,
who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.
He then said to him,
“I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans
to give you this land as a possession.”
“O Lord GOD,” he asked,
“how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
He answered him,
“Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat,
a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
Abram brought him all these, split them in two,
and placed each half opposite the other;
but the birds he did not cut up.
Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses,
but Abram stayed with them.
As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram,
and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him.
When the sun had set and it was dark,
there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch,
which passed between those pieces.
It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram,
saying: “To your descendants I give this land,
from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River the Euphrates.”
Responsorial Psalm
R. (8a) The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name;
make known among the nations his deeds.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
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. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations—
Which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Remain in me, as I remain in you, says the Lord;
whoever remains in me will bear much fruit.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing,
but underneath are ravenous wolves.
By their fruits you will know them.
Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Just so, every good tree bears good fruit,
and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down
and thrown into the fire.
So by their fruits you will know them.”
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The Shield of God's Love
God says to Abram -- and to us -- in our first reading today, "I am your shield; I will make your reward very great." What does it mean for God to be our shield? And what does this have to do with getting rewards?
Jesus says in today's Gospel reading that we need to guard against -- be shielded from -- false prophets, i.e., people who lead us away from the truth, taking us on a side trip off the narrow road of holiness.
At first thought, we might assume that Jesus the Good Shepherd should shield us from the wolves who make our lives difficult and painful. But that's the mentality of a person who's caught in the snare of modern society; we want everything to be done for us. Jesus didn't say he will keep the wolves from coming into our lives. He said, "Watch out!"
If we're not watching, if we're not vigilantly on the alert at all times, we let our shields down. And what is the shield? God is our shield, but to keep him in front where he protects us, we must have a good relationship with him. That requires conscious and constant effort. When we take our eyes off of Jesus, we become vulnerable to lies and deceptions and the trickery of false prophets.
The shield is not a barrier against pain. Look at Jesus on the cross: Even there he remained shielded! The shield is a barrier against becoming a sinner when the wolves attack.
God is always extending his protection to us. How often have we ended up in a painful mess, only to look back and realize that he had warned us to turn and go in a different direction? Other times, he leads us right to a wolf, but not before preparing us to safely stand up to it.
How well we handle each situation depends on how well we use what God provides. Do we work our way through it with love, forgiveness, patience, humble discernment of God's will, and the energy to go the extra mile? If our relationship with God is good, we're shielded from worsening the problem. We're shielded from contributing to the sin.
The goal is not to avoid the wolves. The true goal of Christian living is to recognize the wolves and remain in God's love and holiness. Then, when he tells us to move on to a safer pasture, we follow him. But more importantly, when the wolves experience his love reaching out to them through us, some of them will be converted into lambs!
The rewards for remaining behind the shield of God's love are indeed great.
Today's Prayer
Lord Jesus, May Your Word produce plentiful fruits of salvation in me and through me. Make me an instrument of Your Spirit of Love to serve the plans of God the Father. Amen.
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God Bless You.....
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