Posted on 07/15/2017 7:35:57 PM PDT by Salvation
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From: Isaiah 55:10-11
Epilogue: Invitation to Partake of the Banquet of the Lord’s Covenant
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Commentary:
55:10-11. The prophet uses comparisons that are particularly meaningful to those
who live in the arid countries of the East, to describe how very powerful the word
of God is: it actually delivers the salvation that it promises. The personified word
of God (cf. Wis 8:4; 9:9-10; 18:14-15) is a figure of the incarnation of Jesus Christ,
the eternal Word of the Father, who comes down to save mankind. “The Word of
God, he says, will not return to him empty and barren; rather, it will flourish in all
things, nourished by the good deeds of those who obey and fulfill his teachings.
The word is fulfilled when it is put into practice; if it is not put into practice, it re-
mains barren and withered and starved. Listen carefully, then, when he tells of
the food that nourishes him: ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me’ (Jn 4:
34)” (St Bernard, “In Cantica Canticorum”, 71, 12-13).
*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
From: Romans 8:18-23
Christians are Children of God (Continuation)
[19] For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God;
[20] for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of
him who subjected it in hope; [21] because the creation itself will be set free from
its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. [22]
We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now;
[23] and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the
Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bo-
dies.
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Commentary:
18. “Who is there then”, St Cyprian comments, “who will not strive to attain so
great a glory, by making himself God’s friend, to rejoice immediately with Christ,
to receive the divine rewards after the pains and sufferings of this life? If it is glo-
rious for soldiers of this world to return to their fatherland victorious after defeating
the enemy, how much greater and more pleasing glory will there not be, once the
devil is overcome, to return victorious to heaven [...]; to bear with one the trophies
of victory [...]; to sit at God’s side when he comes to judge, to be a co-heir with
Christ, to be made equal to the angels and to enjoy with the Patriarchs, with the
Apostles and with the Prophets the possession of the Kingdom of heaven [...].
A spirit secure in these supernatural thoughts stays strong and firm, and is un-
moved by the attacks of demons and the threats of this world, a spirit streng-
hened by a solid and confident faith in the future [...]. It leaves here with dignity
and confidence, rejoicing in one moment to close its eyes which looked on men
and the world, and to see God and Christ! [...]. These are the thoughts the mind
should have, this is how it ought to reflect, night and day. If persecution finds
God’s soldier prepared in this manner, there will be no power capable of overco-
ming a spirit so equipped for the struggle” (”Epist. ad Fortunatum”, 13).
19-21. To make his point more vividly St Paul, in a metaphor, depicts the whole
of creation, the material universe, as a living person, groaning in pain impatiently
waiting for a future event, raising its head, straining to see something appear
on the horizon.
The material world is indeed, through God’s design, linked to man and his desti-
ny. “Sacred Scripture teaches that man was created ‘in the image of God,’ as
able to know and love his Creator, and as set by him over all earthly creatures
that he might rule them, and make use of them, while glorifying God” (Vatican II,
“Gaudium Et Spes”, 12). The futility to which creation is subject is not so much
corruption and death as the disorder resulting from sin. According to God’s plan
material things should be resources which enable man to attain the ultimate
goal of his existence. By using them in a disordered way, disconnecting them
from God, man turns them into instruments of sin, which therefore are subject
to the consequences of sin.
“Are we of the twentieth century not convinced of the overpoweringly eloquent
words of the Apostle of the Gentiles concerning the ‘creation (that) has been
groaning in travail together until now’ and ‘waits with eager longing for the revea-
ling of the sons of God’, the creation that’ was subjected to futility’? Does not the
previously unknown immense progress — which has taken place especially in the
course of this century — in the field of man’s dominion over the world itself reveal
— to a previously unknown degree—that manifold subjection ‘to futility’? [...] The
world of the previously unattained conquests of science and technology — is it
not also the world ‘groaning in travail’ that ‘waits with eager longing for the revea-
ling of the sons of God’?” (Bl. John Paul II, “Redemptor Hominis”, 8).
Reestablishment of the order willed by God, bringing the whole world to fulfill its
true purpose, is the particular mission of the Holy Spirit, the Giver of Life, the true
Lord of history: “’The arm of the Lord has not been shortened.’ God is no less po-
werful today than he was in other times; his love for man is no less true. Our faith
teaches us that all creation, the movement of the earth and the other heavenly bo-
dies, the good actions of creatures and all the good that has been achieved in his-
tory, in short everything, comes from God and is directed toward him.
“The action of the Holy Spirit may pass unnoticed because God does not reveal
to us his plans, and because man’s sin obscures the divine gifts. But faith tells
us that God is always acting. He has created us and maintains us in existence,
and he is leading all creation by his grace towards the glorious freedom of the
children of God” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 130).
*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
From: Matthew 13:1-23
Parable of the Sower
[10] Then the disciples came and said to Him (Jesus), “Why do You speak to
them in parables?” [11] And He answered them, “To you it has been given to
know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it has not been given.
[12] For to him who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from
him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. [13] This is why I speak
to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not
hear, nor do they understand. [14] With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of
Isaiah which says: `You shall indeed hear but never understand, and you shall
indeed see but never perceive. [15] For this people’s heart has grown dull, and
their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should
perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart,
and turn for me to heal them.’
[16] But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. [17]
Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you
see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
[18] “Hear then the parable of the sower. [19] When any one hears the Word of
the Kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away
what is sown in his heart; this is what was sown along the path. [20] As for what
was sown on rocky ground, this is he who hears the Word and immediately re-
ceives it with joy; [21] yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and
when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the Word, immediately he
falls away. [22] As for what was sown among thorns, this is he who hears the
Word, but the cares of the world and the delight in riches choke the Word, and
it proves unfruitful. [23] As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears
the Word and understands it; he indeed bears fruit, and yields, in one case a
hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
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Commentary:
3. Chapter 13 of St. Matthew includes as many as seven of Jesus’ parables,
which is the reason why it is usually called “the parable discourse” or the “para-
bolic discourse”. Because of their similarity of content and setting these para-
bles are often called the “Kingdom parables”, and also the “parables of the Lake”,
because Jesus taught them on the shore of Lake Gennesaret. Jesus uses these
elaborate comparisons (parables) to explain certain features of the Kingdom of
God which He has come to establish (cf. Matthew 3:2)—its tiny, humble origins;
its steady growth; its worldwide scope; its salvific force. God calls everyone to
salvation but only those attain it who receive God’s call with good dispositions
and who do not change their attitude; the value of the spiritual benefits the King-
dom brings—so valuable that one should give up everything to obtain them; the
fact that good and bad are all mixed together until the harvest time, or the time
of God’s judgment; the intimate connection between earthly and heavenly as-
pects of the Kingdom, until it reaches its point of full development at the end of
time.
On Jesus’ lips, parables are exceptionally effective. By using parables He keeps
His listeners’ attention, whether they are uneducated or not, and by means of the
most ordinary things of daily life He sheds light on the deepest supernatural mys-
teries. He used the parable device in a masterly way; His parables are quite
unique; they carry the seal of His personality; through them He has graphically
shown us the riches of grace, the life of the Church, the demands of the faith and
even the mystery of God’s own inner life.
Jesus’ teaching continues to provide every generation with light and guidance on
moral conduct. By reading and reflecting on His parables one can savor the ado-
rable humanity of the Savior, who showed such kindness to the people who crow-
ded around to hear Him—and who shows the same readiness to listen to our pra-
yers, despite our dullness, and to reply to our healthy curiosity when we try to
make out His meaning.
3-8. Anyone who has visited the fertile plain to the west of the Lake of Gennesa-
ret will appreciate Jesus’ touching description in the parable of the sower. The
plain is crisscrossed by paths; it is streaked with rocky ground, often with the
rocks lying just beneath the surface, and with the courses of rivulets, dry for most
of the year but still retaining some moisture. Here and there are clumps of large
thorn bushes. When the agricultural worker sows seed in this mixed kind of land,
he knows that some seed will fare better than others.
9. Jesus did not explain this parable there and then. It was quite usual for para-
bles to be presented in the first instance as a kind of puzzle to gain the listener’s
attention, excite his curiosity and fix the parable in his memory. It may well be
that Jesus wanted to allow his more interested listeners to identify themselves by
coming back to hear Him again—as happened with His disciples. The rest—who
listened out of idle curiosity or for too human reasons (to see Him work miracles)
—would not benefit from hearing a more detailed and deeper explanation of the
parable.
10-13. The kind of Kingdom Jesus was going to establish did not suit the Juda-
ism of His time, largely because of the Jew’s nationalistic, earthbound idea of the
Messiah to come. In His preaching Jesus takes account of the different outlooks
of His listeners, as can be seen in the attitudes described in the parable of the
sower. If people were well disposed to Him, the enigmatic nature of the parable
would stimulate their interest; and Jesus later did give His many disciples a fuller
explanation of its meaning; but there was no point in doing this if people were not
ready to listen.
Besides, parables—as indeed any type of comparison or analogy—are used to re-
veal or explain something which is not easy to understand, as was the case with
the supernatural things Jesus was explaining. One has to shade one’s eyes to
see things if the sun is too bright; otherwise, one is blinded and sees nothing.
Similarly, parables help to shade supernatural brightness to allow the listener to
grasp meaning without being blinded by it.
These verses also raise a very interesting question: how can divine revelation and
grace produce such widely differing responses in people? What is at work here
is the mystery of divine grace—which is an unmerited gift—and of man’s response
to this grace. What Jesus says here underlines man’s responsibility to be ready
to accept God’s grace and to respond to it. Jesus’ reference to Isaiah (Matthew
13:14-15) is a prophecy of that hardness of heart which is a punishment meted
out to those who resist grace.
These verses need to be interpreted in the light of three points: 1) Jesus Christ
loved everyone, including people of His own home town: He gave His life in order
to save all men; 2) the parable is a literary form designed to get ideas across
clearly: its ultimate aim is to teach, not to mislead or obscure; 3) lack of appre-
ciation for divine grace is something blameworthy, which does merit punishment;
however, Jesus did not come directly to punish anyone, but rather to save every-
one.
12. Jesus is addressing His disciples and explaining to them that, precisely
because they have faith in Him and want to have a good grasp of His teaching,
they will be given a deeper understanding of divine truths. But those who do not
“follow Him” (cf. note on Matthew 4:18-22) will later lose interest in the things of
God and will grow ever blinder: it is as if the little they have is being taken away
from them.
This verse also helps us understand the meaning of the parable of the sower, a
parable which gives a wonderful explanation of the supernatural economy of di-
vine grace: God gives grace, and man freely responds to that grace. The result
is that those who respond to grace generously receive additional grace and so
grow steadily in grace and holiness; whereas those who reject God’s gifts be-
come closed up within themselves; through their selfishness and attachment to
sin they eventually lose God’s grace entirely. In this verse, then, our Lord gives
a clear warning: with the full weight of His divine authority He exhorts us—without
taking away our freedom—to act responsibly: the gifts God keeps sending us
should yield fruit; we should make good use of the opportunities for Christian
sanctification which are offered us in the course of our lives.
14-15. Only well-disposed people grasp the meaning of God’s words. It is not
enough just to hear them physically. In the course of Jesus’ preaching the pro-
phetic words of Isaiah come true once again.
However, we should not think that not wanting to hear or to understand was
something exclusive to certain contemporaries of Jesus; each one of us is at
times hard of hearing, hard-hearted and dull-minded in the presence of God’s
grace and saving word. Moreover, it is not enough to be familiar with the tea-
ching of the Church: it is absolutely necessary to put the faith into practice,
with all that that implies, morally and ascetically. Jesus was fixed to the wood
of the Cross not only by nails and by the sins of certain Jews but also by our
sins — sins committed centuries later but which afflicted the Sacred Humanity
of Jesus Christ, who bore the burden of our sins. See the note on Mark 4:11-
12.
16-17. In contrast with the closed attitude of many Jews who witnessed Jesus’
life but did not believe in Him, the disciples are praised by our Lord for their doci-
lity to grace, their openness to recognizing Him as the Messiah and to accep-
ting His teaching.
He calls His disciples blessed, happy. As He says, the prophets and just men
and women of the Old Testament had for centuries lived in hope of enjoying one
day the peace the future Messiah would bring, but they had died without expe-
riencing this good fortune. Simeon, towards the end of his long life, was filled
with joy on seeing the infant Jesus when He was presented in the temple: “He
took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said, `Lord now lettest Thou Thy
servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; for mine eyes have seen Thy
salvation’” (Luke 2:28-30). During our Lord’s public life, His disciples were fortu-
nate enough to see and be on close terms with Him; later they would recall that
incomparable gift, and one of them would begin his first letter in these words:
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen
with our own eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands,
concerning the word of life; [...] that which we have seen and heard we proclaim
also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with
the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing this that our [or
your] joy may be complete (1 John 1:1-4).
This exceptional good fortune was, obviously, not theirs but of special merit: God
planned it; it was He who decided that the time had come for the Old Testament
prophecies to be fulfilled. In any event, God gives every soul opportunities to meet
Him: each of us has to be sensitive enough to grasp them and not let them pass.
There were many men and women in Palestine who saw and heard the incarnate
Son of God but did not have the spiritual sensitivity to see in Him what the Apos-
tles and disciples saw.
19. He does not understand because he does not love—not because he is not cle-
ver enough: lack of love opens the door of the soul to the devil.
*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading | Isaiah 55:10-11 © |
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Responsorial Psalm |
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Psalm 64(65):10-14 © |
Second reading | Romans 8:18-23 © |
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Gospel Acclamation | 1S3:9,Jn6:68 |
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Or |
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Gospel | Matthew 13:1-23 © |
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A sower went out to sow |
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Alternative Gospel | Matthew 13:1-9 © |
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A sower went out to sow |
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Pray for Pope Francis.
Is This Bishop Right about the Rosary Conquering Boko Haram? [Catholic Caucus]
Why Boko Haram and ISIS Target Women
Report reveals scale of Boko Haram violence inflicted on Nigerian Catholics
Military evacuating girls, women rescued from Boko Haram
Echos of Lepanto Nigerian bishop says rosary will bring down Boko Harm
After vision of Christ, Nigerian bishop says rosary will bring down Boko Haram (Catholic Caucus)
Nigerian Bishop Says Christ Showed Him How to Beat Islamic Terror Group
We thank you, God our Father, for those who have responded to your call to priestly ministry.
Accept this prayer we offer on their behalf: Fill your priests with the sure knowledge of your love.
Open their hearts to the power and consolation of the Holy Spirit.
Lead them to new depths of union with your Son.
Increase in them profound faith in the Sacraments they celebrate as they nourish, strengthen and heal us.
Lord Jesus Christ, grant that these, your priests, may inspire us to strive for holiness by the power of their example, as men of prayer who ponder your word and follow your will.
O Mary, Mother of Christ and our mother, guard with your maternal care these chosen ones, so dear to the Heart of your Son.
Intercede for our priests, that offering the Sacrifice of your Son, they may be conformed more each day to the image of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Saint John Vianney, universal patron of priests, pray for us and our priests
This icon shows Jesus Christ, our eternal high priest.
The gold pelican over His heart represents self-sacrifice.
The border contains an altar and grapevines, representing the Mass, and icons of Melchizedek and St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney.
Melchizedek: king of righteousness (left icon) was priest and king of Jerusalem. He blessed Abraham and has been considered an ideal priest-king.
St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney is the patron saint of parish priests.
1. Sign of the Cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
2. The Apostles Creed: I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
3. The Lord's Prayer: OUR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
4. (3) Hail Mary: HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)
5. Glory Be: GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
6. Fatima Prayer: Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.
Announce each mystery, then say 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, 1 Glory Be and 1 Fatima prayer. Repeat the process with each mystery.
End with the Hail Holy Queen:
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears! Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus!
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Final step -- The Sign of the Cross
The Mysteries of the Rosary By tradition, Catholics meditate on these Mysteries during prayers of the Rosary. The biblical references follow each of the Mysteries below.
The Glorious Mysteries
(Wednesdays and Sundays)
1.The Resurrection (Matthew 28:1-8, Mark 16:1-18, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-29) [Spiritual fruit - Faith]
2. The Ascension (Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:6-11) [Spiritual fruit - Christian Hope]
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-13) [Spiritual fruit - Gifts of the Holy Spirit]
4. The Assumption [Spiritual fruit - To Jesus through Mary]
5. The Coronation [Spiritual fruit - Grace of Final Perseverance]
St. Michael the Archangel
~ PRAYER ~
St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle
Be our protection against the wickedness
and snares of the devil;
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
Cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen
+
A Prayer for PriestsO my God, help those priests who are faithful to remain faithful; to those who are falling, stretch forth Your Divine Hand that they may grasp it as their support. In the great ocean of Your mercy, lift those poor unfortunate ones who have fallen, that being engulfed therein they may receive the grace to return to Your Great Loving Heart. Amen. Precious Blood of Jesus, protect them!
The Most Precious Blood of Jesus
July is traditionally associated with the Precious Blood of Our Lord. It may be customary to celebrate the votive Mass of the Precious Blood on July 1.
The extraordinary importance of the saving Blood of Christ has ensured a central place for its memorial in the celebration of this cultic mystery: at the centre of the Eucharistic assembly, in which the Church raises up to God in thanksgiving "the cup of blessing" (1 Cor 10, 16; cf Ps 115-116, 13) and offers it to the faithful as a "real communion with the Blood of Christ" (1 Cor 10, 16); and throughout the Liturgical Year. The Church celebrates the saving Blood of Christ not only on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, but also on many other occasions, such that the cultic remembrance of the Blood of our redemption (cf 1 Pt 1, 18) pervades the entire Liturgical Year. Hence, at Vespers during Christmastide, the Church, addressing Christ, sings: "Nos quoque, qui sancto tuo redempti sumus sanguine, ob diem natalis tui hymnum novum concinimus." In the Paschal Triduum, the redemptive significance and efficacy of the Blood of Christ is continuously recalled in adoration. During the adoration of the Cross on Good Friday the Church sings the hymn: "Mite corpus perforatur, sanguis unde profluit; terra, pontus, astra, mundus quo lavanturflumine", and again on Easter Sunday, "Cuius corpus sanctissimum in ara crucis torridum, sed et cruorem roesum gustando, Deo vivimus (194).
Catholic Word of the Day: LITANY OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD, 09-25-12
ST. GASPAR: Founder of the Society of the Precious Blood
Mass in the Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ (London, 9/18)
Devotion to the Drops of Blood Lost by our Lord Jesus Christ on His Way to Calvary (Prayer/Devotion)
Chaplet of the Most Precious Blood
Catholic Word of the Day: PRECIOUS BLOOD, 12-03-11
The Traditional Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Catholic Caucus)
Devotion to the Precious Blood
DOCTRINE OF THE BLOOD OF CHRIST
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,And More on the Precious Blood
Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ
NOTHING IS MORE POTENT AGAINST EVIL THAN PLEADING THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST
Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus
"Worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word"
O Lord my God, how you possess the words of eternal life, where all mortals will find what they desire if they want to seek it! But what a strange thing, my God, that we forget your words in the madness and sickness our evil deeds cause! O my God,..., author of all creation! And what is creation if You, Lord, should desire to create more? You are almighty; Your works are incomprehensible. Bring it about, then, Lord, that my thoughts not withdraw from Your words.
You say: Come to me all who labor and are burdened, for I will comfort you (Mt 11,28). What more do we want, Lord? What are we asking for? What do we seek? Why are those in the world so unhappy if not because of seeking rest? God help me!... Oh, what great blindness, that we seek rest where it is impossible to find it!
Have mercy, Creator, on these Your creatures. Behold, we don't understand or know what we desire, nor do we obtain what we ask for. Lord, give us light; behold, the need is greater than with the man born blind, for he wanted to see the light and couldn't. Now, Lord, there is no desire to see. Oh, how incurable an illness! Here, my God, is where Your power must be demonstrated; here, Your mercy... I ask You: that You love someone who doesn't love You, that You open to one who doesn't knock, that You give health to one who likes to be sick and goes about looking for sickness. You say, My Lord, that You come to seek sinners (Mt 9,13); these, Lord, are real sinners. Don't look at our blindness, my God, but at all the blood Your Son shed for us. Let Your mercy shine upon evil that has so increased; behold, Lord, we are Your handiwork. May Your goodness and mercy help us.
http://www.theworkofgod.org/Devotns/Euchrist/HolyMass/gospels.asp?key=130
Year A - 15th Sunday in ordinary time
The word of God. The seed, the sower
Matthew 13:1-23
1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.
2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach.
3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow.
4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up.
5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil.
6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away.
7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
9 Let anyone with ears listen!”
10 Then the disciples came and asked him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
11 He answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
12 For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.
13 The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.’
14 With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says: ‘You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive.
15 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and
they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn — and I would heal them.’
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.
17 Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.
18 “Hear then the parable of the sower.
19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path.
20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
21 yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away.
22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing.
23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word
and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” (NRSV)
Inspiration of the Holy Spirit - From the Sacred Heart of Jesus
My word can be compared to a little seed, that falling into fertile soil will germinate and grow; therefore fulfilling the mission that it has been created for. A seed is very small but has a great potential. My word sounds simple as a human word, but coming out of my mouth it is no longer a human word but a divine command.
My word can be compared to a precious stone that a man is looking for with great desire. When he finds it he will be very happy, he will make it his treasure. There is nothing greater in this world than that which will give you eternal life. I am the Word of God, the Savior of the world whose word you must treasure in your heart to give you eternal life and joy.
My word is the eternal word of God, the word that has created everything that has come into existence, my word is the ever powerful live command of God that is always ready to create, to shape, to correct, to build and to sanctify.
Listen you who have ears, but not just listen with your hearing. Listen with your heart since that is the center of your being, it is the spiritual place where my spirit gives life and you can draw life from me. It is in your heart that you keep your treasures, whether they are the affections to your material things or whether they are heavenly things. Where your treasure is, there is your heart. Let me be your treasure, let your heart be in me.
Listen to this word of mine with the reverence that it deserves, understand the power behind that word and take it quickly into your heart, make it your treasure, savor it in your mouth as if it was a delicious delicacy that you want to relish forever, give it the power that it claims and rest assured that my word will perform miracles in your life.
My word is not a human word; it is the word of God. When I said, Let there be light the elements bowed before my power as the Word of God, they formed light. In the same way my word is still alive and active, powerful enough to continue to work in those who take it into their hearts and put it into practice.
Honor my word by studying it, by meditating it, by accepting it and by living by it. My word is like an arrow pointing straight to heaven, my word is the answer to all your questions. Come to me, listen to me, learn from me and live.
Author: Joseph of Jesus and Mary
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