In the prophet Malachi's time, prosperity was considered a sign of divine approval. Malachi lamented that evildoers prospered at the expense of those who were just. Malachi wondered why God would bless evildoers and thus blur the distinction between those who obey Him and those who don't. God then taught Malachi how to distinguish between the just and the wicked. It's in the heat of the oven that you can see the distinction between those who obey the Lord wholeheartedly and those who do not. In the furnace of affliction and testing, people are refined into the finest gold or are burned up like a withered branch (Jn 15:5-6). "The day is coming, blazing like an oven...[that] will set [us all] on fire" (Mal 3:19). You can tell the difference between the just and the wicked in the fire. In the oven of affliction and testing, the just Jesus came to set the earth on fire (Lk 12:49) and purify His people. Be willing to be "set aflame and burning bright" so all may see your good works and give God praise (Jn 5:35; Mt 5:16).One Bread, One Body
<< Thursday, October 6, 2011 >>
St. Bruno
Bl. Marie-Rose Durocher
Saint of the Day
Malachi 3:13-20
View ReadingsPsalm 1:1-4, 6
Luke 11:5-13
SELF-CLEANING OVEN
The answer to anyone who talks about the surplus population is to ask him, whether he is part of the surplus population; or if not, how he knows he is not. [1925]
~~G. K. Chesterton