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Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 07-03-16, Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 07-03-16 | Revised New American Bible

Posted on 07/02/2016 8:48:03 PM PDT by Salvation

July 3, 2016

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Is 66:10-14c

Thus says the LORD:
Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad because of her,
all you who love her;
exult, exult with her,
all you who were mourning over her!
Oh, that you may suck fully
of the milk of her comfort,
that you may nurse with delight
at her abundant breasts!
For thus says the LORD:
Lo, I will spread prosperity over Jerusalem like a river,
and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing torrent.
As nurslings, you shall be carried in her arms,
and fondled in her lap;
as a mother comforts her child,
so will I comfort you;
in Jerusalem you shall find your comfort.

When you see this, your heart shall rejoice
and your bodies flourish like the grass;
the LORD's power shall be known to his servants.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20

R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth,
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God, "How tremendous are your deeds!"
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
"Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you,
sing praise to your name!"
Come and see the works of God,
his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
He has changed the sea into dry land;
through the river they passed on foot;
therefore let us rejoice in him.
He rules by his might forever.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer or his kindness!
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.

Reading 2 Gal 6:14-18

Brothers and sisters:
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
through which the world has been crucified to me,
and I to the world.
For neither does circumcision mean anything, nor does uncircumcision,
but only a new creation.
Peace and mercy be to all who follow this rule
and to the Israel of God.

From now on, let no one make troubles for me;
for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit,
brothers and sisters. Amen.

Alleluia Col 3:15a, 16a

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Let the peace of Christ control your hearts;
let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Lk 10:1-12, 17-20

At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he intended to visit.
He said to them,
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;
and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter, first say,
'Peace to this household.'
If a peaceful person lives there,
your peace will rest on him;
but if not, it will return to you.
Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you,
for the laborer deserves his payment.
Do not move about from one house to another.
Whatever town you enter and they welcome you,
eat what is set before you,
cure the sick in it and say to them,
'The kingdom of God is at hand for you.'
Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you,
go out into the streets and say,
'The dust of your town that clings to our feet,
even that we shake off against you.'
Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand.
I tell you,
it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town."

The seventy-two returned rejoicing, and said,
"Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name."
Jesus said, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.
Behold, I have given you the power to 'tread upon serpents' and scorpions
and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,
but rejoice because your names are written in heaven."

Or Lk 10:1-9

At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he intended to visit.
He said to them,
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;
and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter, first say,
'Peace to this household.'
If a peaceful person lives there,
your peace will rest on him;
but if not, it will return to you.
Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you,
for the laborer deserves his payment.
Do not move about from one house to another.
Whatever town you enter and they welcome you,
eat what is set before you,
cure the sick in it and say to them,
'The kingdom of God is at hand for you.'"


TOPICS: Catholic; General Discusssion; Prayer; Worship
KEYWORDS: catholic; evangelization; lk10; ordinarytime; prayer
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To: All

Lk 10: 1-9

Sunday Word: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/070316.cfm


When we travel, especially if it is by plane these days, we want to travel as smoothly and safely as possible.  Our luggage may be far more minimal than in the past, for example.  Still, I recall on a pilgrimage to France about ten years ago, one of our pilgrims was a dear religious sister.  She had always dreamed of traveling to France and Lourdes in particular since her name was Sr. Bernadette. Now, her dream had finally come true.

When we met, she was in a beautiful modified black and white habit, veil and all.  I naturally thought to myself that her luggage would be minimal.  However, when we met at the airport, we all took a double take.  She was hauling two large suitcases along with a carry on and we all wondered, what does she have in there?  She was the type who would wear her habit pretty much all the time and indeed she did.  In fact, she was never not in her religious habit no matter where we went including on the plane of course.  So, what was in those bags?

She stated a second habit and warm coats not knowing what the weather would be like – it was mid-April not mid-January – and personal items.  Well, poor Sister, with some assistance from the men, trekked with the group through thick and thin, on and off planes, busses and trains and through security.  Maybe some helpful advice about traveling light would have been important for her but it was her first trip overseas and indeed she came prepared for anything. So too, our Gospel this Sunday continues even more specific advice about our “travel plans” as we walk the road of discipleship but it’s about less rather than more

For the last two Sunday's we have heard about carrying our daily cross (Lk  9: 18-24), following Jesus without hesitation when he calls in the many ways we hear God's invitation (Lk 9: 51-62) and this weekend about the urgency to move out and make the good news of Jesus known (Lk 10: 1-9). But, in order to follow him, we must be single focused and in the case of those sent out by the Lord, travel lightly, no extra baggage to weigh you down. . Still wouldn’t it be wise for us to prepare for the unexpected; to bring along some provisions and to make extra copies of important documents, etc.  . or isn’t this about something more than just a suitcase?

It is quite daunting on the level of personal conversion.  What Jesus asks of us are great challenges in a world that often speaks so persuasively against sacrifice, simplicity of life, forgiveness, peace, reconciliation, and facing challenges even at the price of personal danger and threats. We are constantly inundated with advice about planning for the future as if everything depends on us alone.

So, Jesus' requirements in the Gospel this Sunday is far more about the message and mission we carry everywhere we go. It is about whose name we bear: Christian. Who we proclaim to follow – Jesus Christ and his Church.  Let nothing hold you back; travel light. Shuck off whatever is causing you to resist sharing the good news of the Gospel: the endless pursuit of wealth and material things, human attachments, lack of a spiritual life, a lazy practice of the faith, personal sin, an unforgiving attitude, prejudice, our own fear and doubt, or whatever is attached to us and prevents the journey we all walk as followers of Christ.

All of this is extra baggage; it weighs us down and resists the conversion to live by Gospel values.  If life seems heavy and complicated it may often be of our own making. How will the world be changed if Catholic/Christians are no different than others around them?  Why should it change if we become invisible and compromised?

In the case of our discipleship on mission, the 72 which Jesus sent out are challenged to rely totally on God's providence: "Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals and greet no one along the way . . ."  How reliant am I on God for all that I need?  Do I trust him as I walk in his ways? Sure, we take responsibility for our lives but in the larger picture, it all depends on him. Am I so filled with fear, anxious, because I do not really trust what God promises? After all, he honestly warns his disciples today: "I am sending you like lambs among wolves." 

Yet, there is urgency about sharing the good news. We do so through the right balance of things in our life: faith and God first, all else is second to that regardless of an alternative message that preaches contrary values. This seems to be the gist of Jesus' travel advice.

The prophet Isaiah in our first reading offers us a comforting image that God will always care for us.  “Oh, that you may suck fully of the milk of her comfort . . .  As nurslings, you shall be carried in her arms, and fondled in her lap; as a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.” Although there are tragic cases of mothers who harm their children, Isaiah’s image of a child in the safe arms of its mother could not be more reassuring.  God is both an ideal father and mother to us. Be not afraid!

Still, on this Independence Day weekend, we are rightly concerned about our safety. Attacks seem to come from all parts of the world that threaten our desire to live as a free and safe people.  The right to live in peace, to freely express our thoughts, hopes and dreams, to freely worship God according to our faith and to be productive citizens of this country is very much on our mind as we celebrate our Independence as a Nation.


Maybe Isaiah’s reassurance of God’s providence and Jesus’ call to trust on this Sunday and in this time can reinforce our faith, rather than threaten it.  We need to do our part absolutely but likewise turn to God for protection in prayer.  The journey we walk today may seem to be more precarious yet the good news of God’s love and mercy is our message.  On that we can rely for all things.  Peace be with you!

O God, who in the abasement of your Son
have raised up a fallen world,
fill your faithful with holy joy, 
for on those you have rescued from slavery to sin
you bestow eternal gladness. 

(Roman Missal: Collect of Mass)

41 posted on 07/03/2016 8:45:26 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Regnum Christi

Set Ablaze for Souls
U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY
July 3, 2016 - Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time


Luke 10:1-9


The Lord appointed 72 others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ´Peace to this household.´ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.

Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ´The kingdom of God is at hand for you.´"

 

Introductory Prayer:


Lord, I bring myself into your presence knowing the zeal of your heart for souls. The glory of your heavenly Father can shape my own heart. I am confident that, just as the 72 lit the flame of their love for their mission from the furnace of your divine love, I can ignite all that is lukewarm and tepid in my own soul today. I desire to fulfill more perfectly the mission you have given me.

 

Petition:


Lord, fill my heart with a holy zeal to make you known to many people!

 


  1. Loving Souls without Limits:


    Contemplate our Lord’s hunger to bring salvation to the many souls whose number exceeds the reach of his humanity. His passionate, driving love for men breaks the confines of his human nature, multiplying his presence in the world. We can be so easily drained by the never-ending needs of those we serve. We can close the door on others with comfortable excuses; we can ignore their needs, for which God wishes to put a solution in our hands.

    Christ’s heart, rather, is expansive and grows with the awareness of the need of men for him. Creatively he brings a divine solution into play to reach more souls, heal more hearts, cure more ills. Does my charity bring me to use all my creativity, intelligence and will-power to meet the needs of those God has entrusted to my care? Does divine wisdom, rooted in prayer, come into play in how I serve others?

 


  1. Christ Is to Be Known through Me:


    Christ uses his divine power to multiply himself, commissioning these disciples to be in effect other Christs in the world. This sending out of the 72 is a critical juncture in the plan of salvation. Here ordinary men, who at one time were simple-hearted recipients of Christ’s redeeming message, are now to be the carriers of that message to others. Yet with all their weaknesses, how could they ever hope to offer others an experience of Christ like that which they themselves experienced, an experience which is so ineffable and sublime? Christ explains: It will be done by their obedience, especially to the details of behavior that he outlines for them.

    It will be done by acting in Christ’s name, knowing that he has commissioned them. It will be accomplished not through their own talents and charismatic personalities, but through the power and grace of God that comes to those who serve him with a pure heart. I can reflect on my own vocation and see that it has its ultimate source in God, not in my own preferences. Knowing God has given me my mission in life, I must, like the 72, purify myself of all self-centeredness and personal ambition in order to respond to his singular invitation. Can others experience Christ through me?

 


  1. In the End, Lambs Conquer:


    Wolves appear when the lamb is present. I should not think that opposition and contradiction mark the end of my mission. Rather, they are a sign of its authenticity. Being a lamb among wolves implies that the wolves are best defeated by the meekness and simplicity with which a disciple of Christ lives his life. A pure and selfless heart does not permit bitterness, resentment and hardship to weaken its commitment.

 

Conversation with Christ:


Lord, I wish to form my heart to be conquering and meek like your own, certain of the victory that awaits those who suffer in doing your will. Grant me the grace never to fall away from your divine commission. Every morning, help me to awaken with a generous and faithful spirit to its beauty and goodness.

 

Resolution:


Today I will put more effort into the details that prove my love for my vocation.

42 posted on 07/03/2016 8:51:51 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

Peace Like a River

Dr. Mark Giszczak

July 3, 2016
First Reading: Isaiah 66:10-14c
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/070316.cfm

Most of life is a struggle and so most of our art and literature is about that struggle. No story is any good unless there’s some tension, an antagonist, some trouble that needs to be resolved. Yet we long for the end of the struggle, the end of all the stories, the end of the one Story writ large. That end, we hope, will be filled with joy—a joy unable to be grasped now, a joy beyond our experience, a joy that consumes all the struggles, all the pain, when “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Rev 7:17 RSV). That ultimate joy is mostly unfathomable, a thing cloaked in mystery or fogged up by our experience of the trials of life. However, every once in a while, we get a glimpse of it, what the experience of God’s presence, of permanent happiness, of total bliss will really be like.

Isaiah Prepares Us for Jerusalem

This Sunday’s first reading from Isaiah gives us such glimpse. The passage comes from the very last chapter of the long book. All of Isaiah’s prophecies have, in some way, been preparing for this moment. He has warned the people against idolatry, predicting God’s judgment. Yet he also has spoken words of encouragement to the exiled people and predicted their glorious return to the Holy Land. His prophecies of literal return to the land overlap with broader concerns about the final direction of history. The literal Jerusalem and the ideal, heavenly Jerusalem weave in and out from one another. While on the one hand, Isaiah is looking forward to a time of literal political restoration after the Babylonian exile of the Jews. On the other hand, he is looking farther into the future of humanity and God’s relationship with his people.

The Climax of Worship

In the immediate context of Isaiah 66, we find a focus on worship. “Thus says the LORD: ‘Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool; what is the house which you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?’” (Isa 66:1 RSV) This opening line sets the tone for the chapter. God’s relationship with his people is centered on worship and so their restoration after the exile culminates in worship, in the building of the literal Temple and the resumption of sacrifices in it. However, here we see a much broader perspective too. God does not dwell on earth, but in heaven. Earth has a lower function, only as his “footstool.” Yet Jerusalem takes on a special role as the nexus between heaven and earth. If you want to be in touch with God, then you must go to Jerusalem.

Jerusalem, Our Mother

Jerusalem, in our reading, is depicted as a mother. The prophet invites us to rejoice at her restoration (66:10). Everyone who had mourned her destruction is now called to celebrate her rebuilding. Not only that, but the prophet calls all her devotees to be like babies in the arms of their spiritual mother, Jerusalem. If you’ve had children, you know there’s nothing more satisfied or happy than a little baby nursing at its mother’s breast. Isaiah uses this image to show how fully delighted all of God’s faithful people will be with the restoration of Jerusalem (66:11). All their hopes will be realized, to the point that they will feel like babies being carried around by their mom (66:12). In this context, Jerusalem’s motherhood is totally joyful—she gives birth before going into labor! (66:7) Mother Jerusalem gives birth to a new nation, a renewed people of God, righteous and holy. Her tender relationship with her children expresses the renewal of God’s relationship with his people. While we might not have a deep relationship with the literal city of Jerusalem, we are called to attend to the Heavenly Jerusalem (see Rev 21:2). And while we might never visit the earthly Jerusalem, we are present there at Calvary at every Mass.

Comfort, Comfort, Comfort

In Isa 66:13, the prophet expresses three times how the people will be “comforted.” This keyword, naham, had shown up in the very first line of the second major portion of Isaiah, the Book of Comfort (in Isa 40:1). Here Isaiah 66, the prophet emphasizes repeatedly how his promise of comfort will come to fulfillment in the restored Jerusalem. We might not think of “comfort” as an important part of our spiritual life, but it might be better to think of it as encouragement, embodied in the Greek term parakaleo which translates the Hebrew, naham. For example, St. Paul encourages us regarding the “God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Cor 1:4 RSV, emphasis added). God wants us to be encouraged by his saving power and in turn to encourage others, even in the midst of persecution.

Peace Like a River

Lastly, Isaiah promises that Jerusalem will experience “peace (shalom) like a river” (Isa 66:12, my trans.), meaning that the city will no longer by overrun by wars with foreign powers. Beyond that, “the wealth of the nations” will flow to Jerusalem (66:12). This would change the regular flow of tribute taxes, where the small nation of Judah would routinely send large sums of money to overlord nations. Now, Isaiah predicts, Jerusalem will actually receive tribute from other nations. This is all part of his larger vision of God’s victory, where in the end, people from all over the world will stream towards Jerusalem to worship (66:18-20). We can see this prophecy coming to fulfillment as people from around the world turn their hearts to the Lord and worship him at the altar.

Throughout this passage, Isaiah points to a day that we long for, when all of the troubles of life are washed away and we finally come into the embrace of God for all eternity. Isaiah’s invitation to worship is the other side of the coin of his earlier warnings against idolatry. Only by rejoicing in what God rejoices in and finding our consolation in his presence can we experience the encouragement and the peace that he longs to give to us. We are blessed to be counted among those who stream towards Jerusalem, bringing our tribute to the King and resting in the arms of our Mother. While no depiction of that ultimate joy can fully fill out the picture for us, Isaiah lets us see just a little of what it will be like to see God face to face and rest in his eternal embrace.

43 posted on 07/03/2016 9:08:31 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation

Scripture Speaks: Ready for the Harvest

Gayle Somers

Jesus sends out seventy-two disciples on a missionary journey, granting them significant spiritual authority. Wasn’t that risky?

Gospel (Read Lk 10:1-12, 17-20)

As Jesus traveled to Jerusalem from Galilee for the last time, St. Luke tells us He commissioned seventy-two disciples “whom He sent ahead of Him in pairs to every town and place He intended to visit.” In His reliance on others to help Him proclaim the kingdom of God, He reminds us of Moses, who commissioned seventy elders to be prophets in Israel during the Exodus (see Num 11:24-25). The Sanhedrin, with its seventy-one elders, modeled itself after this leadership structure. Why seventy? In Genesis, we find that there were seventy nations that formed the foundation of the ancient world. The ministry of approximately seventy disciples, therefore, anticipates a worldwide spread of the Gospel.

Jesus sees the readiness of the “harvest” of God’s people. The world’s long anticipation of Someone to come save it was now being fulfilled. Jesus speaks of the timing as entirely within God’s Providence. Although the “harvest” is “abundant,” it is God Who will choose and send the laborers to reap it. All that led up to the Incarnation in the history of the world, and all that follows from it is in God’s hands.

Jesus gives specific instructions to the disciples. This is to be a brief expedition, because Jesus Himself will follow after their visits. No need to pack and prepare for a long stay. Because of its brevity and urgency, announcing the arrival of Jesus, they must avoid all distractions (“greet no one along the way”). They are to accept the hospitality of those to whom they are sent (“the laborer deserves his payment”). This is the principle, often repeated in the New Testament (see 1 Cor 9:14; 1 Tim 5:18), that those working in the service of the Gospel are to be supported by the beneficiaries of that service. The Church, therefore, following this instruction, obligates her members to contribute to the Church from their earnings (see CCC 2043, 2122). We give our tithes not because the priest asks it of us, but because Jesus does.

The disciples are to cure the sick and to preach the coming of God’s kingdom. Those who do not receive them are to receive a warning. Jews were familiar with this action of shaking dust off their shoes. They did it whenever they traveled into Gentile territory and then returned to the Holy Land. It was a sign that they wanted to separate themselves from the uncleanness of the pagans, who lived outside God’s covenant. For the disciples to use this gesture against Jewish towns that refused to receive them or Jesus would be a strong statement indeed, because it would suggest that the covenant people of God, by this rejection, were actually rejecting that covenant. Stiff medicine!

When the seventy-two returned from their work, what did they first want to tell Jesus? “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of Your Name.” Ah, yes. Might we have expected this? And isn’t this why it was risky for Jesus, then and now, to build His Church through human beings? The disciples returned with heady excitement over the authority they were able to exercise. It can be intoxicating to have power like this. Jesus acknowledges that His kingdom makes advances against the forces of Satan through the laborers in His Church. However, He warns them not to “rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” It will not be apostolic success that matters eternally; it will be the obedience that comes from faith that will write our names (and keep them) in the heavenly “book of life” (see Ex 32:32; Ps 69:28; Dan 12:1; Rev 3:5). Jesus was willing to take the risks that come with building a human Church, sharing His authority and power with mere men. What a remarkable statement of God’s love for the creatures made in His image and likeness. May He give us grace to walk worthy of it.

Possible response: Lord Jesus, help me stay focused on doing what You ask of me, not on the outcome.

First Reading (Read Isa 66:10-14c)

This reading comes from a portion of Isaiah’s prophecy in which he foretells a great restoration of Jerusalem, home to God’s covenant people. This would come after its utter devastation from Babylonian conquest, punishment for sin. Jerusalem will be a place of delight, abundance, comfort, and joy. When was this fulfilled? It began to be fulfilled in our Gospel reading, when Jesus sent His disciples out to cure the sick and preach about the coming of Jesus. That was a time when “the Lord’s power shall be known to His servants.” The prophecy continues to be fulfilled not in the earthly, geographic city of modern-day Jerusalem but in the worldwide Church, the kingdom of God’s covenant people that stretches over all the earth. This kingdom pushes back and defeats Satan wherever it flourishes; its members are safe and blessed as a child in his mother’s arms. Not for nothing do we call the Church our “Mother.”

Possible response: Heavenly Father, thank You for keeping Your promise to restore and renew a home for Your people, all the way from the Garden of Eden and into eternity.

Psalm (Read Ps 66:1-7, 16, 20)

When we work through our lectionary readings, we certainly have cause for joy, don’t we? If we comprehend how momentous it is that Jesus came to fulfill God’s promises of old and to build a secure kingdom that will stretch into eternity, we will want to join the psalmist and say, “Come and see the works of God, His tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.” That is precisely what the seventy-two disciples experienced on their thrilling missionary journey. Understanding this, we are quite ready to sing: “Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.”

Possible response: The psalm is, itself, a response to our other readings. Read it again prayerfully to make it your own.

Second Reading (Read Gal 6:14-18)

St. Paul shows us, from the inside, what it is like when men called by God to preach the Gospel live their vocation in the right way. His “boasting” was not about himself and his authority. His only boast was that, through the Cross, “the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” St. Paul didn’t care about success as men measure it. He did not care about the “rules” of religion only for their own sake. He knew that what matters is being “a new creation” in Christ, living in faithful obedience to the Lord. The Galatian Christians had come under the influence of critics of St. Paul, who tried to convince them they must keep the ordinances of the Old Covenant, like circumcision, in order to be saved. About them he says, “Let no one make troubles for me; for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.” In that day, slaves were “marked” to show possession by their owners. St. Paul’s many physical persecutions had left “marks” on him. They were living proof of his slavery to the Lord—just the kind of life we would expect of a name written in heaven.

Possible response: St. Paul, pray for us to live as you did—slaves of Christ, new creations in Him.


44 posted on 07/03/2016 9:13:03 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation
shutterstock_342081257

Finally I got this picture to load to go with #43

45 posted on 07/03/2016 9:16:38 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Español

All Issues > Volume 32, Issue 4

<< Sunday, July 3, 2016 >> 14th Sunday Ordinary Time
 
Isaiah 66:10-14
Galatians 6:14-18

View Readings
Psalm 66:1-7, 16, 20
Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

Similar Reflections
 

BRAND LOYALTY

 
"I bear the brand marks of Jesus in my body." —Galatians 6:17
 

Livestock are branded so that others can tell who owns them. St. Paul bore the brand marks of Jesus on his body, so all could determine that Jesus owned him. Paul's brand marks were scars and bruises from the beatings, stonings, and other sufferings he endured for Jesus (see Acts 14:19; 16:22ff; 2 Cor 11:23ff). Other saints, like Francis of Assisi and Padre Pio, have borne the stigmata, the wounds of Christ, in their hands and feet.

Could someone tell by looking at your body that you belong to Christ? Here are the brand marks of some Christians I know:

  • circles under the eyes denoting lack of sleep in parents who had more children in loving obedience to the Lord,
  • extra pounds on a parent who, in selflessly caring for children, couldn't find time to work out,
  • marked loss of weight during Lent from devoted fasting,
  • radiant smiles and glowing faces stemming from overflowing joy in being owned by Jesus (cf Ex 34:30),
  • eyes which reflect a peace that passes all understanding (Phil 4:7) in the midst of incredible personal suffering,
  • shaved hair on the heads of males in two families as a sign of empathy to a loved one suffering from cancer, and
  • a permanent, skin-white colored "band" on the wrist of a priest who vowed to wear a thick pro-life bracelet until legalized abortion is overturned in the USA.

Be crucified to the world (Gal 6:14). Be branded for Jesus, and "glorify God in your body" (1 Cor 6:20).

 
Prayer: Jesus, receive my body as a living sacrifice (Rm 12:1).
Promise: "As a mother comforts her son, so will I comfort you." —Is 66:13
Praise: Praise You, Lord, "blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords" (1 Tm 6:15). Alleluia!

46 posted on 07/03/2016 9:19:47 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Video -- The Silent Scream: Unborn Babies do feel pain during abortion!
47 posted on 07/03/2016 9:29:28 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6wqDtu1sixLMzlzenBHRmhkZHM/view


48 posted on 07/10/2016 7:27:13 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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