Friday - August 05, 2016
Do you ask how to resist anger? As soon as you feel the slightest resentment, gather together your powers, not hastily or impetuously, but gently and seriously. For as in some law courts, the criers make more noise in their efforts to preserve quiet than those they seek to still, so, if we are impetuous in our attempts to restrain our anger, we cause greater discomposure in our hearts than before; and once thrown off its balance, the heart is no longer its own master.
-- St. Francis de Sales
TODAY'S READINGS
Friday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
August 5, 2016
Friday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 411
Reading 1NA 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7
See, upon the mountains there advances
the bearer of good news,
announcing peace!
Celebrate your feasts, O Judah,
fulfill your vows!
For nevermore shall you be invaded
by the scoundrel; he is completely destroyed.
The LORD will restore the vine of Jacob,
the pride of Israel,
Though ravagers have ravaged them
and ruined the tendrils.
Woe to the bloody city, all lies,
full of plunder, whose looting never stops!
The crack of the whip, the rumbling sounds of wheels;
horses a-gallop, chariots bounding,
Cavalry charging, the flame of the sword, the flash of the spear,
the many slain, the heaping corpses,
the endless bodies to stumble upon!
I will cast filth upon you,
disgrace you and put you to shame;
Till everyone who sees you runs from you, saying,
“Nineveh is destroyed; who can pity her?
Where can one find any to console her?”
the bearer of good news,
announcing peace!
Celebrate your feasts, O Judah,
fulfill your vows!
For nevermore shall you be invaded
by the scoundrel; he is completely destroyed.
The LORD will restore the vine of Jacob,
the pride of Israel,
Though ravagers have ravaged them
and ruined the tendrils.
Woe to the bloody city, all lies,
full of plunder, whose looting never stops!
The crack of the whip, the rumbling sounds of wheels;
horses a-gallop, chariots bounding,
Cavalry charging, the flame of the sword, the flash of the spear,
the many slain, the heaping corpses,
the endless bodies to stumble upon!
I will cast filth upon you,
disgrace you and put you to shame;
Till everyone who sees you runs from you, saying,
“Nineveh is destroyed; who can pity her?
Where can one find any to console her?”
Responsorial PsalmDT 32:35CD-36AB, 39ABCD, 41
R. (39c) It is I who deal death and give life.
Close at hand is the day of their disaster,
and their doom is rushing upon them!
Surely, the LORD shall do justice for his people;
on his servants he shall have pity.
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
“Learn then that I, I alone, am God,
and there is no god besides me.
It is I who bring both death and life,
I who inflict wounds and heal them.”
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
I will sharpen my flashing sword,
and my hand shall lay hold of my quiver,
“With vengeance I will repay my foes
and requite those who hate me.”
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
Close at hand is the day of their disaster,
and their doom is rushing upon them!
Surely, the LORD shall do justice for his people;
on his servants he shall have pity.
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
“Learn then that I, I alone, am God,
and there is no god besides me.
It is I who bring both death and life,
I who inflict wounds and heal them.”
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
I will sharpen my flashing sword,
and my hand shall lay hold of my quiver,
“With vengeance I will repay my foes
and requite those who hate me.”
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
AlleluiaMT 5:10
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
Or what can one give in exchange for his life?
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory,
and then he will repay each according to his conduct.
Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here
who will not taste death
until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 16:24-28
Jesus said to his disciples,“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
Or what can one give in exchange for his life?
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory,
and then he will repay each according to his conduct.
Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here
who will not taste death
until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”
******************************
Love’s Labor Transfigured
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in your wondrous shining glory, although this is hidden from my eyes. I hope in the peace and everlasting joy of the world to come, for this world is a valley of tears. I love you, even though I am not always able to discern the love in your intentions when you permit me to suffer. You are my God and my all.
Petition: Lord, detach my heart from the world, and allow me to live for love of you.
1. The Great Exodus: Jesus was conversing with Moses and Elijah about his exodus: the liberation of mankind from the slavery to sin. He was not speaking about the miracles he would perform, the comforts or beauty of this world, or the ambitions he might hold. He was not concerned with the opportunities he might have to use his talents, to achieve great things, to win esteem from others, to make a name for himself, or to rest and relax. Jesus was not speaking about any of these things. His only desire was his exodus – his suffering and death and departure from this world to glorify his Father, fulfilling his will by saving mankind.
2. The Promised Land: Our hearts can love and be attached to many things: ambitions, desires, hopes, esteem, comfort, getting things done, using our talents, self-fulfillment. Our Lord chose to subordinate all these possibilities to the love of his Father. This is what it means to follow Christ and be “detached” from the world: to be ready to give up any of these goods for love of Christ, should he require us to do so. We must be so in love with Christ that we esteem him more than all of these other loves. This is the true Promised Land and true liberation from the slavery of egoism. The fruits of dying to self in this way are joy, peace, love and eternal life.
3. Rising from a Seed: “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat” (John 12:24). All of our loves have to be purified, dying like seeds in the ground, because all of our loves have a strong elements of self-centeredness embedded in them. It is this self-centeredness that must be uprooted and die. If we analyze what we love we will see that this is true. A wife who loves her husband may experience a self-centered aspect of her love that causes her to seek to control him. A father who loves his son might punish him out of his anger instead of for the son’s greater good. The self-centered element of our love impoverishes and tarnishes it, causing us, in reality, to love much less than we are capable of loving.
Conversation with Christ: Lord, free my heart from every selfish aspect of my love. Help me make that generous step of “dying to self” in this way. Help me to understand that this will always lead to true freedom and joy in my heart and to a greater capacity of true self-giving.
Resolution: I will make a generous decision to overcome some area of selfishness in a relationship today.
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God Bless You.....
KONKANI PRAYER GROUP - Abu Dhabi
"Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone" Mark 16:15
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