Thursday - July 27, 2017
'It is the key of obedience that opens the door of paradise. Jesus Christ has confided that key to His vicar, the Pope, Christ on earth, whom all are obliged to obey even unto death.'
--St. Catherine of Siena
TODAY'S READINGS
July 27, 2017
Thursday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 398
Reading 1EX 19:1-2, 9-11, 16-20B
In the third month after their departure from the land of Egypt,on its first day, the children of Israel came to the desert of Sinai.
After the journey from Rephidim to the desert of Sinai,
they pitched camp.
While Israel was encamped here in front of the mountain,
the LORD told Moses,
"I am coming to you in a dense cloud,
so that when the people hear me speaking with you,
they may always have faith in you also."
When Moses, then, had reported to the LORD the response of the people,
the LORD added, "Go to the people
and have them sanctify themselves today and tomorrow.
Make them wash their garments and be ready for the third day;
for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai
before the eyes of all the people."
On the morning of the third day
there were peals of thunder and lightning,
and a heavy cloud over the mountain,
and a very loud trumpet blast,
so that all the people in the camp trembled.
But Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God,
and they stationed themselves at the foot of the mountain.
Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke,
for the LORD came down upon it in fire.
The smoke rose from it as though from a furnace,
and the whole mountain trembled violently.
The trumpet blast grew louder and louder, while Moses was speaking
and God answering him with thunder.
When the LORD came down to the top of Mount Sinai,
he summoned Moses to the top of the mountain.
Responsorial PsalmDANIEL 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56
R. (52b) Glory and praise for ever!"Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever;
And blessed is your holy and glorious name,
praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory,
praiseworthy and glorious above all forever."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you on the throne of your Kingdom,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you who look into the depths
from your throne upon the cherubim,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven,
praiseworthy and glorious forever."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
AlleluiaSEE MT 11:25
R. Alleluia, alleluia.Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 13:10-17
The disciples approached Jesus and said,"Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?"
He said to them in reply,
"Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven
has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because
they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.
Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:
You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be converted
and I heal them.
"But blessed are your eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to 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."
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Fighting the Good Fight of Faith!
Introductory Prayer: Lord, my prayer will “work” only if I have humility in your presence. So I am approaching you with meekness and humility of heart. I have a tremendous need for you and your grace. Thinking about this helps me grow in humility. I trust in you and your grace. Thank you for the unfathomable gift of your love.
Petition: Increase my faith, hope, and love, Lord.
1. Faith, Hope, and Love Remain: What does the Lord mean when he says that “to anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich” or that “from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away”? He is referring to spiritual goods rather than material ones. Grace, faith, hope, and love are all spiritual goods. To anyone who has them, more will be given. When you exercise your faith, your hope, and your love, they increase in your soul. The result? You grow rich in grace. When you do not exercise your faith, hope, and love, you lose all because the material world is passing away. As St Paul teaches us, “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption” (1 Corinthians 15:80). And in another passage: “So faith, hope, and love remain” (1 Corinthians 13:13).
2. Seeing with New Eyes: “You shall indeed hear but not understand; you shall indeed look but never see.” We can view the world in a natural way or in a supernatural way. Faith, hope, and love allow us to view the world supernaturally. A natural way of seeing things limits us in a thousand ways because the natural universe is limited, passing and temporary. The supernatural world seen through faith is unlimited, coming to fulfillment and lasting forever. Without faith, we will hear but not understand, look intently but never see.
3. A Fighting Heart: Only when we fight to imitate Christ do we truly understand these words: “Blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears, because they hear.” This may be hard to comprehend, but it is so. To know Jesus, it is necessary to be like him. The moment we begin to fight for the love of him we begin to be like him, and thus we begin to know him. To have a heart like Jesus’ it is necessary to fight and suffer – to fight and suffer without cowardice, without taking time out and without discouragement.
Conversation with Christ: Lord, grant me the grace to fight with a spirit of faith, hope, and love. I want to increase in these virtues and begin to see the world with your eyes – the eyes of the new man or woman in Christ. With you, my future is always brighter than my past, filled with more hope and greater promise.
Resolution: Today, I will strive to see persons, actions, and events from the viewpoint of faith.
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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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