I never looked at the masses as my responsibility. I can only love one person at a time. So I began. I picked up one person. Maybe if I didn't pick up that one person, I wouldn't have picked up forty-two thousand.
~~Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta
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June 6, 2018
Wednesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 355
Reading 12 TM 1:1-3, 6-12
Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God
for the promise of life in Christ Jesus,
to Timothy, my dear child:
grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I am grateful to God,
whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did,
as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day.
For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame
the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.
For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice
but rather of power and love and self-control.
So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,
nor of me, a prisoner for his sake;
but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel
with the strength that comes from God.
He saved us and called us to a holy life,
not according to our works
but according to his own design
and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began,
but now made manifest
through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus,
who destroyed death and brought life and immortality
to light through the Gospel,
for which I was appointed preacher and Apostle and teacher.
On this account I am suffering these things;
but I am not ashamed,
for I know him in whom I have believed
and am confident that he is able to guard
what has been entrusted to me until that day.
for the promise of life in Christ Jesus,
to Timothy, my dear child:
grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I am grateful to God,
whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did,
as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day.
For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame
the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.
For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice
but rather of power and love and self-control.
So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,
nor of me, a prisoner for his sake;
but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel
with the strength that comes from God.
He saved us and called us to a holy life,
not according to our works
but according to his own design
and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began,
but now made manifest
through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus,
who destroyed death and brought life and immortality
to light through the Gospel,
for which I was appointed preacher and Apostle and teacher.
On this account I am suffering these things;
but I am not ashamed,
for I know him in whom I have believed
and am confident that he is able to guard
what has been entrusted to me until that day.
Responsorial PsalmPS 123:1B-2AB, 2CDEF
R. (1b) To you, O Lord, I lift up my eyes.
To you I lift up my eyes
who are enthroned in heaven.
Behold, as the eyes of servants
are on the hands of their masters.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift up my eyes.
As the eyes of a maid
are on the hands of her mistress,
So are our eyes on the LORD, our God,
till he have pity on us.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift up my eyes.
I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;
whoever believes in me will never die.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
To you I lift up my eyes
who are enthroned in heaven.
Behold, as the eyes of servants
are on the hands of their masters.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift up my eyes.
As the eyes of a maid
are on the hands of her mistress,
So are our eyes on the LORD, our God,
till he have pity on us.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift up my eyes.
AlleluiaJN 11:25A, 26
R. Alleluia, alleluia.I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;
whoever believes in me will never die.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMK 12:18-27
Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection,
came to Jesus and put this question to him, saying,
"Teacher, Moses wrote for us,
If someone's brother dies, leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.
Now there were seven brothers.
The first married a woman and died, leaving no descendants.
So the second brother married her and died, leaving no descendants,
and the third likewise.
And the seven left no descendants.
Last of all the woman also died.
At the resurrection when they arise whose wife will she be?
For all seven had been married to her."
Jesus said to them, "Are you not misled
because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?
When they rise from the dead,
they neither marry nor are given in marriage,
but they are like the angels in heaven.
As for the dead being raised,
have you not read in the Book of Moses,
in the passage about the bush, how God told him,
I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob?
He is not God of the dead but of the living.
You are greatly misled."
came to Jesus and put this question to him, saying,
"Teacher, Moses wrote for us,
If someone's brother dies, leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.
Now there were seven brothers.
The first married a woman and died, leaving no descendants.
So the second brother married her and died, leaving no descendants,
and the third likewise.
And the seven left no descendants.
Last of all the woman also died.
At the resurrection when they arise whose wife will she be?
For all seven had been married to her."
Jesus said to them, "Are you not misled
because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?
When they rise from the dead,
they neither marry nor are given in marriage,
but they are like the angels in heaven.
As for the dead being raised,
have you not read in the Book of Moses,
in the passage about the bush, how God told him,
I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob?
He is not God of the dead but of the living.
You are greatly misled."
******************************
The Fire of God's Gift
In today's first reading, St. Paul tells Timothy: "I remind you, stir into flame the gift of God that you were given through the imposition of my hands."
When the bishop imposed his hands on you during your Sacrament of Confirmation, what gift of God did you receive? The answer is not simply "the Holy Spirit", because you already received this in your baptism.
Confirmation commissioned you to work with the Holy Spirit in your own apostolate, continuing the mission of Christ so that you will be the presence of Christ on earth today.
Have you stirred this awesome calling into a burning desire?
Confirmation is the bishop confirming that your baptism was valid and that it gave you all of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). It's the sacrament by which God becomes fully present for your apostolate and through which you choose to become fully present to God (well, that's what we're supposed to do with it; sadly, its theology is rarely grasped on the day of Confirmation).
It's a confirmation that we have the power, love and self-control of God himself so that we can live holy lives and work successfully for his kingdom. It's the sacrament of initiation that enflames the gifts that we received during baptism.
Thus, we can bear the hardships that come with living and teaching the Gospel's truths. We can endure all trials with the supernatural strength that comes from God. There's no reason to fear disaster, no reason to feel overwhelmed by evil, no reason to worry that our efforts to serve God might fail. Saint Pio of Pietrelcina used to tell people: "Pray, hope and don't worry!"
God gave us everything necessary to fulfill the purposes for which he created us. If there is any failure, if there is any sin, if there is any lack of activity, it's because we've not sufficiently stirred up the flame of the Holy Spirit's fire within us.
We stir the flame by continually feeding our souls with the nourishment of scripture, Christ-centered friends, Church teachings, and faith formation events. The flame is stoked brighter and hotter by the frustrations that impassion us to get up and go out and make a difference in the Church and in the world.
God has a special task for you. Perhaps you're already doing it. Or maybe you can envision it but you don't know how to get from here to there. Or perhaps you're still trying to find the vision. Or maybe you feel unprepared or inadequate. Concentrate on stoking the fire in every way possible. As your flame gets brighter, the calling and the way to fulfill it will become clearer.
And remember: God always empowers us to do everything that he asks of us.
Lord Jesus, I earnestly desire to remain close to You. Grant me the grace of persevering in my trials to bear the good fruit our Father wants from me every day. Amen.
-----------------------------
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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