1st READING
Anyone working for a religious or secular organization is aware of its vision-mission statement. Habakkuk reminds us to be committed to our vision in following the Lord to keep us “straight and narrow.” There are many distractions in the world, particularly the lure of money, material things, and instant pleasures. Let us fix our minds and hearts on the heavenly goal of salvation.
Habakkuk 1:12-2:4
12 Are you not from eternity, O Lord, my holy God, immortal? O Lord you have marked him for judgment, O Rock, you have readied him for punishment! 13 Too pure are your eyes to look upon evil, and the sight of misery you cannot endure. Why, then, do you gaze on the faithless in silence while the wicked man devours one more just than himself? 14 You have made man like the fish of the sea, like creeping things without a ruler. 15 He brings them all up with his hook, he hauls them away with his net, He gathers them in his seine; and so he rejoices and exults. 16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net, and burns incense to his seine; For thanks to them his portion is generous, and his repast sumptuous. 17 Shall he, then, keep on brandishing his sword to slay peoples without mercy? 2:1 I will stand at my guard post, and station myself upon the rampart, And keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what answer he will give to my complaint. 2 Then the Lord answered me and said: Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily. 3 For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; If it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late. 4 The rash man has no integrity; but the just man, because of his faith, shall live.
PSALM
Psalm 9:8-9, 10-11, 12-13
R: You forsake not those who seek you, O Lord.
8 The Lord sits enthroned forever; he has set up his throne for judgment. 9 He judges the world with justice; he governs the peoples with equity. (R) 10 The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of distress. 11 They trust in you who cherish your name, for you forsake not those who seek you, O Lord. (R) 12 Sing praise to the Lord enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations his deeds. 13 For the avenger of blood has remembered; he has not forgotten the cry of the poor. (R)
GOSPEL
Today on the feast of St. Dominic de Guzman, we celebrate a man who both heard the Gospel and lived it in a radical manner for the sake of God’s Kingdom. Dominic, together with Francis of Assisi, championed a mendicant (begging) and simple way of life for the Gospel. In a world where the Church leaders are living extravagant and unsustainable (morally and economically) lifestyles, the saints’ lives are a breath of fresh air. The Franciscan and Dominican Orders grew both in number and influence in the life of the Church, showing the effectiveness of their witness.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel.
Matthew 17:14-20
14 A man came up to Jesus, knelt down before him, 15 and said, “Lord, have pity on my son, who is a lunatic and suffers severely; often he falls into fire, and often into water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.” 17 Jesus said in reply, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring him here to me.” 18 Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him, and from that hour the boy was cured. 19 Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” 20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Reflect: “our faith has no eyes, no ability to see. Instead, the Father left us with the most precious little grain—a tiny little thing—in a mustard seed.” – Ursula denise Walker
______________________________
T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST
thank You, Lord, for:
____________________
Read the Bible in one year - 2 Maccabees 1-2
No comments:
Post a Comment