Daily Bible Readings - July 31, 2012

 1^ST READING  

 

Metaphorically, God weeps tears of sadness over our sins and incorrigibility when it comes to our refusal to fight sin in our lives. It is up to us to decide whether or not we are serious about following His call. If we want God and the Holy Spirit to make a difference in our lives then it will be up to us to decide whether we are committed to those goals. God is not really interested in working closely with those who are not committed to Him.

 

Jeremiah 14:17-22

17 Let my eyes stream with tears day and night, without rest, over the great destruction which overwhelms the virgin daughter of my people, over her incurable wound. 18 If I walk out into the field, look! those slain by the sword; if I enter the city, look! those consumed by hunger. Even the prophet and the priest forage in a land they know not. 19 Have you cast Judah off completely? Is Zion loathsome to you? Why have you struck us a blow that cannot be healed? We wait for peace, to no avail; for a time of healing, but terror comes instead. 20 We recognize, O Lord, our wickedness, the guilt of our fathers; that we have sinned against you. 21 For your name’s sake spurn us not, disgrace not the throne of your glory; remember your covenant with us, and break it not. 22 Among the nations’ idols is there any that gives rain? Or can the mere heavens send showers? Is it not you alone, O Lord, our God, to whom we look? You alone have done all these things.

 

P S A L M

 

Psalm 79:8, 9, 11, 13

R: For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.

8 Remember not against us the iniquities of the past; may your compassion quickly come to us, for we are brought very low. (R) 9 Help us, O God our savior, because of the glory of your name; deliver us and pardon our sins for your name’s sake. (R) 11 Let the prisoners’ sighing come before you; with your great power free those doomed to death. 13 Then we, your people and the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; through all generations we will declare your praise. (R)

 

GOSPEL

 

It is difficult to weed among certain plants especially if the root systems of the weeds and the plant get entangled under the ground. The only solution is to allow the weed to grow alongside the wheat and separate the two at harvest. This may not be the ideal solution but sometimes it is the only practical one. The same can be true with the way evil and sin gets into the fabric of our lives as disciples of Jesus.

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to him will live for ever.

 

Matthew 13:36-43

36 Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37 He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, 38 the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the Evil One, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his Kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

 

think: God is not really interested in working closely with those who are not committed to Him.

 

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________

 

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God’s special verse/thought for me today________________

_________________________________________________________

 

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR 1 Maccabees 3-4

Daily Bible Readings - July 30, 2012

SMALL SEED, GREAT WONDER

 

It has always been a crisis for me to think of what souvenirs to bring home to my friends and parishioners whenever I go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. My baggage is usually overweight many times over. I have psoriasis, so I need to buy Dead Sea products aplenty. They yield great results for my sensitive skin. Imagine the heavy soap packages, the mud, cream — plus the rosaries, crosses and other Holy Land souvenirs that I would have to bring home. It’s the same story each time I do a pilgrimage.

Four years ago, I thought of buying the lightest yet equally meaningful souvenirs for my friends. I saw small crosses being sold by the hundred per bundle, which was pretty light. I toyed with the idea of repackaging the crosses in small plastic bags at home with maybe a dried olive leaf or some soil from Tierra Sancta.

Then I saw the mustard seeds being sold at the souvenir shop. Voila! A cross and a few mustard seeds in each plastic bag for my friends. And how they loved it! It seemed like a foretaste of heaven for them. To think thay they were mere seeds.

Small wonder that Jesus thought of the small and what seemed to be the most unnoticeable of things. But that’s how the kingdom of Heaven works. What seems to be the littlest can grow into an enormous and sturdy shrub. We are men and women of little faith. But even the littlest of faith, when nourished well and consistently sprinkled with God’s Word and sacraments, would turn out to be an indestructible tower of strength. We may have small faith, but when we allow Jesus to consume the small seeds of faith in our hearts, it would sprout mightily and become the largest and most fortified of shrubs.

It is important that we surrender even the smallest of faith and belief in Him. In the end, we will witness marvelous growth and immeasurable grace abounding. In spite of our smallness, we will continue to grow in the Spirit. Fr. Erick Y. Santos, SFO

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: How do you value small things and people?

 

Lord, in my smallness and nothingness, nourish me and help me grow.

Daily Bible Readings - July 30, 2012

1^ST READING  

 

Jeremiah uses prophetic action a number of times in his ministry. I have seen it done a few times in prayer meetings I have attended and it is a very effective way to get a point across to an audience. We live in a very visually oriented world so perhaps it would be a good thing to pray for an increase in this gift for the sake of the Church’s mission.

 

Jeremiah 13:1-11

1 The Lord said to me: Go buy yourself a linen loincloth; wear it on your loins, but do not put it in water. 2 I bought the loincloth, as the Lord commanded, and put it on. 3 A second time the word of the Lord came to me thus: 4 Take the loincloth which you bought and are wearing, and go now to the Parath; there hide it in a cleft of the rock. 5 Obedient to the Lord’s command, I went to the Parath and buried the loincloth. 6 After a long interval, the Lord said to me: Go now to the Parath and fetch the loincloth which I told you to hide there. 7 Again I went to the Parath, sought out and took the loincloth from the place where I had hid it. But it was rotted, good for nothing! 8 Then the message came to me from the Lord: 9 Thus says the Lord: So also I will allow the pride of Judah to rot, the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This wicked people who refuse to obey my words, who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts, and follow strange Gods to serve and adore them, shall be like this loincloth which is good for nothing. 11 For, as close as the loincloth clings to a man’s loins, so had I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says the Lord; to be my people, my renown, my praise, my beauty. But they did not listen.

 

P S A L M

 

Deuteronomy 32:18-19, 20, 21

R: You have forgotten God who gave you birth.

18 You were unmindful of the Rock that begot you, you forgot the God who gave you birth. 19 When the Lord saw this, he was filled with loathing and anger toward his sons and daughters. (R) 20 “I will hide my face from them,” he said, “and see what will then become of them. What a fickle race they are, sons with no loyalty in them! (R) 21 “Since they have provoked me with their ‘no-God’ and angered me with their vain idols, I will provoke them with a ‘no-people’; with a foolish nation I will anger them.” (R)

 

GOSPEL

 

It is amazing to see how the yeast causes the dough to expand. This is the image spoken of here when Matthew writes about how the Gospel truths should be leavening society. That is, society should become more “Christified” due to the living witness of Christians at work in the world.

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

The Father willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

 

Matthew 13:31-35

31 Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds. “The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. 32 It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches. ” 33 He spoke to them another parable. “The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.” 34 All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, 35 to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world.”

 

LIST

think: Society should become more “Christified” due to the living witness of Christians at work in the world.

 

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________

 

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God’s special verse/thought for me today________________

_________________________________________________________

 

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR 1 Maccabees 1-2

TODAY’S

Daily Bible Readings - July 29, 2012

 1^ST READING  

 

Miracles such as this can not be explained scientifically. What is important here is not the miracle itself but what it indicates about both the one who performs it and the God who empowers it. God chooses to intervene in human history every now and then to remind us that He is present in our lives and to call us to deeper conversion to Him.

 

2 Kings 4:42-44

42 A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing to Elisha, the man of God twenty barely loaves made from the firstfruits, and fresh grain in the ear. Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat.” 43 But his servant objected, “How can I set this before a hundred people?” Elisha insisted, “Give it to the people to eat.” For thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and there shall be some left over.’” 44 And when they had eaten, there was some left over, as the Lord had said.

 

P S A L M

 

Psalm 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18

R: The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

10 Let all your works give you thanks, O Lord, and let your faithful ones bless you. 11 Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might. (R) 15 The eyes of all look hopefully to you, and you give them their food in due season; 16 you open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. (R) 17 The Lord is just in all his ways and holy in all his works. 18 The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth. (R)

 

2^ND READING

 

 

Paul uses the language of ”complete selflessness.“ This is indeed a great challenge to us who are more self-focused than otherwise. The Gospels are quite clear that to enter into heaven, we have to learn to die to our own desires and be fully surrendered to God’s will. In obedience to God’s will, we will discover the fullness of life. It may take time for us to realize this truth.

 

Ephesians 4:1-6

1 Brothers and sisters: I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, 3 striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: 4 one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

 

GOSPEL

 

The feeding miracle precedes the Eucharistic discourse in John’s Gospel. Perhaps John is trying to tell us that just as food nourishes us physically, it is the Eucharist and the things of the Spirit that nourish our souls. I wonder if we really believe this? If we do not, we will find it next to impossible to understand the central role of the Eucharist in our lives.

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

A great prophet has risen in our midst. God has visited his people.

 

John 6:1-15

1 Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. 2 A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish feast of Passover was near. 5 When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” 6 He said this to test him, because he himself  knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people recline.” Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. 12 When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” 13 So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. 14 When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.” 15 Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.

 

think: It is the Eucharist and the things of the Spirit that nourish our souls.

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________

 

_______________________________________________________

 

God’s special verse/thought for me today________________

_________________________________________________________

 

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Esther 8-F

                                                                 SABBATH PAUSE

My weekly time with God

THANK YOU LIST

Things to be grateful for from the past week

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

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SPECIAL NEEDS

Things to ask God for in the coming week

________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

HIDDEN TREASURE

Most important word God told me this week

 

________________________________________________________________

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                        ________________________________________________________________

 

Daily Bible Readings - July 28, 2012

1^ST READING  

 

A prophet’s basic message is always a call to conversion. This is something we need to reflect on often as sin is always trying to bring about the opposite result in our lives. It is essential that we seek to go deeper with the Lord every day as His disciple. If we do not, we will get lazy and then apathetic and before we know it, sin will have reestablished its stronghold in our lives.

 

Jeremiah 7:1-11

1 The following message came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 Stand at the gate of the house of the Lord, and there proclaim this message: Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who enter these gates to worship the Lord! 3 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Reform your ways and your deeds, so that I may remain with you in this place. 4 Put not your trust in the deceitful words: “This is the temple of the Lord! The temple of the Lord! The temple of the Lord!” 5 Only if you thoroughly reform your ways and your deeds; if each of you deals justly with his neighbor; 6 if you no longer oppress the resident alien, the orphan, and the widow; if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place, or follow strange Gods to your own harm, 7 will I remain with you in this place, in the land which I gave your fathers long ago and forever. 8 But here you are, putting your trust in deceitful words to your own loss! 9 Are you to steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, go after strange Gods that you know not, 10 and yet come to stand before me in this house which bears my name, and say: “We are safe; we can commit all these abominations again”? 11 Has this house which bears my name become in your eyes a den of thieves? I too see what is being done, says the Lord.

 

P S A L M

 

Psalm 84:3, 4, 5-6, 8, 11

R: How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!

2 [3] My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. (R) 3 [4] Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest in which she puts her young — Your altars, O Lord of hosts, my king and my God! (R) 4 [5] Blessed they who dwell in your house! continually they praise you. 5 [6] Blessed the men whose strength you are! 7 [8] They go from strength to strength. (R) 10 [11] I had rather one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. (R)

 

GOSPEL

 

God will wait until the end of the world before the final judgment is passed. However, there will be a particular judgment when we die that will indicate our final destiny. Though there will be purification to prepare ourselves for eternity in the presence of God, at least we will know that that is our destination. Purgatory is thus a happy place in that we know we are destined for eternal beatitude and not hell.

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.

 

Matthew 13:24-30

24 Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds. “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 While everyone

was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. 26 When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. 27 The slaves of the householder came to him and said, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?’ 28 He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29 He replied, “No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn. ”

Esther C-7

think: Purgatory is thus a happy place in that we know we are destined for eternal beatitude and not hell.G

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________

 

_______________________________________________________

 

God’s special verse/thought for me today________________

_________________________________________________________

 

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Esther C-7

Daily Bible Readings - July 27, 2012

1^ST READING  

 

Part of the process of conversion is that the Lord wants to reform our hearts according to His own. Our hearts have been hardened by sin and God wants to change this so that we will leave behind the life of sin and live in the name of the Lord. This means making God’s will and desires the foremost focus in our lives rather than the agenda the world has for us. It will take a minor revolution in our thinking and acting to accomplish this.

 

Jeremiah 3:14-17

14 Return, rebellious children, says the Lord, for I am your Master; I will take you, one from a city, two from a clan, and bring you to Zion. 15 I will appoint over you shepherds after my own heart, who will shepherd you wisely and prudently. 16 When you multiply and become fruitful in the land, says the Lord, they will in those days no longer say, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord!” They will no longer think of it, or remember it, or miss it, or make another. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem the Lord’s throne; there all nations will be gathered together to honor the name of the Lord at Jerusalem, and they will walk no longer in their hardhearted wickedness.

 

P S A L M

 

Jeremiah 31:10, 11-12, 13

R: The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.

10 Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, proclaim it on distant isles, and say: He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together, he guards them as a shepherd his flock. (R) 11 The Lord shall ransom Jacob, he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror. 12 Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion, they shall come streaming to the Lord’s blessings: The grain, the wine, and the oil, the sheep and the oxen. (R)13 Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,

and young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into joy, I will console and gladden them after their sorrows. (R)

 

GOSPEL

 

We all face numerous challenges in life, all of which will require choices to be made, some of them difficult. This should not be cause for alarm but rather the expectation of seeing how God is going to bring about His will in our lives. Every time we face a challenge, the grace is there for us to deal with it well. The question is whether or not we are humble enough to rely on God’s help to address the situation at hand.

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.

 

Matthew 13:18-23

18 Jesus said to his disciples: “Hear the parable of the sower. 19 The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the Kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. 20 The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. 21 But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. 22 The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. 23 But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

LIST

think: Every time we face a challenge, the grace is there for us to deal with it well.

OSPEL PSALM

 

TODAY’S

BLESSING

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________

 

_______________________________________________________

 

God’s special verse/thought for me today________________

_________________________________________________________

 

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Esther A-4

Daily Bible Readings - July 26, 2012

1^ST READING  

 

The parents of Mary must have been very proud of her when they eventually understood the role she was playing in the work of salvation. I wonder how they handled the news that she was pregnant (outside of marriage) and the subsequent explanation Mary gave them? It would not have been easy for any of them to accept and understand Mary’s plight. Hopefully we will have compassion when we face similarly difficult situations in our own lives.

 

Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13 (or Sirach 44:1, 10-15)

1 This word of the Lord came to me: 2 Go, cry out this message for Jerusalem to hear! I remember the devotion of your youth, how you loved me as a bride, following me in the desert, in a land unsown. 3 Sacred to the Lord was Israel, the first fruits of his harvest; should anyone presume to partake of them, evil would befall him, says the Lord. 7 When I brought you into the garden land to eat its goodly fruits, you entered and defiled my land, you made my heritage loathsome. 8 The priests asked not, “Where is the Lord?” Those who dealt with the law knew me not: the shepherds rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after useless idols. 12 Be amazed at this, O heavens, and shudder with sheer horror, says the Lord. 13 Two evils have my people done they have forsaken me, the source of living waters; they have dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no water.

 

P S A L M

 

Psalm 36:6-7, 8-9, 10-11 (or Psalm 132:11, 13-14, 17-18)

R: With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.

5 [6] O Lord, your mercy reaches to heaven; your faithfulness, to the clouds. 6 [7] Your justice is like the mountains of God; your judgments, like the mighty deep. (R) 7 [8] How precious is your mercy, O God! The children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 [9] They have their fill of the prime gifts of your house; from your delightful stream you give them to drink. (R) 9 [10] For with you is the fountain of life, and in your light we see light. 10 [11] Keep up your mercy toward your friends, your just defense of the upright of heart. (R)

 

GOSPEL

 

We do not always understand everything about the situations in our lives. This is a fact that we have to learn to live with. It may not be easy, but sometimes it might be easier not to know all the details before we get into something for God. If we know them we might be too scared to follow His will. Indeed, there are times when ignorance (in a good sense) may well be bliss!

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.

 

Matthew 13:10-17 (or Matthew 13:16-17)

10 The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?’ 11 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. 12 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. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because ‘they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.’ 14 Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: ‘You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. 15 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 heart and be converted, and I heal them.’ 16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. 17 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.”

 

think: There are times when ignorance (in a good sense) may well be bliss!

 

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________

 

_______________________________________________________

 

God’s special verse/thought for me today________________

_________________________________________________________

 

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Judith 13-16

Daily Bible Readings - July 25, 2012

1^ST READING  

 

The knowledge of the indwelling presence of the Risen Lord in our lives is the most precious treasure we can ever receive. This inspired the martyrs to give their lives for the sake of the Gospel and missionaries to leave their countries without the hope of return. Let us seek to deepen our knowledge of this truth so that it can both inspire and strengthen our resolve to do whatever God tells us to do.

 

2 Corinthians 4:7-15

7 Brothers and sisters: We hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are constantly being given up to death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you. 13 Since, then, we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,” we too believe and therefore speak, 14 knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place us with you in his presence. 15 Everything indeed is for you, so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.

 

P S A L M

 

Psalm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6

R: Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.

1 When the Lord brought back the captives of Zion, we were like men dreaming. 2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with rejoicing. (R) Then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” 3 The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad indeed. (R) 4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the torrents in the southern desert. 5 Those that sow in tears shall reap rejoicing. (R) 6 Although they go forth weeping, carrying the seed

to be sown, they shall come back rejoicing, carrying their sheaves. (R)

 

GOSPEL

 

As we celebrate the Feast of St. James, let us remember the debt we owe the men and women who have gone before us in the life of faith. Let us be thankful for their faithfulness and seek to emulate it to provide a contemporary example for the people of our time and the generations to follow. St. James eventually dies for his faith as a martyr; let us be willing to do the same.

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

I chose you from the world, to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.

 

Matthew 20:20-28

20 The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached him with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. 21 He said to her, “What do you wish?” She answered him, “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom.” 22 Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” 23 He replied, “My chalice you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” 24 When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles Lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. 26 But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; 27 whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. 28 Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

 

think: The knowledge of the indwelling presence of the Risen Lord in our lives is the most precious treasure we can ever receive.

 

 

 

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________

 

_______________________________________________________

 

God’s special verse/thought for me today________________

_________________________________________________________

 

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Judith 9-12

Daily Bible Readings - July 24, 2012

1^ST READING  

 

One of the roles of a shepherd is to lead his sheep to good pasture. One of the roles of a leader in the Church is to provide good teaching for his flock. Let us pray for all the shepherds in the Church that they will be committed to providing good teaching and formation for the people under their care. Grant them the wisdom to know what is most needed from a formation point of view.

 

Micah 7:14-15, 18-20

14 Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, that dwells apart in a woodland, in the midst of Carmel. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old; 15 as in the days when you came from the land of Egypt, show us wonderful signs. 18 Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance; who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency, 19 and will again have compassion on us, treading underfoot our guilt? You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins; 20 you will show faithfulness to Jacob, and grace to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from days of old.

 

P S A L M

 

Psalm 85:2-4, 5-6, 7-8

R: Lord, show us your mercy and love.

1 [2] You have favored, O Lord, your land; you have brought back the captives of Jacob. 2 [3] You have forgiven the guilt of your people; you have covered all their sins. 3 [4] You have withdrawn all your wrath; you have revoked your burning anger. (R) 4 [5] Restore us, O God our savior, and abandon your displeasure against us. 5 [6] Will you be ever angry with us, prolonging your anger to all generations? (R) 6 [7] Will you not instead give us life; and shall not your people rejoice in you? 7 [8] Show us, O Lord, your kindness, and grant us your salvation. (R)

 

GOSPEL

 

Jesus affirms that the most important aspect of discipleship is obedience to God’s will. Everything else is a waste of time without obedience to His will. One of the first goals of the devil is to try and distract us from doing this. This is why we need to be clear about our commitment to and willingness to pay the price of being a disciple of Jesus.

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him and we will come to him.

 

Matthew 12:46-50

46 While Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. 47 Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.” 48 But he said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

GOSPEL PSALM

think: The most important aspect of discipleship is obedience to God’s will.

 

 

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________

 

_______________________________________________________

 

God’s special verse/thought for me today________________

_________________________________________________________

 

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Judith 5-8

Daily Bible Readings - July 23, 2012

1^ST READING  

 

The last line of this reading is a very beautiful description of the life of a true disciple of Jesus that is easy to accept. If we learn nothing else today, let us learn that humility is at the heart of what it means to be a disciple. And if we already know this, let us learn that justice is also important.

 

Micah 6:1-4, 6-8

1 Hear what the Lord says: Arise, present your plea before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice! 2 Hear, O mountains, the plea of the Lord, pay attention, O foundations of the earth! For the Lord has a plea against his people, and he enters into trial with Israel. 3 O my people, what have I done to you, or how have I wearied you? Answer me! 4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, from the place of slavery I released you; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 6 With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow before God most high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with myriad streams of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my crime, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.

 

P S A L M

 

Psalm 50:5-6, 8-9, 16-17, 21, 23

R: To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

5 “Gather my faithful ones before me, those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” 6 And for the heavens proclaim his justice; for God himself is the judge. (R) 8 “Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you, for your burnt offerings are before me always. 9 I take from your house no bullock, no goats out of your fold.” (R) 16 “Why do you recite my statutes, and profess my covenant with your mouth, 17 though you hate discipline and cast my words behind you?” (R) 21 “When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it? Or do you think that I am like yourself? I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes. 23 He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me; and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.” (R)

 

GOSPEL

 

What really are the use of signs? They may help confirm a particular course of action we are trying to discern, but can’t we just act in faith and allow God to redirect our actions if we are going down the wrong path? One of the troubles with looking for signs is that we begin to confirm them. Where will it end?

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

 

Matthew 12:38-42

38 Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 He said to them in reply, “An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. 40 Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. 41 At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and there is something greater than Jonah here. 42 At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here.”

TODAY’S

BLESSING

think: Humility is at the heart of what it means to be a disciple.

Judith 1-4

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________

 

_______________________________________________________

 

God’s special verse/thought for me today________________

_________________________________________________________

 

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Judith 1-4