Welcome to my blog.
God speaks to us each day through the readings
from the Holy Bible. These are chosen under the inspiration of God’s Spirit and
provided for us by the Church founded and lead by the Spirit of Jesus.
You will find them here. If we take time daily to
read, understand and in silence to pray from our heart, Jesus, through his
Spirit, will nourish us and our life will be transformed.
Let us ask ourselves: what is God saying to me
today through these readings?
May the Spirit of God be with you.
Friday 12
June 2020
Love purifies
the heart
Cf. Ps 26: 1-2
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
whom should I dread?
When those who do evil draw near, they
stumble and fall.
Prayer
Father in heaven, you are the source of
everything good in our life,
grant that we who call out to you in
our needs,
may open ourselves to your quiet
inspirations and see what is good
and then by the strength you give us do
what is good.
We make our prayer through your Son,
Christ Jesus our Lord.
First reading
1 Kings 19:9a, 11-16
Stand on the mountain before the Lord.
At the
mountain of God, Horeb, Elijah came to a cave, where he took shelter. But the
word of the Lord came to him, “Go
outside and stand on the mountain before the Lord;
the Lord will be passing by.” A
strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the Lord – but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind
there was an earthquake – but the Lord
was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was fire – but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire
there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in
his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, “Elijah,
why are you here?” He replied, “I have been most zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. But the children
of Israel have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your
prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.” The Lord said to him, “Go, take the road
back to the desert near Damascus. When you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as
king of Aram. Then you shall anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king of Israel, and
Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, as prophet to succeed you.” THE WORD OF THE LORD
Prayerful
reflection
Elijah was
responsible for the execution of the 450 prophets of the god Baal. Jezebel, who
worshipped Baal and supported the prophets, is wild with anger. She has
threatened Elijah with dire consequences for this action. His victory was
short-lived. He is mortally afraid and he flees to the holy mountain of Sinai
also called Horeb. It is 300 miles away and he walks. But God in his mercy
feeds him with miraculous bread. In the strength of the bread, he is able to walk
so far.
When we are
afraid and in difficulties on all sides, like Elijah, we too should flee to God.
If we persevere like him, God will preserve us too.
Having walked
so far, Elijah waits for his encounter with God. Baal is the god of storms,
earthquakes, fire. God does not reveal himself in them. It is in the absolute
silence of Sinai – a rugged mountain without vegetation of any kind, and surrounded
by similar rocky, barren peaks- that God is found. It is an awesome, almost
terrifying silence. God can be approached only when we too enter into this silence.
We are nothing before God. He is everything. Before him, we have no power,
strength, wisdom or knowledge. Yet we like to domesticate God, to bring him
down to something we can understand and control. But he is for us the absolute
silence of Sinai. He is the light we cannot bear to see, the silence that
penetrates our soul. Before him, the human must fall down in silent adoration.
Yet, this God
of silence has spoken. He has spoken a language we can understand, appeared in
a way we can understand and approach in our human limited way. He has become a
human being. He speaks our human language, appears in our human flesh and blood,
lives among us still. His name is Jesus. He waits for us at Horeb.
Can you make
the effort like Elijah? He will also feed you too. The walk is, however, yours.
Psalm 27:7-8a, 8b-9abc, 13-14
Psalm. Make this
your prayerful response to his Word.
I long
to see your face, O Lord.
Hear, O Lord, the sound of my call;
have pity on
me, and answer me.
Of you my
heart speaks; you my glance seeks.
I long
to see your face, O Lord.
Your
presence, O Lord, I seek.
Hide not your
face from me;
do not in
anger repel your servant.
You are my
helper: cast me not off.
I long
to see your face, O Lord.
I believe
that I shall see the bounty of the Lord
in the land
of the living.
Wait for the Lord with courage;
be stout-hearted,
and wait for the Lord.
I long
to see your face, O Lord.
Philippians 2:15d, 16a
Alleluia,
alleluia.
Shine like
lights in the world,
as you hold
on to the word of life.
Alleluia,
alleluia.
____________________
Gospel
Matthew 5:27-32
Everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery
with her in his heart.
Jesus said to
his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit
adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has
already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you
to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your
members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right
hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to
lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.
“It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife
must give her a bill of divorce. But I say to you, whoever divorces his
wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and
whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD
Prayerful reflection
Those who are deeply in love do not live by the law which forbids them
to separate. The law does not enter their minds. Their love prevents them from
separating. On the contrary, it brings them closer together. One who has ‘tasted
the goodness of the Lord’ does not live by laws either. “With great delight I
sat in his shadow, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me into the banqueting
house and his banner over me was love” (Song of Songs 1:3.4). True love purifies
our heart. God, in Christ Jesus, loves you with all his heart. He wants your
wholehearted love which loves him alone. Our human love for others is an image
of this wholehearted love of God for us and we for God. Marriage is sacred
because it is meant to be a reflection and an image of the eternal love relationship
of God for humans and their love for him. As God gives his whole heart to me
and I give mine to him, so husband and wife are called to love one another. If that
is realised, then lusting after another, divorcing one another has no place,
because it is not wanted. This is the ideal to which God, in Jesus, calls us. It
is very high and he knows of what we are made. (Psalm). So God in his mercy
always reaches out to us when we fail.
Do you reach out to him in the joy of success and the sadness of
failure? He is always a welcoming God and a welcoming Human Being.
1 Jn 4: 16
God is love,
and whoever abides in love
abides in
God, and God in him.
Prayer
Father in heaven, you are the source of
everything good in our life,
grant that we who call out to you in
our needs,
may open ourselves to your quiet
inspirations and see what is good
and then by the strength you give us do
what is good.
We make our prayer through your Son,
Christ Jesus our Lord.
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