A light to the world

Welcome to my blog.

For our daily spiritual nourishment, the Catholic Church, under the Spirit’s inspiration, gives us readings from the Scriptures. You will find them here along with a prayerful reflection upon them.

The Spirit who inspired the author, will also inspire us if we read his Word with an open and humble heart.

May God bless you as your read.

Wednesday 8 July 2020

A light to the world

Ps 47: 10-11

Your merciful love, O God,

we have received in the midst of your temple.

Your praise, O God, like your name,

reaches the ends of the earth;

your right hand is filled with saving justice.

Prayer

Father in heaven, who through the abject humiliation

of your Son on the Cross,

have saved a world bent on self-destruction,

fill with holy joy all those

you have liberated from the yoke of sin

and grant them everlasting happiness

in your Kingdom.

We make our prayer through your Son,

Christ Jesus our Lord.

First reading

Hosea 10:1-3, 7-8, 12 ·

It is time to seek the Lord.

Israel is a luxuriant vine

whose fruit matches its growth.

The more abundant his fruit,

the more altars he built;

The more productive his land,

the more sacred pillars he set up.

Their heart is false,

now they pay for their guilt;

God shall break down their altars

and destroy their sacred pillars.

If they would say,

“We have no king”—

Since they do not fear the Lord,

what can the king do for them?

The king of Samaria shall disappear,

like foam upon the waters.

The high places of Aven shall be destroyed,

the sin of Israel;

thorns and thistles shall overgrow their altars.

Then they shall cry out to the mountains, “Cover us!”

and to the hills, “Fall upon us!”

“Sow for yourselves justice,

reap the fruit of piety;

break up for yourselves a new field,

for it is time to seek the Lord,

till he come and rain down justice upon you.”

THE WORD OF THE LORD

Prayerful reflection

 The Israelites were the chosen people of God. God chose them to be the home of his Beloved Son. They would be a light to the world and a source of blessings to all people. The Messiah, his Son, would be born in the tribe of Judah in the south. But all Israel were to be his people. From them salvation would go out to the whole world.

Sadly, they failed him. Immersed in the affairs of the world, they forgot Yahweh God, the invisible and silent God and made visible gods whom they could see and touch. They made gods who were in their power and close to them. They had gods who blessed their prosperity and who made no demands upon them to reform their lives. They could live as they liked and be religious at the same time. Self-made religion is no religion. It only pampers to or wayward desires. The prophet foretold the end of Israel. It came to pass in 721 BC when the Assyrians conquered Samaria and took king and people into exile. They were absorbed into other races and lost for ever to history – the ten lost tribes. Only Juda remained.

All this is a lesson for us. The true God is a demanding God. His love is demanding. Only true devotion to God will bring peace and justice to the world. We today must listen to the prophet and return wholeheartedly to the Lord and in faith obey him.  If humanity does not do this but continues to worship the false gods of wealth, power, honour and pleasure our self-degradation will lead to ruin as in Israel.                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

The return begins with me and you. What is your response to the prophet?

Psalm

Psalm 105:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

Seek always the face of the Lord.

.

Sing to him, sing his praise,

proclaim all his wondrous deeds.

Glory in his holy name;

rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord!

Seek always the face of the Lord.

Look to the Lord in his strength;

seek to serve him constantly.

Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,

his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.

Seek always the face of the Lord.

.

You descendants of Abraham, his servants,

sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!

He, the Lord, is our God;

throughout the earth his judgments prevail.

Seek always the face of the Lord.

Mark 1:15

Alleluia, alleluia.

The Kingdom of God is at hand:

repent and believe in the Gospel.

Alleluia, alleluia.

____________________

Gospel

Matthew 10:1-7

Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. The names of the Twelve Apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus.

Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD

Prayerful reflection

The tribes and of Israel in the north are lost and the tribe of Judah has rejected Jesus and will kill him on a cross. Jesus the Messiah now establishes a new chosen people. The Twelve are the founding fathers of the new people of God. The basis for the new people is not physical circumcision, but faith in Jesus. They are to invite all to join the new creation. First, they must invite “the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. The time for the pagans will come but the Israelites are the first to be called.

We through faith are members of the new people of God founded on the Twelve. We too are given a mission in the world. Each member has the mission to be the salt to the earth and the light to the world. Each member is called to proclaim by word and deed the Good News of God’s love and salvation. Jesus, our Founder, gives to each the necessary power and authority to fulfil the mission he gives us. Let us not be shy to use the power we have. We are to work together, like one body, for the salvation of the world. To each he gives special gifts and as a whole, the Body of Christ carries on the full mission of Jesus.

What gifts has the Lord given you for the salvation of the world? Are you using them?

Let us remember St. Therese of Lisieux. Not finding in herself spectacular gifts of healing or leadership or any other, discovered in the end that the gift the Lord had given was to love. This she did with all her heart, in the small and confined world in which she lived. She became a beacon of love for the sake of Jesus and offered her life, as Jesus had done, for the salvation of the world. During her life, she shone as a sun of love within the four walls of her convent. After he death, she shines as a sun of love throughout the world. Her way is open to all. Are you inspired to walk in it?

Ps 33: 9

Taste and see that the Lord is good;

blessed the man who seeks refuge in him.

Prayer

Grant, we pray, O Lord,

that, having been nourished by your Word,

we may gain the prize of salvation

and never cease to praise you.

Through Christ our Lord.