Welcome to my blog
and peace be with you!
You will find
here, daily readings from the Scriptures with a prayerful reflexion. Reading
slowly and prayerfully the Word of God is the way to get into contact with Him.
The reflection may help you turn to God, who has revealed himself in his Son,
Jesus, himself God.
I follow the
sequential readings given us by the Catholic Church for each day.
The Word of God is
like the rain. As the rain bring fruitfulness to the earth, may his Word bear
abundant fruit in your life.
I will be happy to
receive your comments and also any question you may have about the Scriptures
or the Catholic Faith.
Tuesday 28
July 2020
God cleans his field
Cf. Ps 67: 6-7, 36
God is in his
holy place,
God who
unites those who dwell in his house;
he himself
gives might and strength to his people.
____________________
Prayer
Father in heaven, you protect all those who put
their hope in you.
Without you we are nothing. Pour down your
mercy upon us,
so that we may use the good things of this
world
in accordance with your will,
while keeping our minds on the eternal
treasures
that await us.
We make our prayer through your Son,
Christ Jesus our Lord.
____________________
First reading
Jeremiah 14:17-22
We confess our wickedness; you, God, are our hope
The Lord said
to me:
Say this word
to the people:
‘Tears flood
my eyes
night and
day, unceasingly,
since a
crushing blow falls on the daughter of my people,
a most
grievous injury.
If I go into
the countryside,
there lie men
killed by the sword;
if I go into
the city,
I see people
sick with hunger;
even prophets
and priests
plough the
land: they are at their wit’s end.’
‘Have you
rejected Judah altogether?
Does your
very soul revolt at Zion?
Why have you
struck us down without hope of cure?
We were
hoping for peace – no good came of it!
For the
moment of cure – nothing but terror!
the Lord, we
do confess our wickedness
and our
fathers’ guilt:
we have
indeed sinned against you.
For your name’s
sake do not reject us,
do not
dishonour the throne of your glory.
Remember us; do
not break your covenant with us.
Can any of
the pagan Nothings make it rain?
Can the
heavens produce showers?
No, it is
you, the Lord.
O our God,
you are our hope,
since it is
you who do all this.’
THE WORD OF
THE LORD
Prayerful reflection
With the
merciless marauding army of Babylon destroying the land of Judah, and surrounding
and then destroying Jerusalem, with slaughter and immense bloodshed, it must
have looked to the prophet as if God had finally abandoned them. This is the context of the prayer he makes in today’s
reading. However, despite everything he still has hope that God will show mercy
on them: ‘O our God, you are our hope’. God had in no way abandoned them. He is
still working out his plan of salvation. They are still his chosen people. He is
purifying them from their sinfulness. He is preparing the way for the Messiah.
The Church of
the New Testament is the new People of God. They are his people and God
continues to work out his plan despite everything that looks to the contrary. It
may look as if the Church is losing on every front, but the Church is still the
prize possession of God. He will not abandon it. Jesus is not only Emmanuel in
name, but also in fact: ‘God with us.’
Likewise, he
will not abandon the individual members who make up his Church. Purify us, he
will and it is painful at the time. Abandon us, he will not. His love is an
everlasting and faithful love.
Do you rest assured
in his loving presence to you?
____________________
Psalm (A prayer of and for the Church, the new people of God)
Psalm 79:8-9,11,13
Rescue
us, O Lord, for the glory of your name.
Do not hold
the guilt of our fathers against us.
Let your
compassion hasten to meet us;
we are left
in the depths of distress.
Rescue
us, O Lord, for the glory of your name.
O God our
saviour, come to our help.
Come for the
sake of the glory of your name.
O Lord our
God, forgive us our sins;
rescue us for
the sake of your name.
Rescue
us, O Lord, for the glory of your name.
Let the
groans of the prisoners come before you;
let your
strong arm reprieve those condemned to die.
But we, your
people, the flock of your pasture,
will give you
thanks for ever and ever.
We will tell
your praise from age to age.
Rescue
us, O Lord, for the glory of your name.
____________________
Alleluia,
alleluia!
The seed is
the word of God, Christ the sower;
whoever finds
this seed will remain for ever.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Matthew 13:36-43
As the darnel is gathered up and burnt, so it will be at the end of
time
Leaving the
crowds, Jesus went to the house; and his disciples came to him and said, ‘Explain
the parable about the darnel in the field to us.’ He said in reply, ‘The sower
of the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed is
the subjects of the kingdom; the darnel, the subjects of the evil one; the
enemy who sowed them, the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; the
reapers are the angels. Well then, just as the darnel is gathered up and burnt
in the fire, so it will be at the end of time. The Son of Man will send his
angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that provoke offences
and all who do evil, and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will
be weeping and grinding of teeth. Then the virtuous will shine like the sun in
the kingdom of their Father. Listen, anyone who has ears!’ THE GOSPEL OF THE
LORD
Prayerful reflection
We heard this
parable and its explanation ten days ago on the 16th Sunday of
Ordinary Time. The world is the field and it is covered with wheat and darnel
all mixed together. Who are the wheat and who are the darnel? Are we not all
both wheat and darnel? In the heart of everyone grows the wheat and also the
darnel. By harvest time, we need to be pure wheat. The divide between good and
evil runs through the heart of each person. There are not just black and white –
saints and sinners. There are things in each of us of which we are ashamed and
wish we could be rid of. Let us make the cleansing of our heart, the work of
our life. The paradox is, that it is not our work, but the work of the master
of the harvest, the Holy Spirit. He alone can transform what is evil in us, into
good. Through constant prayer, we are to surrender to the Spirit and allow him
to lead us.
There is a
fearful side too. If we do not have the darnel cleared by harvest time, we will
also have to undergo the purifying fire.
Mt 5: 7-8
Blessed are
the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Blessed are
the clean of heart, for they shall see God.
Prayer
Look with
favour on our prayer, Lord,
and in your
saving love
let your
light penetrate the hidden places of our hearts.
May no sordid
desires darken our minds,
renewed and
enlightened as we are by your heavenly grace.
Through our
Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and
reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for
ever and ever.
Amen.
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