Thursday, June 12, 2014
Thursday 10th Week in Ordinary Time
June 12, 2014
Thursday 10th Week in Ordinary Time
1 Kgs 18: 41-46 / Ps 65: 10, 11, 12-13 / Mt 5: 20-26
Reading: 1 Kgs 18: 41-46
Elijah then said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink, for the sound of rain is rushing in." So Ahab went up to eat and drink. Elijah, in the meantime, went to the top of Carmel, bowed to the ground and put his face between his knees. Then he said to his servant, "Go up and look in the direction of the sea." The man went up, looked, and said, "There is nothing." Then Elijah said, "Go again" and seven times he went. At the seventh time, he perceived a little cloud, the size of a man's hand, rising out of the sea. Elijah told him, "Go, tell Ahab: Prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you." A little later the sky grew dark with clouds and wind and a strong rain fell. Ahab was riding on his way to Jezreel; as for Elijah, the hand of Yahweh was on him, and tucking his cloak in his belt, he ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
Gospel: Mt 5: 20-26
I tell you, then, that if you are not righteous in a much broader way than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to our people in the past: Do not commit murder; anyone who does kill will have to face trial. But now I tell you: whoever gets angry with a brother or sister will have to face trial. Whoever insults a brother or sister deserves to be brought before the council; whoever calls a brother or a sister "Fool" deserves to be thrown into the fire of hell. So, if you are about to offer your gift at the altar and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with him, and then come back and offer your gift to God. Don't forget this: be reconciled with your opponent quickly when you are together on the way to court. Otherwise he will turn you over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, who will put you in jail. There you will stay, until you have paid the last penny.
Reflection:
Two men were conversing. The first said: "Did you hear how that Chinese lady spoke Tagalog in a very funny way?" The other replied: "I did but I'm pretty sure her Tagalog is much better than your Chinese."
The gospel today provides clear admonitions against our so natural propensity to wantonly judge or criticize our fellowmen. Whenever we ridicule others, we invariably say we are better than they while in reality we are not. No wonder, attitudes are very important because they will eventually shape one's personality and character. Then it defines the person until his death; unless change happens before the end comes! Why such strong warnings on seemingly innocuous tendencies? Evidently, our Lord knows that if left unchecked, these can easily lead to pushing us towards a very unhealthy level of pride that may adversely affect our relationships with others.
Let us recall conflicts that we have experienced with other people. Would it be difficult to imagine that we were mad at them simply because they could not accept our position? Wasn't it obvious that since we were intellectually more superior or emotionally more mature than they, we were of course right and they completely wrong? Then again, is it possible that they had a perfectly logical reason for acting the way they did and we were just so blinded by pride to realize it?
God instructs us to express our love for Him not just as offerings, but through good, respectful and considerate relationships with the people around us.
Let us pray for the gift of humility. Let us pray for the courage to seek forgiveness from people we have hurt because of our pride. With sincere repentance, let us pray that God continues to envelop us in His love in spite of our many weaknesses and frailties.
Prayer Requests:
We pray ...
... for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
... for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
... for families who are in need of healing.
... for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
**************************************************
These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following:
+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+
-- Thursday 10th Week in Ordinary Time
1 Kgs 18: 41-46 / Ps 65: 10, 11, 12-13 / Mt 5: 20-26
Reading: 1 Kgs 18: 41-46
Elijah then said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink, for the sound of rain is rushing in." So Ahab went up to eat and drink. Elijah, in the meantime, went to the top of Carmel, bowed to the ground and put his face between his knees. Then he said to his servant, "Go up and look in the direction of the sea." The man went up, looked, and said, "There is nothing." Then Elijah said, "Go again" and seven times he went. At the seventh time, he perceived a little cloud, the size of a man's hand, rising out of the sea. Elijah told him, "Go, tell Ahab: Prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you." A little later the sky grew dark with clouds and wind and a strong rain fell. Ahab was riding on his way to Jezreel; as for Elijah, the hand of Yahweh was on him, and tucking his cloak in his belt, he ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
Gospel: Mt 5: 20-26
I tell you, then, that if you are not righteous in a much broader way than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to our people in the past: Do not commit murder; anyone who does kill will have to face trial. But now I tell you: whoever gets angry with a brother or sister will have to face trial. Whoever insults a brother or sister deserves to be brought before the council; whoever calls a brother or a sister "Fool" deserves to be thrown into the fire of hell. So, if you are about to offer your gift at the altar and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with him, and then come back and offer your gift to God. Don't forget this: be reconciled with your opponent quickly when you are together on the way to court. Otherwise he will turn you over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, who will put you in jail. There you will stay, until you have paid the last penny.
Reflection:
Two men were conversing. The first said: "Did you hear how that Chinese lady spoke Tagalog in a very funny way?" The other replied: "I did but I'm pretty sure her Tagalog is much better than your Chinese."
The gospel today provides clear admonitions against our so natural propensity to wantonly judge or criticize our fellowmen. Whenever we ridicule others, we invariably say we are better than they while in reality we are not. No wonder, attitudes are very important because they will eventually shape one's personality and character. Then it defines the person until his death; unless change happens before the end comes! Why such strong warnings on seemingly innocuous tendencies? Evidently, our Lord knows that if left unchecked, these can easily lead to pushing us towards a very unhealthy level of pride that may adversely affect our relationships with others.
Let us recall conflicts that we have experienced with other people. Would it be difficult to imagine that we were mad at them simply because they could not accept our position? Wasn't it obvious that since we were intellectually more superior or emotionally more mature than they, we were of course right and they completely wrong? Then again, is it possible that they had a perfectly logical reason for acting the way they did and we were just so blinded by pride to realize it?
God instructs us to express our love for Him not just as offerings, but through good, respectful and considerate relationships with the people around us.
Let us pray for the gift of humility. Let us pray for the courage to seek forgiveness from people we have hurt because of our pride. With sincere repentance, let us pray that God continues to envelop us in His love in spite of our many weaknesses and frailties.
Prayer Requests:
We pray ...
... for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
... for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
... for families who are in need of healing.
... for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
**************************************************
These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following:
+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+
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# posted by F O O D F O R T H O U G H T @ 4:25 PM 
