Friday, July 25, 2014
Saturday 16th Week in Ordinary Time
July 26, 2014
Saturday 16th Week in Ordinary Time
[Memorial, Sts. Joachim and Anne]
Jer 7: 1-11 / Ps 84: 3, 4, 5-6a and 8a, 11 / Mt 13: 24-30
Reading: Jer 7: 1-11
These words were spoken by Yahweh, to Jeremiah, "Stand at the gate of Yahweh's house and proclaim this in a loud voice: Listen to what Yahweh says, all you people of Judah (who enter these gates to worship Yahweh). Yahweh the God of Israel says this: Amend your ways and your deeds and I will stay with you in this place. Rely not on empty words such as: 'Look, the Temple of Yahweh! the Temple of Yahweh! This is the Temple of Yahweh!' It is far better for you to amend your ways and act justly with all. Do not abuse the stranger, orphan or widow or shed innocent blood in this place or follow false gods to your own ruin. Then I will stay with you in this place, in the land I gave to your ancestors in times past and forever. But you trust in deceptive and useless words. You steal, kill, take the wife of your neighbor; you swear falsely, worship Baal and follow foreign gods who are not yours. Then, after doing all these horrible things, you come and stand before me in this temple that bears my Name and say, 'Now we are safe.' Is this house on which rests my Name a den of thieves? I have seen this myself - it is Yahweh who speaks.
Gospel: Matthew 13: 24-30
Jesus told them another parable, "The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and left. When the plants sprouted and produced grain, the weeds also appeared. Then the servants of the owner came to him and said: 'Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? Where did the weeds come from?' He answered them: 'This is the work of an enemy.' They asked him: 'Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?' He told them: 'No, when you pull up the weeds, you might uproot the wheat with them. Let them just grow together until harvest; and at harvest time I will say to the workers: Pull up the weeds first, tie them in bundles and burn them; then gather the wheat into my barn."
Reflection:
Why is there evil in the world? Many of us struggle with this question, especially when bad things happen to good people, when cruelty runs unchecked, when people wage wars against each other, or when tragedies strike and we do not know why. We wonder why God allows such things to occur. Could it be that He closes his eyes to everything that is happening, abandoning us in our suffering?
We've heard of many parables of the kingdom of heaven, each one focusing on a different aspect of it that our Lord wants to highlight. In this one about the sower of wheat, he addresses our difficult questions. Evil is not of his doing, nor does he condone it. But in the field of life, it is difficult to separate the good from the evil because each is a part of the other. Is it not in the midst of darkness that light shines the most? Is it not in our suffering that we see God most clearly? Is it not during difficult times that the goodness in men comes through?
But the kingdom of heaven is a kingdom of justice. And when the time comes, the parable assures us, there is no scenario where good does not prevail over evil.
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.
+================================================+
-- Saturday 16th Week in Ordinary Time
[Memorial, Sts. Joachim and Anne]
Jer 7: 1-11 / Ps 84: 3, 4, 5-6a and 8a, 11 / Mt 13: 24-30
Reading: Jer 7: 1-11
These words were spoken by Yahweh, to Jeremiah, "Stand at the gate of Yahweh's house and proclaim this in a loud voice: Listen to what Yahweh says, all you people of Judah (who enter these gates to worship Yahweh). Yahweh the God of Israel says this: Amend your ways and your deeds and I will stay with you in this place. Rely not on empty words such as: 'Look, the Temple of Yahweh! the Temple of Yahweh! This is the Temple of Yahweh!' It is far better for you to amend your ways and act justly with all. Do not abuse the stranger, orphan or widow or shed innocent blood in this place or follow false gods to your own ruin. Then I will stay with you in this place, in the land I gave to your ancestors in times past and forever. But you trust in deceptive and useless words. You steal, kill, take the wife of your neighbor; you swear falsely, worship Baal and follow foreign gods who are not yours. Then, after doing all these horrible things, you come and stand before me in this temple that bears my Name and say, 'Now we are safe.' Is this house on which rests my Name a den of thieves? I have seen this myself - it is Yahweh who speaks.
Gospel: Matthew 13: 24-30
Jesus told them another parable, "The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and left. When the plants sprouted and produced grain, the weeds also appeared. Then the servants of the owner came to him and said: 'Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? Where did the weeds come from?' He answered them: 'This is the work of an enemy.' They asked him: 'Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?' He told them: 'No, when you pull up the weeds, you might uproot the wheat with them. Let them just grow together until harvest; and at harvest time I will say to the workers: Pull up the weeds first, tie them in bundles and burn them; then gather the wheat into my barn."
Reflection:
Why is there evil in the world? Many of us struggle with this question, especially when bad things happen to good people, when cruelty runs unchecked, when people wage wars against each other, or when tragedies strike and we do not know why. We wonder why God allows such things to occur. Could it be that He closes his eyes to everything that is happening, abandoning us in our suffering?
We've heard of many parables of the kingdom of heaven, each one focusing on a different aspect of it that our Lord wants to highlight. In this one about the sower of wheat, he addresses our difficult questions. Evil is not of his doing, nor does he condone it. But in the field of life, it is difficult to separate the good from the evil because each is a part of the other. Is it not in the midst of darkness that light shines the most? Is it not in our suffering that we see God most clearly? Is it not during difficult times that the goodness in men comes through?
But the kingdom of heaven is a kingdom of justice. And when the time comes, the parable assures us, there is no scenario where good does not prevail over evil.
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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