Monday, August 11, 2014
Tuesday 19th Week in Ordinary Time
August 12, 2014
Tuesday 19th Week in Ordinary Time
[St. Jane Frances de Chantal]
Ez 2:8-3:4 / Ps 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131 / Mt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14
Reading: Ez 2:8-3:4
Listen then, son of man, to what I say and don't be a rebel among rebels. Open your mouth and take in what I'm about to say." I looked and saw a hand stretched out in front of me holding a scroll. He unrolled it before me; on both sides were written lamentations, groanings and woes. He said to me, "Son of man, eat what is given to you. Eat this scroll and then go; speak to the people of Israel." I opened my mouth and he made me eat the scroll and then he said to me, "Eat and fill yourself with this scroll that I'm giving you." I ate it and it tasted as sweet as honey. He said, "Son of man, go to the Israelites; speak to them with my words.
Gospel: Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked him, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" Then Jesus called a little child, set the child in the midst of the disciples, and said, "I assure you that unless you change and become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes lowly like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives such a child in my name receives me. See that you do not despise any of these little ones, for I tell you: their angels in heaven continually see the face of my heavenly Father. What do you think of this? If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them strays, won't he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside, and go to look for the stray one? And I tell you: when he finally finds it, he is more pleased about it than about the ninety-nine that did not get lost. It is the same with your Father in heaven: there they don't want even one of these little ones to be lost.
Reflection:
"Whoever becomes lowly like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven..."
The little child that Jesus mentions didn't have pride to stop him from coming to Jesus. He humbly went near Jesus when he was called because he knew who Jesus was. He was ready to listen and to follow. Jesus wants us to be like children if we want to enter the kingdom of heaven. He does not want our pride to get in the way of our coming closer to him. He wants us to listen and to follow what he tells us to do. As we grow older, to listen to the Word of God is not easy because it does not only mean to lend it an attentive ear, but also to open our heart to it and to put it into practice. "To open our heart" means to continue growing spiritually to know Jesus more and to follow him more closely. Putting it into practice is even harder because we have become worldly and have our set ways of doing things.
Children are accepting, forgiving and open to love. St. Jane Frances de Chantal, our saint for the day, had the virtues of a little child. When her husband was killed in a hunting accident after seven years of marriage, she fell into depression. For the sake of her four children's future, she was forced to live with her fierce father-in-law and his wicked housekeeper. Through her spiritual guide, she listened to the Word of God and with his guidance, she found peace and happiness when she learned to accept her situation. In spite of her father-in-law and his housekeeper, she became cheerful at home. She ultimately forgave the man who killed her husband and even became the godmother of his child. Like St Jane Frances, we also experience tragedies and storms in our life but if we open our hearts to God and learn to forgive like a little child, we will find happiness and peace. St. Frances believed that the secret to happiness was in "throwing ourselves into God as a little drop of water into the sea, and losing ourselves in the Ocean of the Divine Goodness."
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
... for the birthday intentions of Daisy Billanes Serenuela
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.
+================================================+
-- Tuesday 19th Week in Ordinary Time
[St. Jane Frances de Chantal]
Ez 2:8-3:4 / Ps 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131 / Mt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14
Reading: Ez 2:8-3:4
Listen then, son of man, to what I say and don't be a rebel among rebels. Open your mouth and take in what I'm about to say." I looked and saw a hand stretched out in front of me holding a scroll. He unrolled it before me; on both sides were written lamentations, groanings and woes. He said to me, "Son of man, eat what is given to you. Eat this scroll and then go; speak to the people of Israel." I opened my mouth and he made me eat the scroll and then he said to me, "Eat and fill yourself with this scroll that I'm giving you." I ate it and it tasted as sweet as honey. He said, "Son of man, go to the Israelites; speak to them with my words.
Gospel: Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked him, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" Then Jesus called a little child, set the child in the midst of the disciples, and said, "I assure you that unless you change and become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes lowly like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives such a child in my name receives me. See that you do not despise any of these little ones, for I tell you: their angels in heaven continually see the face of my heavenly Father. What do you think of this? If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them strays, won't he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside, and go to look for the stray one? And I tell you: when he finally finds it, he is more pleased about it than about the ninety-nine that did not get lost. It is the same with your Father in heaven: there they don't want even one of these little ones to be lost.
Reflection:
"Whoever becomes lowly like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven..."
The little child that Jesus mentions didn't have pride to stop him from coming to Jesus. He humbly went near Jesus when he was called because he knew who Jesus was. He was ready to listen and to follow. Jesus wants us to be like children if we want to enter the kingdom of heaven. He does not want our pride to get in the way of our coming closer to him. He wants us to listen and to follow what he tells us to do. As we grow older, to listen to the Word of God is not easy because it does not only mean to lend it an attentive ear, but also to open our heart to it and to put it into practice. "To open our heart" means to continue growing spiritually to know Jesus more and to follow him more closely. Putting it into practice is even harder because we have become worldly and have our set ways of doing things.
Children are accepting, forgiving and open to love. St. Jane Frances de Chantal, our saint for the day, had the virtues of a little child. When her husband was killed in a hunting accident after seven years of marriage, she fell into depression. For the sake of her four children's future, she was forced to live with her fierce father-in-law and his wicked housekeeper. Through her spiritual guide, she listened to the Word of God and with his guidance, she found peace and happiness when she learned to accept her situation. In spite of her father-in-law and his housekeeper, she became cheerful at home. She ultimately forgave the man who killed her husband and even became the godmother of his child. Like St Jane Frances, we also experience tragedies and storms in our life but if we open our hearts to God and learn to forgive like a little child, we will find happiness and peace. St. Frances believed that the secret to happiness was in "throwing ourselves into God as a little drop of water into the sea, and losing ourselves in the Ocean of the Divine Goodness."
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
... for the birthday intentions of Daisy Billanes Serenuela
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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