DAILY- HOMILY

July 23, 2019 – TUESDAY, 16th Week in Ordinary Time
St. Bridget of Sweden, Widow and Religious Founder
Green.

Ex 14: 21 – 15: 1 / Mt 12: 46 – 50

St. Bridget of Sweden (1303 – 1373), a mother of seven, one of whom was canonized as St. Catherine of Sweden (c. 1330 – 1381), became a Franciscan tertiary and founded the Order of the Most Holy Savior. With Sts. Catherine of Siena (1347 – 1380) and Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (1891 – 1942). she was declared co–patroness of Europe by Pope St. John Paul II in 1999.

FROM THE 1ST READING: Ex 14: 30 – 15:1
On that day Yahweh delivered Israel from the power of the Egyptians and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore. They understood what wonders Yahweh had done for them against Egypt, and the people feared Yahweh. They believed in Yahweh and in Moses, his servant.

Then Moses and the people sang this song to Yahweh: I will sing to Yahweh, the glorious One, horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.

GOSPEL READING: Mt 12: 46 – 50
While Jesus was still talking to the people, his mother and his brothers wanted to speak to him and they waited outside. So someone said to him, "Your mother and your brothers are just outside; they want to speak with you."

Jesus answered, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" Then he pointed to his disciples and said, "Look! Here are my mother and my brothers.. Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is for me brother, sister, or mother."

REFLECTION
In the first reading Israel, led by Moses, is delivered by Yahweh's great works from Pharoah and Egypt on their route to the promised land.

There is in today's Gospel a great and practical truth. It may very well be that a person finds himself closer to people who are not related to him than he does to his own relatives. The deepest relationship of life is not merely a blood relationship. It is the relationship of mind to mind and heart to heart.. It is when people have common aims, common principles, common interests and a common goal in life that they become really and truly related.

Now let us remember the definition of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is a society upon earth where God's will is as perfectly done as it is in heaven. It was Jesus' supreme quality that He, of all people, alone succeeded in fully achieving that identity of His will and the will of God. Therefore, all those whose aim in life is to make God's will their will, are the true relatives of Jesus. We speak of all people being the sons and daughters of God. In one very real and very precious sense that is true because God loves saints and sinners. But it is when a person puts his will in line with God's will, that a real relationship begins. This is the only way to true and lasting happiness in this life.

When we refuse to accept God's will, we bring upon ourselves nothing but pain and trouble of heart. But when we look up to God and say: "Do with me as you wish", then there is the way to joy.

Jesus is a demanding master, for he will share a person's heart with nothing and with no one. Love is necessarily exclusive. We can only love one person at a time and serve one Master at a time. That is hard, but there is this great wonder. When we give ourselves absolutely to Christ, we become one of the family of God.

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!

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