My Wednesday Daily Blessings
Be still, quiet your heart and mind, the Lord is here loving you,
talking to you.................
Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Catholic Observance)
Wednesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time (Roman Rite Calendar)
*First Reading: 1 Kgs 18:20-39
Ahab sent to all the children of Israel and had the prophets assemble on Mount Carmel.
Elijah appealed to all the people and said, "How long will you straddle the issue?
If the LORD is God, follow him; if Baal, follow him."
The people, however, did not answer him.
So Elijah said to the people, "I am the only surviving prophet of the LORD, and there are four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal.
Give us two young bulls.
Let them choose one, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood, but start no fire.
I shall prepare the other and place it on the wood, but shall start no fire.
You shall call on your gods, and I will call on the LORD.
The God who answers with fire is God."
All the people answered, "Agreed!"
Elijah then said to the prophets of Baal,
"Choose one young bull and prepare it first, for there are more of you.
Call upon your gods, but do not start the fire."
Taking the young bull that was turned over to them, they prepared it and called on Baal from morning to noon, saying,
"Answer us, Baal!"
But there was no sound, and no one answering.
And they hopped around the altar they had prepared.
When it was noon, Elijah taunted them:
"Call louder, for he is a god and may be meditating, or may have retired, or may be on a journey.
Perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened."
They called out louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until blood gushed over them.
Noon passed and they remained in a prophetic state until the time for offering sacrifice.
But there was not a sound; no one answered, and no one was listening.
Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me."
When the people had done so, he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been destroyed.
He took twelve stones, for the number of tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the LORD had said, "Your name shall be Israel."
He built an altar in honor of the LORD with the stones, and made a trench around the altar large enough for two measures of grain.
When he had arranged the wood, he cut up the young bull and laid it on the wood.
"Fill four jars with water," he said, "and pour it over the burnt offering and over the wood."
"Do it again," he said, and they did it again.
"Do it a third time," he said, and they did it a third time.
The water flowed around the altar, and the trench was filled with the water.
At the time for offering sacrifice, the prophet Elijah came forward and said,
"LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things by your command.
Answer me, LORD!
Answer me, that this people may know that you, LORD, are God and that you have brought them back to their senses."
The LORD's fire came down and consumed the burnt offering, wood, stones, and dust,
and it lapped up the water in the trench.
Seeing this, all the people fell prostrate and said,
"The LORD is God! The LORD is God!"
Elijah appealed to all the people and said, "How long will you straddle the issue?
If the LORD is God, follow him; if Baal, follow him."
The people, however, did not answer him.
So Elijah said to the people, "I am the only surviving prophet of the LORD, and there are four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal.
Give us two young bulls.
Let them choose one, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood, but start no fire.
I shall prepare the other and place it on the wood, but shall start no fire.
You shall call on your gods, and I will call on the LORD.
The God who answers with fire is God."
All the people answered, "Agreed!"
Elijah then said to the prophets of Baal,
"Choose one young bull and prepare it first, for there are more of you.
Call upon your gods, but do not start the fire."
Taking the young bull that was turned over to them, they prepared it and called on Baal from morning to noon, saying,
"Answer us, Baal!"
But there was no sound, and no one answering.
And they hopped around the altar they had prepared.
When it was noon, Elijah taunted them:
"Call louder, for he is a god and may be meditating, or may have retired, or may be on a journey.
Perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened."
They called out louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until blood gushed over them.
Noon passed and they remained in a prophetic state until the time for offering sacrifice.
But there was not a sound; no one answered, and no one was listening.
Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me."
When the people had done so, he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been destroyed.
He took twelve stones, for the number of tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the LORD had said, "Your name shall be Israel."
He built an altar in honor of the LORD with the stones, and made a trench around the altar large enough for two measures of grain.
When he had arranged the wood, he cut up the young bull and laid it on the wood.
"Fill four jars with water," he said, "and pour it over the burnt offering and over the wood."
"Do it again," he said, and they did it again.
"Do it a third time," he said, and they did it a third time.
The water flowed around the altar, and the trench was filled with the water.
At the time for offering sacrifice, the prophet Elijah came forward and said,
"LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things by your command.
Answer me, LORD!
Answer me, that this people may know that you, LORD, are God and that you have brought them back to their senses."
The LORD's fire came down and consumed the burnt offering, wood, stones, and dust,
and it lapped up the water in the trench.
Seeing this, all the people fell prostrate and said,
"The LORD is God! The LORD is God!"
*Responsorial Psalm: Ps 16:1b-2ab, 4, 5ab and 8, 11
"Keep me safe, O GOD; you are my hope."
*Gospel Reading: Mk 5:17-19
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven."
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven."
**Reflection:
Why do people tend to view the “law of God” negatively rather than positively? Jesus’ attitude towards the law of God can be summed up in the great prayer of Psalm 119: “Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.” For the people of Israel the “law” could refer to the ten commandments or to the five Books of Moses, called the Pentateuch, which explain the commandments and ordinances of God for his people. The “law” also referred to the whole teaching or way of life which God gave to his people. The Jews in Jesus’ time also used it as a description of the oral or scribal law. Needless to say, the scribes added many more things to the law than God intended. That is why Jesus often condemned the scribal law. It placed burdens on people which God had not intended. Jesus, however, made it very clear that the essence of God’s law – his commandments and way of life, must be fulfilled. The law of God is truth and when we live according to that truth it produces the fruits of righteousness, holiness, peace, and joy.
Jesus taught reverence for God’s law – reverence for God himself, for the Lord’s Day, reverence or respect for parents, respect for life, for property, for another person’s good name, respect for oneself and for one’s neighbor lest wrong or hurtful desires master us. Reverence and respect for God’s commandments teach us the way of love – love of God and love of neighbor. What is impossible to men is possible to God and those who have faith in God. God gives us the grace to love as he loves, to forgive as he forgives, to think as he thinks, and to act as he acts. The Lord loves righteousness and hates wickedness. As his followers we must love his commandments and hate every form of sin. Do you love the commands of the Lord?
**Prayer:
“Lord Jesus, grant this day, to direct and sanctify, to rule and govern our hearts and bodies, so that all our thoughts, words and deeds may be according to your Father’s law and thus may we be saved and protected through your mighty help." Amen.
Sources:
*Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
**Don Schwager
Author and Writer
Sword of the Spirit and
The Word Among Us
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