My Friday Daily Blessings, July 13, 2012

My Friday Daily Blessings

Be still, quiet your heart and mind, the Lord is here loving you,

talking to you.................

Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Roman Rite Calendar)

*First Reading: Hos 14:2-10 

Thus says the LORD:
Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt.
Take with you words, and return to the LORD;
Say to him, "Forgive all iniquity, and receive what is good, that we may render as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.
Assyria will not save us, nor shall we have horses to mount;
We shall say no more, 'Our god,' to the work of our hands; for in you the orphan finds compassion."
I will heal their defection, says the LORD,
I will love them freely; for my wrath is turned away from them.
I will be like the dew for Israel: he shall blossom like the lily;
He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar, and put forth his shoots.
His splendor shall be like the olive tree and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar.
Again they shall dwell in his shade and raise grain;
They shall blossom like the vine, and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols?
I have humbled him, but I will prosper him.
"I am like a verdant cypress tree"--because of me you bear fruit!

Let him who is wise understand these things; let him who is prudent know them.
Straight are the paths of the LORD, in them the just walk, but sinners stumble in them.

*Responsorial Psalm: Ps 51:3-4, 8-9, 12-13, 14 and 17

   "My mouth will declare your praise."

*Gospel Reading: Mt 10:16-23

Jesus said to his Apostles:
"Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.
But beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues,
and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans.
When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say.
You will be given at that moment what you are to say.
For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.
When they persecute you in one town, flee to another.
Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes."

**Reflection:

What does Jesus mean when he says his disciples must be sheep in the midst of wolves? The prophet Isaiah foretold a time when wolves and lambs will dwell in peace (Isaiah 11:6 and 65:25). This certainly refers to the second coming of Christ when all will be united under the Lordship of Jesus after he has put down his enemies and established the reign of God over the heavens and the earth. In the meantime, the disciples must expect opposition and persecution from those who oppose the gospel. Jesus never hesitated to tell his disciples what they might expect if they followed him. Here Jesus says to his disciples: This is my task for you at its grimmest and worst; do you accept it? This is not the world's way of offering a job. After the defeat at Dunkirk, Churchill offered his country blood, toil, sweat, and tears. This is not the message we prefer to hear when the Lord Jesus commissions us in his service. Nonetheless, our privilege is to follow in the footsteps of the Master  who laid down his life for us. Are you willing to accept hardship and suffering in following after the Lord?

**Prayer:

"Lord Jesus, help me to patiently and joyfully accept the hardships, adversities, and persecution which come my way in serving you. Strengthen my faith and give me courage that I may not shrink back from doing your will”. 

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