My Friday Daily Blessings
Be still, quiet your heart and mind, the Lord is here loving you,
talking to you.................
Memorial of Saint Lawrence Ruiz and his Companions, Martyrs (Catholic Observance)
Friday of the Twenty Fifth Week in Ordinary Time (Roman Rite Calendar)
First Reading: Eccl 3:1-11
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them; a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.
A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away.
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to be silent, and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
What advantage has the worker from his toil?
I have considered the task that God has appointed for the sons of men to be busied about.
He has made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless into their hearts, without man's ever discovering, from beginning to end, the work which God has done.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 144: 1b and 2abc, 3-4
"Blessed be the Lord, my rock!"
Gospel: Lk 9:18-22
Once when Jesus was praying in solitude,
and the disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" They said in reply, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, 'One of the ancient prophets has arisen.'" Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said in reply, "The Christ of God." He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone. He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised."
**Reflection:
Who is Jesus for you? Many in Israel recognized Jesus as a mighty man of God, even comparing him with the greatest of the prophets. Peter, always quick to respond, professed that Jesus is truly the Christ. No mortal being could have revealed this to Peter, but only God. Through the eyes of faith Peter grasped who Jesus truly was. He was the first apostle to publicly recognize Jesus as the Anointed One (also translated Messiah or Christ). Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew word, Messiah. Peter's faith, however, was sorely tested when Jesus explained that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and die in order that God's work of redemption might be accomplished. How startled the disciples were when they heard this word! How different are God's thoughts and ways from our thoughts and ways! Through humiliation, suffering, and death on the cross Jesus broke the powers of sin and death and won for us our salvation. If we want to share in Christ's victory, then we must also take up our cross and follow him where he leads us. What is the "cross" that I must take up? When my will crosses with God's will, then his will must be done. To know Jesus Christ is to know the power of his death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit gives us the gift of faith to know Jesus personally, power to live the gospel faithfully, and courage to witness to others the joy and truth of the gospel. Who do you say that Jesus is?
**Prayer:
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"Lord, I believe and I profess that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Take my will, my life, and all that I have, that I may be wholly yours now and forever."
Amen.
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**Don Schwager
Author and Writer
Sword of the Spirit
and The Word Among Us
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