My Friday Daily Blessings, July 26, 2013

My Friday Daily Blessings

Be still, quiet your heart and mind, the LORD is here loving you, talking to you............

Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Catholic Observance)

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

First Reading: Ex 20:1-17

In those days: 

God delivered all these commandments:

“I, the LORD, am your God,  who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. You shall not have other gods besides me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above  or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth;  you shall not bow down before them or worship them.
For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God,  inflicting punishment for their fathers’ wickedness  on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation;  but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation  on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments.

“You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain.
For the LORD will not leave unpunished  him who takes his name in vain.

“Remember to keep holy the sabbath day. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God.
No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter,  or your male or female slave, or your beast,  or by the alien who lives with you.
In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth,  the sea and all that is in them;  but on the seventh day he rested.
That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

“Honor your father and your mother,  that you may have a long life in the land  which the LORD, your God, is giving you.

“You shall not kill.

“You shall not commit adultery.

“You shall not steal.

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife,  nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass,  nor anything else that belongs to him.”

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11

"LORDs, you have the words of everlasting life."

Gospel: Mt 13:18-23

Jesus said to his disciples: “Hear the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the Kingdom without understanding it, and the Evil One comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it,
who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

**Meditation:

How good are you at listening, especially for the word of God? God is ever ready to speak to each of us and to give us understanding of his word.  This parable of Jesus is a warning to those who hear and who preach the word of God. What makes us ineffective and unresponsive to God's word? Preoccupation with other things can distract us from what is truly important and worthwhile. And  letting our hearts and minds be consumed with material things can easily weigh us down and draw us away from the treasure that lasts for eternity. God's word can only take root in a receptive heart which is docile and ready to hear what God has to say. One lesson is clear: the harvest is sure.While some seed will fall by the wayside and some fall on shallow ground and never come to maturity, and some be choked to death by the thorns; nonetheless a harvest will come. The seed that falls on good soil, on the heart that is receptive, will reap abundant fruit. Are you teachable and eager to learn God's truth? And do you allow anything to keep you from submitting to God's word with joy and trusting obedience?

**Prayer:

"LORD JESUS, help me to guard the word you have planted in my heart that no doubt or temptation may keep me from believing and obeying you. May I be fruitful in your service and may I never fear to speak of you to others and to share with them the good news of the Gospel. 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

Editor of Living Bullwark

Member of the Servants of the Word