Proclaiming the gospel with boldness  

 

Mt 10: 24-33

‘Disciple is not superior to teacher, nor slave to master. It is enough for disciple to grow to be like teacher, and slave like master. If they have called the master of the house “Beelzebul”, how much more the members of his household? ‘So do not be afraid of them. Everything now covered up will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from the housetops. ‘Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell .Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. ‘So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of human beings, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven. But the one who disowns me in the presence of human beings, I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven.’

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CHRIST LIVES IN ME

“Bring everything to me so that I may take possession of it and proclaim myself through you” (Inner word).

In following the Lord, everything in us must be transformed. As the Apostle of the Gentiles teaches us, we are to become “new men,” “spiritual persons” (cf. 1 Cor 3:1). This means the Holy Spirit takes the reins, and we follow His instructions docilely, allowing our thoughts and actions to be transformed by His influence. Then, rather than being primarily determined by natural impulses, we learn to understand and be governed by God’s perspective with the grace of our Heavenly Father.

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THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE HEART

“Ecce enim veritatem dilexisti (Thou desirest truth in the inward being)” (Ps 51:6).

We know the words of the prophet Jeremiah about the twisted heart: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can understand it? ‘I the Lord search the mind and try the heart, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings’” (Jer 17:9).

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Attaining wisdom

Pr 2:1-9

Reading for the memorial of Saint Benedict the Abbot

My child, if you take my words to heart, if you set store by my commandments, tuning your ear to wisdom, tuning your heart to understanding, yes, if your plea is for clear perception, if you cry out for understanding, if you look for it as though for silver, search for it as though for buried treasure, then you will understand what the fear of Yahweh is, and discover the knowledge of God. For Yahweh himself is giver of wisdom, from his mouth issue knowledge and understanding. He reserves his advice for the honest, a shield to those whose ways are sound; he stands guard over the paths of equity, he keeps watch over the way of those faithful to him. Then you will understand uprightness, equity and fair dealing, the paths that lead to happiness. Read More

God knows how to use even evil  

Gen 44:18-21, 23-29; 45:1-5

‘At this, Judah went up to him and said, ‘May it please my lord, let your servant have a word privately with my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself. My lord questioned his servants, “Have you father or brother? „And we said to my lord, “We have an old father, and a younger brother born of his old age. His brother is dead, so he is the only one by that mother now left, and his father loves him. “Then you said to your servants, “Bring him down to me, so that I can set eyes on him. But you said to your servants, “If your youngest brother does not come down with you, you will not be admitted to my presence again.” When we went back to your servant my father, we repeated to him what my lord had said. So when our father said, “Go back and get us a little food,” we said, “We cannot go down. We shall go only if our youngest brother is with us for, unless our youngest brother is with us, we shall not be admitted to the man’s presence.

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The Expulsion of unclean spirits  

Mt 10:1-7

‘Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to drive them out and to cure all kinds of disease and all kinds of illness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon who is known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who was also his betrayer. These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows: ‘Do not make your way to gentile territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town; go instead to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand.’

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Labourers for the harvest

Mt 9:32-38

They had only just left when suddenly a man was brought to him, a dumb demoniac. And when the devil was driven out, the dumb man spoke and the people were amazed and said, ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.’ But the Pharisees said, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he drives out devils. ‘Jesus made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing all kinds of disease and all kinds of illness. And when he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers to his harvest.’ Read More

HOW GOOD IT IS THAT GOD IS GOD!  

“I rejoice in the fact that God is God.” (Saint Charles de Foucauld)

With all our hearts, we can make the words of Saint Charles de Foucauld our own: “How good it is that God is God!” This realization can well up from the depths of our hearts as constant praise. Already in the Old Testament, King David exclaims: “I am in great distress; let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is very great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.” (1 Chr 21:13).

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