READINGS for 2006-08-11

INDUSTRIAL STEWARDSHIP

"... he will repay everyone according to his conduct.? ? Matthew 16:27

It had been three years since we reorganized this company to be our own. We rehired employees from the old company though some were part of a labor union.
      Recognizing these labor risks, we let Christian principles dominate management policy. As the company made profits, it was shared with the employees. Without the employees demanding for it, we gave away work uniforms and safety shoes. We paid them for special holidays when the Labor Code called for no-work, nopay. We gave them rice and medicine allowances. We also paid quarterly incentives, which gave them a total of more than 16 months pay for the whole year.
      As the company?s sharing of the profits grew, so did the company profits. But what the employees appreciated best is our policy not to force them to go on leave even when there were obviously not enough orders to run the plant. It had been three years now and no labor union had been organized in the company.
      We tried to show what Christian stewardship is about and the employees appreciated  it. We let the Spirit of Jesus rule our relationship and we reaped industrial peace.Rolly E.

REFLECTION:
Do I practice Christian stewardship in the workplace that I belong to?

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. (Prayer of St. Francis)

1st READING

Nahum 2:1.3; 3:1-3, 6-7

Sometimes the only comfort we have is that God is a God of justice and that He will vindicate His faithful ones in the end. This is not to say that we want to see God take revenge upon those who sin against us. But we recognize that, ultimately sin does not pay and that judgment will come to those who persist in it. At the same time, it may seem that God has abandoned us, just as Jesus expresses the abandonment He felt on the cross. However, we know and believe that we will be vindicated in the end with the gift of eternal life.

1 See, upon the mountains there advances the bearer of good news, announcing peace! Celebrate your feasts, O Judah, fulfill your vows! For nevermore shall you be invaded by the scoundrel; he is completely destroyed. 2 [3] The LORD will restore the vine of Jacob, the pride of Israel, though ravagers have ravaged them and ruined the tendrils. 3: 1 Woe to the bloody city, all lies, full of plunder, whose looting never stops! 2 The crack of the whip, the rumbling sounds of wheels; horses a-gallop, chariots bounding, 3 cavalry charging, the flame of the sword, the flash of the spear, the many slain, the heaping corpses, the endless bodies to stumble upon! 6 I will cast filth upon you, disgrace you and put you to shame; 7 till everyone who sees you runs from you, saying, ?Nineveh is destroyed; who can pity her? Where can one find any to console her??

P S A L M

Deuteronomy 32:35-36, 39, 41

R: It is I who deal death and give life.

35 Close at hand is the day of their disaster and their doom is rushing upon them! 36 Surely, the LORD shall do justice for his people; on his servants he shall have pity. (R) 39 ?Learn then that I, I alone, am God, and there is no god besides me. It is I who bring both death and life, I who inflict wounds and heal them. (R) 41 I will sharpen my flashing sword, and my hand shall lay hold of my quiver. ?With vengeance I will repay my foes and requite those who hate me. (R)

G O S P E L

Matthew 16:24-28

The lure of wealth and glory in the sight of men is extremely attractive. The only way we will be able to fight them off is if we learn to trust completely in the Lord and His promises of everlasting life. the next time you are faced with temptation, ask yourself this question. ?How long will these pleasures last?? Then compare your answer with eternity,s which is what God offers  you.

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, ?Whoever wishes to come after me  must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whoever wishes to  save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? 27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father?s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct. 28 Amen, I say to you, there are some standing  here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.?

my reflections
think: Ultimately, sin does not pay and judgment will come to those who persist in sin.

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God?s special verse/thought for me today________________

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T O D A Y ? S BLESSING LIST

Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________

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READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Jeremiah 23-26

SHE WAS HIS FRIEND

We have a saying, ?Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are.? This is a good maxim to live by. Be careful with whom you associate with. Choose your friends well.
      Clare, whose family name we do not know, was Italian by birth. She was born in 1193. Though coming from a well-to-do family, Clare left everything and lived a life of poverty and penance. She had a deep devotion to the Holy Eucharist and is said to have saved her city from invading barbarians by raising the Blessed Sacrament over them. Thus her statue clad in a nun?s habit with the Blessed Sacrament. She founded a religious order for women that followed strict monastic rules, particularly those pertaining to penance and poverty. After a holy and austere life, she passed away in 1253.
      Clare was an intimate friend of St. Francis of Assisi.
      Need we say more? Fr. Bobby T.

REFLECTION QUESTION:
What kind of friends do I keep?

Thank You, Lord, for inventing friendship. Thank You, Lord, for the gift of friends. May all my relationships be God-centered. May my friends lead me closer to You. And may I help all my friends become saints someday. Amen.

St. Clare, abbess virgin, pray for us.