“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone...” – Mark 12:10

       In buildings, a cornerstone is the first stone set in laying the foundation. The cornerstone is important because all other stones will be set in reference to this stone. It becomes the base that determines the position of the entire structure. In other words, it is the cornerstone that upholds the whole structure together.

       Friend, what is the cornerstone of your life? What is your foundation? On what have you built your life upon? People? Prestige? Power? Popularity? Plans?

       All these things will at one point fall, fail and fade away. If you build on worldly things as your foundation, your life will come crumbling down when troubles come.

      So let me encourage you: Build your life on the foundation of a Person – Jesus Christ. Establish Him as your Sure Foundation, your Cornerstone on whom the structure of your life stands firm. For in Him all things hold together. He will never be shaken. Mike Viñas (mikemichaelfcv@yahoo.com, @mikevinas)

Reflection: “Christ alone, cornerstone. Weak made strong in the Savior’s love. Through the storm He is Lord, Lord of all.” (from the song “Cornerstone” by Hillsong Worship)

Jesus, You are my Cornerstone. Uphold my life and elevate my existence to be all that You want it to be. Amen.

St. Boniface, bishop and martyr, pray for us.

Tobit was a righteous man. When his son told him about the dead man lying on the street, he gave the man a decent burial. Like Tobit, Mother Teresa cared for the poor, the dying and the unwanted, and did her best to restore to them their human dignity. Let us emulate her life of humble, selfless service.

3 I, Tobit, have walked all the days of my life on the paths of truth and righteousness. I performed many charitable works for my kinsmen and my people who had been deported with me to Nineveh, in Assyria. 2:1 On our festival of Pentecost, the feast of Weeks, a fine dinner was prepared for me, and I reclined to eat. 2 The table was set for me, and when many different dishes were placed before me, I said to my son Tobiah: “My son, go out and try to find a poor man from among our kinsmen exiled here in Nineveh. If he is a sincere worshiper of God, bring him back with you, so that he can share this meal with me. Indeed, son, I shall wait for you to come back.” 3 Tobiah went out to look for some poor kinsman of ours. When he returned he exclaimed, “Father!” I said to him, “What is it, son?” He answered, “Father, one of our people has been murdered! His body lies in the market place where he was just strangled!” 4 I sprang to my feet, leaving the dinner untouched; and I carried the dead man from the street and put him in one of the rooms, so that I might bury him after sunset. 5 Returning to my own quarters, I washed myself and ate my food in sorrow. 6 I was reminded of the oracle pronounced by the prophet Amos against Bethel: “All your festivals shall be turned into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation.” 7 And I wept. Then at sunset I went out, dug a grave, and buried him. 8 The neighbors mocked me, saying to one another: “He is still not afraid! Once before he was hunted down for execution because of this very thing; yet now that he has scarcely escaped, here he is again burying the dead!”

R: Blessed is the man who fears the Lord.

1 Blessed the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commands. 2 His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth; the upright generation shall be blessed. (R) 3 His generosity shall endure forever. 4 Light shines through the darkness for the upright; he is gracious and merciful and just. (R) 5 Well for the man who is gracious and lends, who conducts his affairs with justice; 6 He shall never be moved; the just man shall be in everlasting remembrance. (R)

How well do we receive the Word of God? Our answer will reflect how committed we are to our faith. If we do not listen to and welcome the Word of God with gratitude and joy, we will never become a disciple of Jesus. Are we willing to make this commitment?

Jesus Christ, you are the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead; you have loved us and freed us from our sins by your Blood.

1 Jesus began to speak to the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey. 2 At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent them another servant. And that one they beat over the head and treated shamefully. 5 He sent yet another whom they killed. So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed. 6 He had one other to send, a beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, put the tenants to death, and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not read this Scripture passage: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 11 by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes’?” 12 They were seeking to arrest him, but they feared the crowd, for they realized that he had addressed the parable to them. So they left him and went away.

think: In what way is Jesus the cornerstone in your life?

Read the Bible in one year 2 Samuel 17-20

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

thank You, Lord, for: ______________________________________________________

WE LIVE UNDER AUTHORITY

No matter how much we may want to avoid authority in our lives, we cannot. In fact, it is essential to our own good order that we place our lives under the authority of others. This is especially so when, as children, there is a multitude of authorities that we need to respect. However, the need does not disappear when we become adults. Even as adults the authority of God’s call upon us casts a net that we cannot ignore if we want to be truly fulfilled in all that we do.

       The truest expression of our freedom is to live under the grace of the Holy Spirit. In today’s parable, we see the tenant farmers rejecting the authority of the landowner. This is never going to produce a good outcome. The landowner has a natural authority as well as responsibilities in this situation as owner of the land. Justice, a form of natural authority, demands that the tenants pay rent to the landowner.

       Similarly, as God’s creation, we have an obligation to obey His will. It is through this obedience, a true respect for God’s authority, that we will discover the path of life that will bring us fulfillment. Freedom always brings with it a set of obligations if we want to experience its true benefits. This is something that the world recognizes in that we always hear calls for the rights of various groups of people to be respected, but nowhere near as many calls for the obligations or duties that accompany the rights to be observed. We cannot have one without the other. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

----------- REFLECTION QUESTION ----------

How much time do you spend reflecting upon or demanding your rights in comparison with respecting the obligations that go with them?

Father, thank You for the gift of freedom in my life. I pray for the grace to exercise it well and always with respect for the duties and obligations that go with it. Amen.