GOD IS PREPARING

THINGS FOR YOU

This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. – Genesis 2:4

I’ve been meditating over the passages of Genesis and, during prayer time, it struck me how the first book in the Bible portrayed God. We’ve known how loving, kind, and merciful God is. But in the Book of Genesis, we see Him as Someone who takes so much pride and joy in creating.

Have you seen how much thought God put in creating the world... and you? Have you reflected on the passages that showed how God paid particular attention to even the smallest detail in creation? He created light and dark, the sea and the sky and the lands in between. He created food and vegetation before the living creatures. And when everything was perfect, He created man.

It shows that God is a God of order and precision. A God of creativity and imagination. A God who loves us so much that He took the time to prepare everything for us before He created us.

Friend, are you waiting for something to happen in your life? A promotion, a relationship, a dream? Have you been waiting long? Remember this: God is preparing everything for you. He will bring you to your “Garden of Eden” in His most perfect time. Karren Renz P. Seña (karren.s@shepherdsvoice.com.ph)

Reflect: Are you waiting on God for something or someone right now? Take heart and know that God is working in the background.

Lord, may we have the heart to rely on Your timing and not ours. Amen.

St. Giles Mary of St. Joseph, pray for us.

The second account of Creation seems to be rooted more in emotions than the intellect. The redactor of the Book of Genesis smartly includes independent accounts of Creation to help us understand that humanity and all Creation cannot be seen in a simple, clinical way. Creation and humanity are complex realities that need effort in their care.

Genesis 2:4-9, 15-17

4 At that time when the Lord God made the earth and the heaven 5 while as yet there was no  field shrub on earth and no grass of the field had sprouted, for the Lord God had sent no rain upon the earth and there was no man to till the soil, 6 but a stream was welling up out of the earth and was watering all the surface of the ground—7 the Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being. 8 Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and he placed there the man whom he had formed. 9 Out of the ground the Lord God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 15 The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it. 16 The Lord God gave man this order: “You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden 17 except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die.”

P S A LM 

Psalm 104:1-2, 27-28, 29-30

R: O bless the Lord, my soul!

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord, my God, you are great indeed! You are clothed with majesty and glory, 2 robed in light as with a cloak. (R) 27 All creatures look to you to give them food in due time. 28 When you give it to them, they gather it; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. (R) 29 If you take away their breath, they perish and return to their dust. 30 When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. (R)

GOSPEL 

All laws, including religious ones, should foster and not hamper human life. Jesus teaches us to focus on our relationships more than rules. The Jews were caught in the small details of life as they followed the Law that had become trivial. It took much time and effort to obey the Law that it diverted their attention from what really mattered–their relationships with one another.1st READING

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Your word, O Lord, is truth: consecrate us in the truth.

Mark 7:14-23

14 Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. 15 Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.” [16] 17 When he got home away from the crowd his disciples questioned him about the parable. 18 He said to them, “Are even you likewise without understanding? Do you not realize that everything that goes into a person from outside cannot defile, 19 since it enters not the heart but the stomach and passes out into the latrine?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 “But what comes out of a man, that is what defiles. 21 From within the man, from his heart, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. 23 All these evils come from within and they defile.”

think: How do you strengthen your relationship with God, with family, and others?

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Read the Bible in one year 2 Corinthians 1-4 

 

 

THE GIFT OF FREEDOM

When God created the world, He gave human beings a special power which sets them apart from other created things. It is a beautiful power, and yet it is dangerous. This power makes people more like God. And yet its misuse can drive people away from God. Humans have fought and died for the right to exercise this power, and others have attempted to suppress it in order to gain complete domination over a nation. This awesome power is freedom.

Although we have instincts like those of the animals, we are not completely controlled by them. We have the ability to choose. A hungry animal confronted with food has no option—it is driven to eat. An equally hungry human being can choose not to eat—for whatever reason.

It is no wonder that today’s First Reading presents the problem of freedom within the poetic context of forbidden fruit. We should not envision a literal tree or even a literal apple. Charles Miller, in his book Opening the Treasures, has this commentary: “The author presents the tree as a symbol of the fact that we human beings are called to choose real good, not apparent good, and that God directs us in what is the real good of life.”

In a certain sense, when God gave us the gift of freedom—a gift which He did not give to irrational animals—He gambled with us. He ran the risk that we would abuse our freedom. And yet He judged that the gamble was worthwhile. The reason is that God wants us to return His love freely and voluntarily, not by compulsion. He sees value only in love that is freely given.

When we attend the Eucharistic celebration, it shows that we have used our gift of freedom well. We could have chosen to be somewhere else—resting, watching TV, shopping, eating, and drinking. But we have freely chosen to show our love for God through the celebration of the Mass. Love freely given is indeed very pleasing to God. Fr. Nelson Orqueta

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

Are you using your God-given freedom well?

May I have the grace to discern what pleases You in every situation, Lord. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ______________________________