TRUST IN HIS LOVE

Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you. – Jeremiah 7:23

Obedience is not man’s greatest strength. As children, when we were told not to eat sweets before dinner, did we joyfully and eagerly obey with a smile on our face? Most probably we would have grudgingly asked, “Why?” Our tendency is to disobey. We’d rather do it “my way.”

But God invites us to “walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you.” When you think about it, this is how we should relate to God. He is God, our Creator, and we are His creatures. We should obey Him, but we fear that God may ask us to do something we dislike. The root of our disobedience is we want to be in control. We fear that God does not have our good in mind. We fear that God will not give us our heart’s desire. In a word, we do not trust in God’s love for us.

But the truth is, God wants the best for us. That’s why He created us. He loved us into existence that we might share in what is not only good, but what is the best. Beth Melchor (epmelchor6@ gmail.com) 

Reflect: Have you ever feared surrendering an area of your life to God’s control? What did you fear God might ask you to do?

St. Catherine of Bologna, pray for us.

Jeremiah is frustrated by the people’s refusal to listen to the Word of God. He created and formed them, yet they are deaf to His message. Are we like them? Do we fail to listen to His Good News because of the distractions around us? Let us listen to God’s voice in the midst of our noisy world. May this be our constant prayer: Lord, help me to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to be angry (James 1: 19).

Jeremiah 7:23-28

23 Thus says the Lord: This is what I commanded my people: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you, so that you may prosper. 24 But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed. They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts and turned their backs, not their faces, to me. 25 From the day that your fathers left the land of Egypt even to this day, I have sent you untiringly all my servants the prophets. 26 Yet they have not obeyed me nor paid heed; they have stiffened their necks and done worse than their fathers. 27 When you speak all these words to them, they will not listen to you either; when you call to them, they will not answer you. 28 Say to them: this is the nation that does not listen to the voice of the Lord, its God, or take correction. Faithfulness has disappeared; the word itself is banished from their speech.

R: If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

1 Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord; let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us greet him with thanksgiving; let us joyfully sing psalm to him. (R) 6 Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the Lord who made us. 7 For he is our God, and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides. (R) Oh, that today you would hear his voice: 8 “Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert, 9 where your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had seen my works.” (R)

It is ironic that the people are worried about the good acts that Jesus performs. Why is it hard for them to believe what He says about Himself and the Gospel He proclaims? Let us put our energy into living and proclaiming the Gospel like Jesus did. May we focus on sharing the message of salvation to all who need to hear it.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, for I am gracious and merciful.

Luke 11:14-23

14 Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed. 15 Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” 16 Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. 17 But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. 18 And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. 19 If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20 But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. 22 But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. 23 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

think: What things blind you from seeing the good in people? Pray for God’s grace to make you see.

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T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST 

Read the Bible in one year - Genesis 43-46 

BY THE FINGER OF GOD

The image of “finger” comes up at least two times in Scripture—first in Exodus 8:19 and in today’s Gospel passage, referred to differently in Matthew 12:28 as “the spirit of God.”

But before I expound on it, allow me to digress. One famous saint whose equally famous finger is venerated since the fourteenth century is St. Catherine of Siena, one of the two patron saints of Italy and among the several patron saints of Europe, and one of the two women doctors of the Church, along with St. Teresa of Avila. That famous revered finger is both historical and mystical. It was the finger that supposedly wore the invisible ring that symbolized the mystical marriage of Catherine to our Lord Jesus Christ. On the historical front, it was the finger that was instrumental to the writing of so many letters to people in power—the very same finger that stood for the truths that she proclaimed bravely to the same people in power, including popes and anti-popes.

St. Catherine’s finger stood for power that emanated from her deep mystical union with God in Christ. It was a power that changed the course of history, a power that she used wisely and prudently as she involved herself with a variety of human societal concerns.

Today’s millennials also have very powerful fingers. Busy a great part of the day with their keyboards, tablets, and smartphones that need no more than their agile fingers, they set the tone and tenor of many countries’ political culture and are behind the success of certain political figures. Fake news and biased blog reports have catapulted several interesting figures into the corridors of hotly contested political power.

I do not know where their power emanates from, but I do know where Catherine’s finger power came from. There may not have been social media platforms during her day, but she was an influencer who used her finger and letters to make the wonders of God known and His will carried out. Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

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

Jesus cast out demons by the finger of God. What are your fingers busy about?

 

May I always be conscious of how my words and actions influence others in how they see Jesus. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ______________________________