Message of 7-24-17

Published: Mon, 07/24/17

A Daily Spiritual Seed
Monday: July 24, 2017
Message of the Day
“The whole purpose of our Lord’s commandments is to rescue the spirit from chaos and hatred and lead it to love of him and love of one’s neighbour. From this springs forth, like a flash of lightning, holy knowledge.”
- Maximus the Confessor, Centuries on Charity, IV -

(Open yourself to God’s wisdom and guidance. Feel yourself being drawn into God’s loving care.)
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Readings of the Day
EX 14:5-18;   EX 15:1BC-2, 3-4, 5-6

MT 12:38-42

Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,
"Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you."
He said to them in reply,
"An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign,
but no sign will be given it
except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, 
so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth
three days and three nights.
At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah;
and there is something greater than Jonah here.
At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation
and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon;
and there is something greater than Solomon here."

USCCB lectionary
Reflection on the Scripture
"Stand your ground, and you will see the victory the Lord will win for you today." —Exodus 14:13

 
If we stand our ground, we will see the victory of the Lord, for He will fight for us (Ex 14:14). Moses made this promise before the Lord rescued the chosen people by drowning the Egyptians in the Red Sea. This is a symbol of Baptism.

When we stand on the ground of our Baptism, we will see the Lord's victory. We must stand on the fact that through Baptism we are in Christ. Therefore, we are new creations, children of God the Father, redeemed by the blood of Jesus, temples of the Holy Spirit, and members of the Church, the Body of Christ.

If we stand on the ground of our own power, plans, or importance, we will not see the Lord's victory. Our own basis for victory is groundless.

God's victory comes to those standing on the right ground: God's ground. Many Christians have disregarded God's "no trespassing" signs and stand on the wrong ground. When they repent, get back where they belong, and stand there, they will see God's victory. Back to Baptism. Forward to victory (see Ex 14:15).
 
Prayer: Father, may I stand where You tell me to stand.

Promise: "At the judgment, the queen of the South will rise with the present generation and be the one to condemn it. She came from the farthest corner of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; but you have a greater than Solomon here." —Mt 12:42

Presentation Ministries
Amazon Gift Cards: Good for any occasion.
Spiritual Reading
Theological Gems from Emile Merch's Theology of the Mystical Body
- selected by Jim and Tyra Arraj

Book V: In Christ
 
Chapter 15: The Holy Supernatural
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471. God, who always and everywhere is pure Being and the source of all being, acts with all His being by giving Himself; God acts by causing this man to be truly God, truly Being, and to have within him all that is needed for being.
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God brings this union into being by the mystery of union in Himself, for the mystery of the Trinity is certainly a mystery of union. In the Incarnation, therefore, and in the subsistence He communicates to the assumed humanity, God acts not only in a way that is different from Creation, but by a different aspect of Himself.
 
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