We may begin to seek Him
in desolation,
feeling nothing but His absence.
But the mere fact that we seek Him
proves that we have already found Him. - Thomas Merton, No Man is an Island
(What do you seek from God these days?) |
JB 19:21-27; PS 27:7-8A, 8B-9ABC, 13-14
LK 10:1-12
Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he intended to visit.
He said to them,
"The harvest is abundant but the
laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;
and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter, first say,
'Peace to this household.'
If a peaceful person lives there,
your peace will rest on him;
but if not, it will return to you.
Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to
you,
for the laborer deserves his payment.
Do not move about from one house to another.
Whatever town you enter and they welcome you,
eat what is set before you,
cure the sick in it and say to them,
'The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.'
Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you,
go out into the streets and say,
'The dust of your town that clings to our feet,
even that we shake off against you.'
Yet know this: the Kingdom of God is at hand.
I tell
you,
it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day
than for that town."
Reflection on the Scriptures |
Today is the feast of St. Francis. Pope John Paul II named him the patron saint of those who promote ecology. My sense is that we are seeing populations starting to suffer due to climate change. Today I am reminded of the urgency of this issue. . .
Tradition has Saint Francis experiencing a vision in the chapel of San Damiano in which Christ on the crucifix charges him to “go and repair My house”. Initially Francis takes this literally and embarks on getting money for the physical reconstruction of the chapel and other nearby churches. Eventually he comes to realize that his mission concerns an institution in need of repair. Today I see many venues in need of repair - physical, institutional and
individual.
Counting myself among the sites in need of repair, I conclude with St. Francis’ prayer in San Damiano.
Most High, glorious God,
enlighten the darkness of my heart and give me
true faith, certain hope,
and perfect charity,
sense and knowledge, Lord, that I may carry out
Your holy and true command. Amen.
- by Mike
Cherney
Revelations of Divine
Love - by Julian of Norwich
Fourteenth Revelation, Chapter 52
“We have now matter of mourning: for our
sin is cause of Christ’s pains; and we have, lastingly, matter of joy: for endless love made Him to suffer” And thus is this medley so marvellous in us that scarsely we know of our self or of our even-Christian in what way we stand, for the marvellousness of this sundry feeling. But
that same Holy Assent, that we assent to God when we feel Him, truly setting our will to be with Him, with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our might. And then we hate and despise our evil stirrings and all that might be occasion of sin, spiritual and bodily. And yet nevertheless when this sweetness is hid, we fall again into blindness, and so into woe and tribulation in diverse manners. But then is this our comfort, that we know in our faith that by virtue of Christ which is
our Keeper, we assent never thereto, but we groan there-against, and dure on, in pain and woe, praying, unto that time that He sheweth Him again to us.
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