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As the genuine religious impulse becomes dominant, adoration more and more takes charge. "I come to seek God because I need Him," may be an adequate formula for prayer. "I come to adore His splendour, and fling myself and all that I have at His feet," is the only possible formula for worship.
- Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941), Worship
(It is possible to feel both, of course -- our need for God, and loving adoration. How and when do you experience these? Which predominates at this time in your life?
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2 SM 11:1-4A, 5-10A, 13-17; Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6A, 6BCD-7, 10-11
MK 4:26-34
Jesus said to the crowds:
“This is how it is with the Kingdom of God;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day
and the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come.”
He said,
“To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.
USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture
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"Uriah the Hittite died." —2 Samuel 11:17
God's just law prescribed "life for life" (Ex 21:23), that is, David's death in punishment for arranging Uriah's death. However, God is "rich in mercy" (Eph 2:4). Therefore, God mercifully told David that He forgave his sin and promised that David would not die (2 Sm 12:13). Later, God restored David's happiness and blessed him abundantly. This is great news for all sinners, especially for those who have committed sexual sins.
Yet where is the mercy and justice for Uriah and for those like him who innocently suffer the consequences of the sins of others? Are you a Uriah? Has your spouse or boss betrayed you through their sin? Have you suffered years of neglect because your parent chose to walk out of your life due to sexual sin? Where is the mercy and the justice for you?
The mercy and justice for innocent victims is a Person: Jesus, Emmanuel, God-with-us (Mt 1:23). Mysteriously, God provided for all victims of all time by sending His Son as an innocent Victim Who would suffer far more than any of us. Jesus has become our Justice (1 Cor 1:30). He is also our Mercy. In Jesus, victims may not always receive justice in tangible ways. However, those victims who abandon themselves to
Jesus receive consolation far beyond what they could ever ask for or imagine (Eph 3:20).
God knows the perfect way to repay victims for their sufferings and wasted years (see Jl 2:25). Accept Jesus, the perfect Victim, as your Mercy and Justice. Jesus will not leave you orphaned or abandoned (Jn 14:18). Then "leave it to the Lord" (Ps 37:7) to take care of the rest.
Prayer: Lord, "into Your hands I commend my spirit" (Lk 23:46).
Promise: Jesus "taught them the message in a way they could understand." —Mk 4:33
Presentation Ministries
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Abandonment to Divine Providence
- by Jean-Pierre de Caussade
BOOK II,
CHAPTER II. THE DUTIES OF THOSE SOULS CALLED BY GOD TO THE STATE OF ABANDONMENT
SECTION II. The Pains and Consolations of Abandonment.
The soul ought to strip itself of all things created in order to arrive at the state of abandonment.
This state is full of consolation for those who have attained it; but to do so it is necessary to pass through much anguish. The doctrine concerning pure love can only be taught by the action of God, and not by any effort of the mind. God teaches the soul by pains and obstacles, not by ideas.
This science is a practical knowledge by which God is enjoyed as the only good. In order to master this science it is necessary to be detached from all personal possessions, to gain this detachment, to be really deprived of them. Therefore it is only by constant crosses, and by a long succession of all kinds of mortifications, trials, and deprivations, that pure love becomes established in the soul. This must
continue until all things created become as though they did not exist, and God becomes all in all. To effect this God combats all the personal affections of the soul, so that when these take any especial shape, such as some pious notion, some help to devotion; or when there is any idea of being able to attain perfection by some such method, or such a path or way, or by the guidance of some particular person; in fine to whatever the soul attaches itself, God upsets its plans, and allows it to
find, instead of success in these projects, nothing but confusion, trouble, emptiness, and folly. Hardly has it said "I must go this way, I must consult this person, or, I must act in such a manner,‚" than God immediately says the exact contrary, and withdraws all the virtue usual in the means adopted by the soul. Thus, finding only deception and emptiness in everything, the soul is compelled to have recourse to God Himself, and to be content with Him.
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