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If ever I reach heaven I expect to find three wonders there: first, to meet some I had not thought to see there; second, to miss some I had expected to see there; and third—the greatest wonder of all—to find myself there.
... John Newton (1725-1807)
(Let yourself hope for heaven, the greatest gift of all: eternal life in God.)
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Gn 21:5, 8-20a; Psalm 34:7-8, 10-11, 12-13
Mt 8:28-34
When Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes,
two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him.
They were so savage that no one could travel by that road.
They cried out, “What have you to do with us, Son of God?
Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?”
Some distance away a herd of many swine was feeding.
The demons pleaded with him,
“If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine.”
And he said to them, “Go then!”
They came out and entered the swine,
and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea
where they drowned.
The swineherds ran away,
and when they came to the town they reported everything,
including what had happened to the demoniacs.
Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus,
and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.
Praying the Daily Gospels: A Guide to Meditation, by Philip St. Romain, 2018 (3rd ed.)
Matthew 8: 28-34 (Demoniacs and swineherd)
This is another miracle that is most meaningful when interpreted symbolically. Jesus’ expulsion of the demoniacs into the swineherd does not indicate his displeasure over raising hogs (as some have written). Rather, it reveals his high esteem for human life.
• If you were to suddenly inherit $1 million, how would you change your lifestyle? How important is economics in your list of priorities?
• The Gadarenes ordered Jesus out of their district because he was obviously bad for business. Do you believe Jesus is still expelled by business? How?
Treatise on the Love of God, by St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
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BOOK II: THE HISTORY OF THE GENERATION AND HEAVENLY BIRTH OF DIVINE LOVE
Chapter 11: That it is no fault of the divine goodness if we have not a most excellent love
As long as the poor widow had empty vessels, the oil which Eliseus had by prayer miraculously multiplied never left off running, but when she had no more vessels to receive it, it ceased to flow. In the same measure in which our heart dilates itself, or rather in the measure in which it permits itself to be enlarged and dilated, keeping itself empty by the simple fact of not refusing consent to the divine
mercy, this ever pours forth and ceaselessly spreads its sacred inspirations, which ever increase and make us increase more and more in heavenly love; but when there is no more room, that is, when we no longer give consent, it stops.
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