Message of the Day
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(On striving for the highest good . . .)
"Why this reluctance to have to make an effort, to toil, to fight, to become the artificer of your own salvation? 'My Father is working still,' it is written, 'and I am working' (John 5: 17). Are you then reluctant to work, you who
were created in order to create positively?"
- Origen, "First Homily on Ezekiel" -
(What is the "work" you must do at this time in life to cooperate with God's saving grace? Resolve to "make an effort" in this direction today.)
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Readings of the Day
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EZ 24:15-23; DT 32:18-19, 20-21; MT 19:16-22
R. You have forgotten God who gave you birth.
You were unmindful of the Rock that begot you.
You forgot the God who gave you birth.
When the LORD saw this, he was filled with loathing
and anger toward his sons and daughters.
"I will hide my face from
them," he said,
"and see what will then become of them.
What a fickle race they are,
sons with no loyalty in them!"
"Since they have provoked me with their 'no-god'
and angered me with their vain idols,
I will provoke them with a 'no-people';
with a foolish nation I will anger them."
USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Gospel
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Why must the Messiah be rejected and killed? Did not God promise that his Anointed One would deliver his people from their oppression and establish a
kingdom of peace and justice? The prophet Isaiah had foretold that it was God's will that the "Suffering Servant" make atonement for sins through his suffering and death. Jesus paid the price for our redemption with his blood. Slavery to sin is to want the wrong things and to be in bondage to destructive desires. The ransom Jesus paid sets us free from the worst tyranny possible - the tyranny of sin and the fear of death. Jesus' victory did not end with death but triumphed over the tomb. Jesus
defeated the powers of death through his resurrection. Do you want the greatest freedom possible, the freedom to live as God truly meant us to live as his sons and daughters?Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?
My doctor often tells me that I'd feel
better if I lost weight and exercised more. Mentally I know what I should do, but there is a constant pull to revert to old habits that take less energy and commitment. In today's story of the young man, Jesus offers us the opportunity for a more fulfilling life, but it may require us to reach beyond our comfort zone. Unfortunately, it can be easy to find lame excuses and take an easier path, when a call to serve requires us to enter uncertain territory. When we trust in God's help, however,
the rewards are usually beyond the ordinary.
O Lord, give me the strength to push beyond my comfort zone when I encounter an opportunity to share your love.
Lord Jesus, your death brought life and freedom. May I always walk in that freedom and be
guided by your love and truth that I may be generous towards all and give each their due.
Daily Bread
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Spiritual Reading
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Freedom from Codependency, by Philip St. Romain
Chapter 6: What is Christian Love?
- part 3 of 12
- Dysfunctional Beliefs About Love -
part 3 of 5
* "Love means putting others before self."
This teaching, if taken literally, will produce codependency. At times self-denial is appropriate behavior. Parents waking in the night to care for a hungry baby must suspend their
own need for sleep for the sake of the baby. The problem comes when we use self-denial as an absolute indicator of love, never getting around to our own needs. Even if other people's needs are not as important as our own, we set aside our own needs to meet theirs. Such self-denying behavior distorts true Christian love, which calls for the love of neighbor AS self.
* "It is better to give than
to receive."
As with the self-denying distortion of Christian love described above, codependents interpret "giving" as putting others first. They regard receiving as selfish. Actually, for codependents, staying on the giving side is a way to be in control and avoid feeling vulnerable. It takes humility to receive--to be humble enough to acknowledge that we have a need that others can help to
fill.
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