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"As long as I am content to know that He is infinitely greater than I, and that I cannot know Him unless He shows Himself to me, I will have Peace, and He will be near me and in me, and I will rest in Him."
- Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude -
(Trust in God . . . rest in the confidence of God's love and care for you.)
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2 THES 2:1-3A, 14-17; PS 96:10, 11-12, 13; MT 23:23-26
R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Say among the nations: The LORD is king.
He has made the world firm, not to be moved;
he governs the peoples with equity.
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it resound;
let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!
Then shall all the trees of the forest exult.
Before the LORD, for he comes;
for he comes to rule the earth.
He shall rule the world with justice
and the peoples with his constancy.
USCCB Lectionary
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Reflection on the Scriptures |
Judgment is a major theme of the two readings and the Psalms. What struck me was the tone had a more hopeful nature than I anticipated on the subject of the readings. The first reading from Thessalonians gives a warning about the second coming.
We are told not to be concerned about any "spirit", an "oral statement" or a "letter" on this future event. The advice to us from Paul is to "stand firm" in what we are doing. This gives comfort knowing that if we are strong in our faith and continue in our actions we should be encouraged through the grace of God.
The psalms continue this theme. God is portrayed as the Lord of all who reigns
justly and with equity. I know from this he is a just and loving God. The gospel reading from Matthew has a more foreboding tone but offers contentment as well. There is a warning not to be hypocritical like the Pharisees. The message is to be concerned about our interior self and not be ruled by the external. For myself I find that this speaks to my heart.
- by Joe Zaborowski
Creighton Online Ministries
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Selected Quotes from the Writings of St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)
The devil keeps man from good with a thousand machinations spewed from his belly, so that when a
person sighs to do good, he pierces him with his shafts; and when he desires to embrace God with his whole heart in love, he subjects him to poisonous tribulations, seeking to pervert good work before God. And when a person seeks the viridity of virtue, the devil tells him that he does not know what he is doing, and he teaches him that he can set his own law for himself.
- letter to the Abbot, c.
1166
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