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"We can lift the greatest weight from our spirits by trusting in God to provide for all our needs. This providential, loving concern touches all details of our lives, even the most banal. . . A loving
surrender in all things to God's loving guidance comes from the Christian's belief that all things really work unto good to those who love the Lord (Rm. 8: 28).
- George Maloney, Inward Stillness
(What concern
do you need to entrust to God's loving providence this day?)
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1 COR 6:1-11; PS 149:1-6, 9; LK 6:12-19
R. The Lord takes delight in his
people.
Sing to the LORD a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high
praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
USCCB Lectionary
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Reflection on the Scriptures |
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In today's gospel Jesus "spends the night in communion with God" on the mountain and then descends to the people awaiting Him below (very similar to Moses on Sinai, who descends to the waiting Israelites: Exodus 19-20). Here, however, Jesus calls others up the mountain first (cf. Exodus 19:21-25) and names them His apostles; His descent with them invests them
with some of His authority and power.
Why specifically these men? It is important to note that Jesus names them only after conferring with the Father and that He chooses them in the Spirit, not selecting them on merely human bases. I would suggest that these men were what a friend of mine calls the "gentle searchers," men who were looking for God and trying to attach themselves to Him
and His service. They were seeking God beyond what observance of the Law provided. . .
These men looked hungrily to Jesus for life, and He chose them as His own in a special way. As part of their becoming His, He expected a certain service and a certain constant growth from them. These apostles were neither obsessive action junkies nor inert, they simply sought God --- even if
it was sometimes not faithfully or not humbly, almost never really understanding what Jesus asked of them or was teaching them.
Doesn't this apply to us as well? Aren't we also called by name, missioned, and inept --- but deeply loved?
- by Chas Kestermeier, S.J.
Creighton Online Ministries
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Selected Quotes from the Writings of St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)
Every element has a sound, an original sound from the order
of God; all those sounds unite like the harmony from harps and zithers.
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I, the fiery life of divine wisdom, I ignite the beauty of the plains, I sparkle the waters, I burn in the sun, and the moon, and the stars.
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The earth which sustains humanity must not be injured, it
must not be destroyed.
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