Message of 7-21-15

Published: Tue, 07/21/15

Message of the Day

In God, we live every commonplace as well as the most exalted moment of our being. To trust in Him when no need is pressing, when things seem going right of themselves, may be harder than when things seem going wrong.

- George Macdonald

(What helps you to remain faithful to God when things are going right?)

Daily Readings

EX 14:21—15:1; EXODUS 15:8-10, 12, 17; MT 12:46-50

R. Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.

At the breath of your anger the waters piled up,

the flowing waters stood like a mound,

the flood waters congealed in the midst of the sea.

The enemy boasted, “I will pursue and overtake them;

I will divide the spoils and have my fill of them;

I will draw my sword; my hand shall despoil them!”

When your wind blew, the sea covered them;

like lead they sank in the mighty waters.

When you stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them!

And you brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your inheritance—

the place where you made your seat, O LORD,

the sanctuary, O LORD, which your hands established.

USCCB Lectionary

Reflection on the Scriptures

Self-esteem and self-worth are interesting concepts. To some individuals these words go hand in hand with celebrity status and it is something they strive for. For them, gracing the cover of People magazine would likely be their crowning achievement. For others it might be being recognized by their peers as the best in their chosen field. But this type of fame is limited to few and it is fleeting as well.

So what are our options for assuring our own self-esteem if we know we will never grace the cover of People or win the Nobel Peace Prize? How do we elevate our own sense of self-worth? One tactic some of us employ is to tell our friends about our interactions with those who are famous. Or, is it the more subtle tact of a picture of you with a sports legend, politician or movie star on your office desk? In conversations with friends do you slip in that over the weekend you were introduced to a celebrity, or that your closest friend is the closest friend of Mr. or Mrs. Famous? It is probably human nature that we all try to elevate our self-esteem and status by sharing with others the “celebrities” we know or we associate with.

But have you ever considered elevating your self-worth and self-esteem by saying to your friends that Jesus is your brother? I suspect for many of us the answer would be no. But today’s Gospel tells us just who are members of Jesus’ family when he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister and mother.”

- by Steve Scholer

Creighton Online Ministries

SPIRITUAL READING

Revelations of Divine Love
- by Julian of Norwich

Chapter 2

“A simple creature unlettered.—Which creature afore desired three gifts of God”

For the Third [petition], by the grace of God and teaching of Holy Church I conceived a mighty desire to receive three wounds in my life: that is to say, the wound of very contrition, the wound of kind compassion, and the wound of steadfast longing toward God. And all this last petition I asked without any condition.

These two desires aforesaid passed from my mind, but the third dwelled with me continually.

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