The Catholic Calendar for Friday, July 9, 2004
Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
St. Augustine Zhao Rong, priest, and companions, martyrs

Scripture from Friday’s Liturgy of the Word:
Hosea 14:2-10
Psalm 51:3-4, 8-9, 12-14, 17
Matthew 10:16-23

A reflection on today’s Sacred Scripture:

After all the severe warnings in prior Hosea, today’s readings are a soothing ointment. How incredible, that after all the infidelity of Israel, the Lord is now eager to welcome them back, erasing their sins as though they had never occurred! The mercy of the Lord confuses and embarrasses us, as it must have embarrassed the Israelites.

Do we respond with firm assurance that our sins are really wiped out? Or do we carry them as weights that slow down our joyful determination to serve the Lord even more faithfully, beginning right now? Courage and joy should always accompany repentance as a sign that we are truly grateful for such a merciful God.

As the Gospel warns, we’ll need all the courage we can muster to endure the persecution that’s bound to accompany the committed follower of Truth. And, if we’re not on the firing line, there are thousands in this world who are. They are the ones who need our support through prayer and the encouragement of personal contact, e-mail, and letters to the editors of newspapers and journals.

Resolutions are effective when accompanied by action. There’s so little time left for many of us!

- Msgr. Paul E. Whitmore
(smartins at twcny dot rr dot com)

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posted by joachim at 4:01 AM