Tuesday.blog
The Catholic Calendar for Tuesday, July 13, 2004
Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Saint Henry
Scripture from Tuesday’s Liturgy of the Word:
Isaiah 7:1-9
Psalm 48:2-3a, 3b-4, 5-6, 7-8
Matthew 11:20-24
A reflection on today’s Sacred Scripture:
The themes for the reading of today can be a bit disconcerting as the emphasis is on upholding “the city”, meaning the reference to Jerusalem (The Church). The readings do not say that God will uphold us for ever. On the contrary, there is the warning in the first reading that “Unless your faith is firm, you shall not be firm.” We’re taught that faith is a gift, one that needs to be nourished by us, the recipient. One might ask the question on how to nourish one’s faith.
First, we can frequently thank God for this most precious gift--acknowledge the gift to ourselves and others, as opposed to placing it in the backroom of our being, only to be called upon in emergencies.
We need to uphold the teachings of the Church regarding the obligations of attending Mass, receiving the sacrament of penance, and the many other teachings. We might find good materials to enhance our understanding of our faith on an intellectual level, and of course we need to pray. Our belief system will eventually, with prayer and effort, permeate our very being. We have become the son’s and daughters of God through our baptism. Because of the love that flows from our firm beliefs, we join in the mission of Christ, to perform what we know as the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.
The gospel of Matthew discusses a theme that we’re apt to forget in our busy lives, that of repentance. Many of us believe that we have had a good day if we get through it without committing sin. Christ is asking more of us than that. Many of us, even though showered with numerous gifts and blessings from God, still continue to sin. God is reminding us in the reading that repentance is a necessity. There are many ways to repent, the first step however is to acknowledge to ourselves that we are in need of repentance.
These are fairly short readings, but packed full of ‘homework’...or ‘soulwork’!
Earthly time is short....eternity very long, so let’s begin that ‘soulwork’ now!
- Joan of Jesus, OCDS
(jmurphy at utica dot edu)
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