The Catholic Calendar for Saturday, July 2, 2005
Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary time

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Genesis 27:1-5, 15-29
Psalm 135:1-6
Matthew 9:14-17

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

We can never understand the mind of God or understand his "reasoning". For one thing, God is above reason. For another, it really is presumption on our part (if not arrogance) to probe the mind of God. His ways are not our ways. "Be still, and know that I am God!" should put an end to our puzzlement. Why did God let Jacob get away with the deception of pretending to be Esau? At the end, however, even Isaac seems content with the trickery imposed on him. We might just as well stop questioning God's plan.

And why don't Jesus' disciples fast? Isn't fasting something good? Jesus tells his disciples that there will be time enough later for carrying His cross! Scripture tells us that there is a time for everything. I think the most important attitude is that of trust. Trust that the Lord knows what He's doing. If Jesus tells us to be joyful, then we must be joyful. We call it the grace of the Present Moment. if we can be joyful with the presence of Jesus in this very present moment, we have captured the essence of the true follower of Jesus. It takes away fear of tomorrow, and helps us to focus our energy on listening to the Lord right now!

Let's close our eyes, thank God that He is here with us now, thank Him for that gift, and resolve to make of ourselves new wineskins to receive His tremendous love, encouragement, and inspiration.

Msgr. Paul Whitmore
(smartins at frontiernet dot net)

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