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The Catholic Calendar for Thursday, May 23, 2002 The Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word: James 5:1-6 Psalm 49:14-20 Mark 9:41-50 A Reflection on Today's Scripture: In today's Gospel Jesus emphatically tells us that we must remove those things in our lives that lead us to sin. His words are familiar and seemingly harsh. He says, "cut it off," if your hand is your difficulty. If taken literally, Jesus seems to border on barbaric when in fact he is the epitome of gentleness. Why then such strong language? Perhaps it is because we don't always take gentle words seriously, and are jolted into reality only when "yelled at" figuratively. Or perhaps Jesus knows full well that we frequently and conveniently don't recognize what is sinful. He knows we are weak and vulnerable to the deceitful and death-dealing cunning of the devil. He knows we can't "court" evil, thinking we won't "wed" it. He knows, it may soon become our "bedfellow" - an intimate companion. Let us then thank the Lord for the wise words of Holy Scripture that perhaps shock us into habits of holiness by removing and forbidding any deliberate occasion of sinfulness. May God give us the grace to heed His words, follow His commands and one day by His grace merit everlasting life - perfect joy, unending peace, incomprehensible love. - Donna Raye Nelson, ocds ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) YOU CAN HELP to evangelize the Word of God: Please recommend our website to your friends and Catholic webmasters. The meditations are in English & Spanish at http://www.borg.com/~joachim/DailyMeds.html (case sensitive). ARCHIVED Meditations: http://www.abcsoffaith.com/quiet/quietplace.html and at: http://www.mail-archive.com/dailymed%40saturn.nibcomp.com For ALL communications, including subscribe/unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (c)2002 The Way, The Truth, The Life. Permission granted to make reprints of the meditations or to post on any web page, except for profit. All scripture quotes are from the Douay-Rheims edition of the Catholic Bible. Full text from the New American Bible: http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/index.htm Lives of the Saints: http://www.christdesert.org/public_texts/martyrology/ |
Title: Meditation: Thursday, May 23, 2002
