Meditation: Saturday, July 27, 2002

[Joachim]

Title: Meditation: Saturday, July 27, 2002

The Catholic Calendar for Saturday, July 27, 2002     Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:     Jeremiah 7:1-11     Psalm 84:3-6,8,11     Matthew 13:24-30 A Reflection on Today's Scripture: In the first reading from Jeremiah, the Lord tells us: "Reform your ways and your deeds, so that I may remain with you in this place." God is love. God wants us to share the blissful union of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit so that we may reach eternal joy and happiness. On paper it sounds quite simple doesn't it?! As Christians, we know how difficult this attempt at union with God can be ...we try ...we fail ...we try again ...we fail again.... At other times, we may be blessed and sense a deep awareness within us of the wonder of God's love and the active Grace within in our lives. On the whole though, it can appear quite daunting when we choose the path of Jesus. But let me ask you this question as posed by St. Peter: Who else offers the message of eternal life? When we follow Jesus, we are in for the long haul! There are no magic wands to grant us our most immediate wishes. There are few short term gains from a worldly perspective. However Jesus can give us that 'peace' and 'hope' that the world doesn't give despite even in the most trying circumstances. In order to find these most precious gifts, Jesus gives us a blueprint for living through His new commandments of love. And His commandments of love call for a new way of life -- an abandonment of sin and selfishness so that we may grow in the presence of love and grow Christlike in the daily course of our lives. Is it achievable? All we can do, is do our best with the limited understanding and knowledge that we have. However we can trust in God's love, providence and divine grace to make up for our shortfalls. If the task seems too big, let us remember to take just one day at time, handing all over to Jesus for His blessing so that everything we do and everyone we encounter may be included in the mantle of the Lord's presence.               We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. - Cliodhna Doyle ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) YOU CAN HELP to evangelize the Word of God: Please recommend our website to your friends and Catholic webmasters 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@saturn.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. Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms (c)1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner. 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/