Meditation: Friday, August 23, 2002

[Joachim]

Title: Meditation:  Friday, August 23, 2002

The Catholic Calendar for Friday, August 23, 2002    Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time    Saint Rose of Lima Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:    Ezekiel 37:1-14               Psalm 107:2-9             Matthew 22:34-40 A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture: Thinking about the "dry bones", it came to me that we can all relate to being like those "dry bones". When Ezekiel prophesied over the bones his words were "Hear the word of the Lord." (Ezekiel 37:4) How dry and empty we are who separate ourselves from the Word of God. It is the Word that gives us life. It is the Word that shows us how to live our life. It is the Word that sustains us in all that we do! The Word that is God! The Word of the Spirit of the living God! Just as Ezekiel, by his prophetic word, brought the dry bones back to life, so are we offered that same gift of life on a daily basis. Throughout the scriptures the Lord calls out to us: Come to me; I will hold you by the hand; I will give you living water. How much more of an invitation do we need? If we can hear God's word to us through the power of the Holy Spirit, our Gospel today tells us simply to "love the Lord your God, with your whole soul and with all your mind" and to "love your neighbor as yourself." (Mt.22:37,39) Jesus does not mince words!            Mighty God,                Give us the grace to hear your word,                make it our own,                and carry it into our daily life.                Amen. - Deacon Bill Powers ([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) Also, the meditations are now in weblog form at http://dailymed.blogspot.com/ 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)1986-2002 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 copy-right 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.Text from the New American Bible: http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/index.htm Lives of the Saints: http://www.christdesert.org/public_texts/martyrology/