16th Week: July 20-25: - Reflections
July 20 Monday:
(St.
Apollinaris, Bishop, Martyr)
Mt 12:38-42: 38 Then
some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign
from you.” 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks
for a sign; but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the
prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly
of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the
heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will arise at the judgment
with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of
Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the
South will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she
came from the ends of the earth to hear the Wisdom of Solomon, and behold,
something greater than Solomon is here. USCCB video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm
16th Sunday: WHEAT & WEEDS: Notes on the Video
16th Sunday: WHEAT and WEEDS: Mt
13:24-43:
The Lord in Mathew’s “Kingdom of God” discourse speaks about
the seeds, soil, weeds, treasure and food for all (Eucharist) for four Sundays. That is the Word of God despite many oppositions, resistances, disturbances, persecutions would become food for the soul. Our sowing is o feed the spiritual hunger or the nourishment of the world.
15th Week, Saturday, Jul 18
Micah
2:1-5 / Matthew 12:14-21
Micah warns Judah: “What
you take will be taken from you.”
Micah
bears a striking resemblance to Amos. He preached around 700 B.C., just before
Assyria destroyed Israel in the north. Like Amos, who lived some 50 years
before him, he came from the vicinity of Bethlehem. Micah also spoke out in the
same blunt, unpolished way as did Amos. But where Amos preached to Israel, Micah
preached to Judah in the south.
15th Week, Friday, Jul 17
Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8 / Matthew 12:1-8
Hezekiah prays to God: God
answered his prayer.
Alexis
Carrel was a French physician who did much of his work in the United States. He
eventually won the Nobel prize for his contributions to the field of medicine. After
a period of religious doubt and skepticism, Carrel underwent a profound
conversion.
16 Sunday A: Wheat and Weeds - Stories & Reflection
Gospel text: Matthew 13:24-3
Michel DeVerteuil
General Comments
15th Week, Thursday, Jul 16
Isaiah 26:7-9, 12, 16-19 / Matthew 11:28-30
Isaiah holds out
hope:
Those sleeping in their graves will wake up.
After
the Titanic
sank in the North Atlantic, a newspaper carried two pictures side by side. The
first picture showed the ship’s side ripped open by the huge iceberg. Under it
was printed: “The weakness
of man, the supremacy of nature.” The second picture showed a passenger giving
his place in a lifeboat to a woman with a child in her arms. Under it was printed:
“The weakness of nature, the supremacy of man.” Isaiah sees the southern
kingdom in similar terms. By itself, it appears doomed and without hope. With
God’s help, however, it can rise from the grave and live again.
17th Week, Tuesday, July 26
17th Week, Tuesday, July 26
Exodus
33:7-11; 34:5-9, 28 / Matthew 13:36-43
Moses communicates with God; He talked to God as to another Person.
15th Week, Wednesday, Jul 15
Isaiah 10:5-7, 13-16 / Matthew 11:25-27
Isaiah rebukes
Assyria:
“Can an ax be greater than its user?”
The
nation of Assyria destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel. Now
it threatened to destroy the southern kingdom of Judah, as well. Isaiah
portrays Assyria as an ax in the hand of a woodsman (God) who was grubbing out
the undergrowth from his vineyard (Judah). God was using Assyria to purify
Judah. Meanwhile, Assyria grew arrogant, thinking that it alone was responsible
for its power and its victories. This led Isaiah to remind Assyria that without
the power of the woodsman’s arms the ax is useless.
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