17th Week, Friday, Jul 31

Jeremiah 26:1-9 / Matthew 13:54-58 

Jeremiah prophesies trouble:The people threatened Jeremiah.

When Samuel Morse explained his plans for telegraph communication in 1842, some people ridiculed him. When Bell Telephone applied for a patent in 1876, some communication experts dismissed the telephone idea as a toy. When Thomas Edison outlined his plans for an incandescent light in 1878, the British Parliament laughed at the idea. Something like that happened to Jeremiah in today's reading. He was not only ridiculed but threatened with death for speaking out in God's name.
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18 Sunday A - Liturgical Prayers

Greeting  (See First Reading)

The Lord invites us:
Listen to me
and you will have good things to eat
and rich food to enjoy.
May the Lord nourish you with his body
and may he always be with you. 

Introduction by the Celebrant (Two Options)

St. Martha - Jul 29

St. Martha

Martha was born of noble and wealthy parents, but she is still more illustrious for the hospitality she gave to Christ our Lord. After His Ascension into heaven, she was seized by the Jews, together with her brother and sister, Marcella her handmaid, and Maximin, one of the seventy-two disciples of our Lord, who had baptized the whole family, and many other Christians. They were put on board a ship without sails or oars, and left helpless on the open sea, exposed to certain shipwreck. But God guided the ship, and they all arrived safely at Marseilles.

17th Week: July 27- August 1 - Reflections

July 27 Monday: Mt 13:31-35: 31 Another parable he put before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” 33 He told them another parable.

17th Week, Monday, Jul 27

Jeremiah 13:1-11 / Matthew 13:31-35

God talks about his people: "I made them cling to me closely."

One approach to prayer is to get in touch with ourselves before trying to get in touch with God. For example, we sit in a chair and relax. We become aware of our clothes gripping our shoulders, legs, arms. We feel the chair gripping our body, shoes gripping our feet. When we are in touch with ourselves, we then try getting in touch with God. For example, we pray to God like this:

St James, Apostle - A quick Look

17th Sunday - Video Notes

17th Sunday A: Hidden Treasure - Video

17 Sunday A - Liturgical Prayers

Greeting  (See Second Reading)

God chose us specially long ago
and destined us to become true images of his Son,
so that Jesus might be the eldest
of many brothers and sisters.
May our brother Jesus be always with you.

17 Sunday A: The Hidden Treasure - Parables of the KOG

There is a price for relationship - Treasure Hidden Rabindra Nath Tagore, the mystic poet of India, tells a memorable story from his own life which illustrates the truth of what Jesus teaches in today’s gospel, namely, that there is a price we have to pay in order to be in his kingdom, to keep a relationship with him.