Tag: Isreal

TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

God’s kingdom is presented as a great banquet in today’s selections from Isaiah and Matthew, who remind me to wear the wedding garment of a worthy life. And Paul assures me that the Lord will supply whatever I need. Do I pray for his help? – Saint Paul Daily Missal

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REFLECTION: ON WAR!

“Now the angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said,’I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you, and as for you, you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed Me; What is this you have done? Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they will be a snare to you.’ When the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept.”

Judges 2:1-4 NASB 1995 – Charles Stanley General Edition

My dear brothers and sisters, incomplete obedience, is disobedience; within that, dire consequences always come, even if done with good intentions. For disobedience opens the door for evil to walk right in unannounced, making men sow evil deeds. Moreover, those who see the evil but remain silent, turning a blind eye to the disobedience, become complicit and shall be judged accordingly, handing over their perceived innocence of what is happening and becoming subject to the evil as a thorn in one’s side, effecting everyone else around them. In short, we reap what we sow, if not in our present, then most definitely in our future and for as long as the disobedience has not been forgiven! This is the message from Judges 2:1-4.

Moreover, look at what evil has done to us; what are we to do about it? When terrorists do the evil works of Satan, the great liar, how are we to react? How can we control our anger, thirst for revenge, and compulsions to strike back with malice and hatred? Do you all not know that stupidity begets stupidity, hate begets hate, violence begets violence, and depravity begets depravity? Anger is a drug that Satan uses to rouse our baser instincts. Look past the hideous acts of evil; control the brooding anger with measured responses rooted in compassion. For even one act of supposed justified retort done in the name of protecting oneself that results in the death of another will beget death! War has come to many nations and individual families with as little as a word that slights the other, killing their reputation and soaking them in blame. War comes from the belly of the great dragon, which seeks to devour every good thing! Do you all not know that war begets war? When have you ever not seen this to not be true? Because of this, I say to you, my brothers and sister, control your anger! Dismiss your lust for justice if it is also accompanied by the lust of justified killing! For the great deceiver has told you that nothing bad will come to you by defending yourself with anger and vengeance in your heart, convincing you that fighting and killing is better than turning the other cheek… but our LORD said, “Revenge not yourselves, my dearly beloved; but give place unto wrath, for it is written, Revenge is mine, I will repay saith the LORD.” – Romans 12:19 Douay-Rheims [Saint Benedict Press] Instead, live your lives in peace, love, and kindness, filled with God’s grace! Come to the great banquet clothed in the wedding garment of Christ’s agape love, worthy of God’s forgiveness, found spotless from the evil that ravages our world. Be like Enoch, who walked with God, who did not die but rather was taken up into heaven alive in God’s love; be like Melchizedek of old, both king and priest revered by Abraham, and be like Jesus who died a hideous death and was raised from the grave so that we might also be numbered as the sons and daughters of God, alive in Him.

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FIRST READING:

Sunday, October 15, 2023

The Lord will prepare a feast and wipe away the tears from every face – Is 25:6-10a

A READING FROM THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH (Isaias)

⁶ And the Lord of hosts shall make unto all people in this mountain, a feast of fat things, a feast of wine, of fat things full of marrow, of wine purified from the lees.

⁷ And he shall destroy in this mountain the face of the bond with which all people were tied and the web that he began over all nations.

⁸ He shall cast death down headlong forever: and the Lord God shall wipe away tears from every face, and the reproach of his people he shall take away from off the whole earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.

⁹ And they shall say in that day: Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord, we have patiently waited for him, we shall rejoice and be joyful in his salvation.

¹⁰ For the hand of the Lord shall rest in this mountain: and Moab shall be trodden down under him, as straw is broken in pieces with the wain.

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LET US PRAY

LORD, open my lips, and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Ant. You have left everything to follow me; you will have it all returned a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

Inventory Psalm 95

95 A canticle for David himself, when the house was built after the captivity. Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: sing to the Lord, all the earth.

² Sing ye to the Lord and bless his name: shew forth his salvation from day to day.

³ Declare his glory among the Gentiles: his wonders among all people.

⁴ For the Lord is great, and exceedingly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.

⁵ For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils: but the Lord made the heavens.

⁶ Praise and beauty are before him: holiness and majesty in his sanctuary.

⁷ Bring ye to the Lord, O ye kindreds of the Gentiles, bring ye to the Lord glory and honour:

⁸ Bring to the Lord glory unto his name. Bring up sacrifices, and come into his courts:

⁹ Adore ye the Lord in his holy court. Let all the earth be moved at his presence.

¹⁰ Say ye among the Gentiles, the Lord hath reigned. For he hath corrected the world, which shall not be moved: he will judge the people with justice.

¹¹ Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad, let the sea be moved, and the fulness thereof:

¹² The fields and all things that are in them shall be joyful. Then shall all the trees of the woods rejoice

¹³ Before the face of the Lord, because he cometh: because he cometh to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with justice, and the people with his truth.

Psalm 95- Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)

Morning Prayer: Canticle of Zechariah

Lord, our help and guide, make your love the foundation of our lives. May our love for you express itself in our eagerness to do good for others. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Prayer Request: Dear Lord, please protect the people of Israel, and all the innocent Palestinians who have again been forced into a war. Please protect all Ukrainians, all the innocent people of Russia, and all of Europe who continue to face archaic aggression. Please show the aggressors the error of their ways and offer them your grace so the hate that Satan has placed within them is vanquished forever and ever. Amen.

OUR FATHER

⁸ Be not you, therefore, like to them, for your Father knoweth what is needful for you before you ask him.

⁹ Thus therefore shall you pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

¹⁰ Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

¹¹ Give us this day our supersubstantial bread.

¹² And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.

¹³ And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. Amen.

Dismissal

May the Lord bless you, protect you from all evil, and bring you to everlasting life. Amen.

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Provide Aid to Those in Need

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“Let’s grow together as children of God”

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