Give to Receive

The WORD today (See http://usccb.org/bible/readings/030215.cfm) reminds me that God cannot be out given. God is a generous God, and it will never be possible to give him more than he gives you. He gives us more than we deserve, and the more we give, his generous love will cause him to give us more - be it blessings or forgiveness. God cannot be outgiven. In the gospel he says that we stop judging and condemning, we will not be judged and condemned. If we forgive and give to others, we will be forgiven and will receive gifts from Him. I believe that these are not pre requisite actions for us to get those things, but rather his natural reaction. He will continue to love and bless us, but we will be blessed more if we give more - he will not allow us to give him more than he gives us. And when he gives, it will be a lot more - packed together shaken down and overflowing. It is good to be on the receiving end, and sometimes we want to always stay there. We do not want to give wholeheartedly, because we want more for themselves. However we are reminded today that to receive more, we should wholeheartedly give more. And the only reason we will wholeheartedly give more is because we know that God has given us a lot, and we want to share these blessings to others. Naturally, as we do this, God will give us more so we can share more. May we have the heart to give God more, not because we want to receive more, but because we have received so much from God and we want to share them with others. Father God, Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live. Thank you for another chance to experience your love. Thank you for all the blessings. Thank you for another week, for another month. Lord, I pray that you help me have a giving heart. May I always be appreciative of your blessings, and may it always move me to give more so your blessings can reach other people as well. I know as I do this, you will continue to give me more so I can in turn share and give more to others. Amen. Blessed week! In Christ, -g- ------------------------- March 2, 2015 Monday of the Second Week in Lent Lectionary: 230 Reading 1 Dn 9:4b-10 “Lord, great and awesome God, you who keep your merciful covenant toward those who love you and observe your commandments! We have sinned, been wicked and done evil; we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws. We have not obeyed your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers, and all the people of the land. Justice, O Lord, is on your side; we are shamefaced even to this day: we, the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, and all Israel, near and far, in all the countries to which you have scattered them because of their treachery toward you. O LORD, we are shamefaced, like our kings, our princes, and our fathers, for having sinned against you. But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness! Yet we rebelled against you and paid no heed to your command, O LORD, our God, to live by the law you gave us through your servants the prophets.” Responsorial Psalm PS 79:8, 9, 11 and 13 R. (see 103:10a) Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins. Remember not against us the iniquities of the past; may your compassion quickly come to us, for we are brought very low. R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins. Help us, O God our savior, because of the glory of your name; Deliver us and pardon our sins for your name’s sake. R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins. Let the prisoners’ sighing come before you; with your great power free those doomed to death. Then we, your people and the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; through all generations we will declare your praise. R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins. Verse Before the Gospel See Jn 6:63c, 68c Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life; you have the words of everlasting life. Gospel Lk 6:36-38 Jesus said to his disciples: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”