The WORD
today (see http://usccb.org/bible/readings/101417.cfm)
makes me think why I would be blessed if I hear God's word and act on
it.
We know what will make God
happy – if we love him above all and love others as ourselves. We know that if
we hear God’s word and act on it, God will be happy. We know that we should
listen to and obey God’s word, because it will make him happy, and as grateful
children, we want to make our Father happy. But why will we be blessed?
I
used to attend basketball clinics when I was a kid. Kids usually go there to
learn the scientific method of playing basketball. Of course, each kid would
want to play actual five on five, whole court basketball. However, when you go
there, you won’t immediately get what you expect. You won't even be able to
hold a basketball, not until you are ready. You will be taught the proper way
of doing other things, jogging, defense, etc, before you even hold a
basketball. Those things prepare you for the actual game, which usually comes
towards the end of the clinic program.
I believe this is why we are
blessed if we hear and do God’s word. God cannot readily give us his blessings
if we are not ready. God cannot take us where we are meant to go if we are not
yet ready, if our vision is limited to this world, if our concerns are all of
this world. That is why we are blessed if we hear and act. Hearing God’s word,
and acting upon it, slowly prepares us. It slowly readies us, slowly transforms
us. Once we consistently allow God to do so, we will be transformed and there
will come a time we will be ready – ready to receive his blessings, ready to
achieve and actualize God’s great plans for us, ready to meet him face to face.
That’s why we are blessed.
May
we be inspired to hear God’s word and act on it, not because doing so makes God
happy, but because doing so makes us blessed.
Father God,
Thank you for
today. thank you for another day to live. Thank you for another weekend. Thank
you for opportunities to live my faith. Thank you for the blessings you
constantly give me and my family. Lord, sorry for the times I do not give
importance to your word. Sorry for the times I ignore you and focus on worldly
things. I pray that today and everyday, I may thirst for your word. May I hear
you word and act on it, and allow you to slowly transform me and ready me to
receive all you want to give me. As you do, use me for your kingdom and your
glory. Amen.
Blessed
Weekend!
In
Christ,
-g-
October 14, 2017
Saturday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 466
Reading 1JL 4:12-21
Let the nations bestir themselves and come up
to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
For there will I sit in judgment
upon all the neighboring nations.
Apply the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe;
Come and tread,
for the wine press is full;
The vats overflow,
for great is their malice.
Crowd upon crowd
in the valley of decision;
For near is the day of the LORD
in the valley of decision.
Sun and moon are darkened,
and the stars withhold their brightness.
The LORD roars from Zion,
and from Jerusalem raises his voice;
The heavens and the earth quake,
but the LORD is a refuge to his people,
a stronghold to the children of Israel.
Then shall you know that I, the LORD, am your God,
dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain;
Jerusalem shall be holy,
and strangers shall pass through her no more.
And then, on that day,
the mountains shall drip new wine,
and the hills shall flow with milk;
And the channels of Judah
shall flow with water:
A fountain shall issue from the house of the LORD,
to water the Valley of Shittim.
Egypt shall be a waste,
and Edom a desert waste,
Because of violence done to the people of Judah,
because they shed innocent blood in their land.
But Judah shall abide forever,
and Jerusalem for all generations.
I will avenge their blood,
and not leave it unpunished.
The LORD dwells in Zion.
Responsorial PsalmPS 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
Clouds and darkness are round about him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the LORD of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
Light dawns for the just;
and gladness, for the upright of heart.
Be glad in the LORD, you just,
and give thanks to his holy name.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
AlleluiaLK 11:28
Blessed are those who hear the word of God
and observe it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 11:27-28
a woman from the crowd called out and said to him,
"Blessed is the womb that carried you
and the breasts at which you nursed."
He replied, "Rather, blessed are those
who hear the word of God and observe it."
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