Take Five for Faith
 |
Invest just five minutes a day, and your faith will deepen and grow - a day at a time. Look up the daily passages from the New American Bible online at www.usccb.org/nab/bible. Download Take Five for Faith by clicking on the date below: Sunday reflections available in Spanish! DOMINGO, 12 DE JULIO DE 2009 |
SUNDAY, JULY 12, 2009
FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
"It’s a miracle!"
When something good happens but we don’t know how, we often say it’s a miracle. The word derives from the Latin mirari, “to wonder at.” The earliest believers in Jesus were in wonder at the healings he performed, healings that were inexplicable except through divine power. Not only that, Jesus called the believers themselves to heal others. And they did! They were ordinary people, just like you, doing the extraordinary. Jesus’ power of miracles attracted many people to his ministry. People likely were drawn by the sheer magnificence of Jesus’ deeds, then discovered how deeply fulfilling it was to be of service to humanity. Small wonder that the Latin word for miracles is also related to the word “smile.”
TODAY'S READINGS: Amos 7:12-15; Ephesians 1:3-14 or 1:3-10; Mark 6:7-13
"He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits."
DOMINGO, 12 DE JULIO DE 2009
DECIMOQUINTO DOMINGO EN TIEMPO ORDINARIO
"¡Es un milagro!"
Cuando algo bueno sucede pero no sabemos cómo, a menudo decimos que es un milagro. La palabra deriva del latín mirari, “maravillarse en.” Los primeros creyentes de Jesús estaban maravillados en las curaciones que él realizaba, curaciones que eran inexplicables excepto a través del poder divino. No solo eso, Jesús llamó a los mismos creyentes a que sanaran a otros. ¡Y ellos lo hicieron! Ellos eran gente ordinaria, así como tú, haciendo lo extraordinario. El poder de los milagros de Jesús atrajo a mucha gente a su ministerio. Probablemente la gente se sentía atraída por la pura magnificencia de los hechos de Jesús, después descubrían cuán profundamente satisfactorio era servir a la humanidad. Sería una pequeña maravilla que la palabra latina para milagros también se relaciona a la palabra “sonrisa.”
LECTURAS DE HOY: Amos 7:12-15; Efesios 1:3-14 o 1:3-10; Marcos 6:7-13
"Él llamó a los doce y comenzó a enviarlos de dos en dos, y les dio autoridad sobre los espíritus impuros."
MONDAY, JULY 13
FEAST OF HENRY
Serve God right here, right now
Henry was Holy Roman Emperor from 1002 until his death in 1024. During his reign he founded schools, protected borders, worked to establish peace throughout Europe, helped to reform the church, and was unfailingly kind and generous to the poor. After the death of his wife, Henry decided to become a monk. The abbot of the monastery declined his application, however, noting that Henry could do the most good for God and humanity by remaining emperor. Sometimes we think we have to move—to another job or even to another country—to live a life of service. It’s not true. Opportunities abound wherever we are.
TODAY'S READINGS: Exodus 1:8-14, 22; Matthew 10:34-11:1
"Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me."
TUESDAY, JULY 14
What floats your boat?
You know the story: Pharaoh ordered all the male Hebrew children to be cast into the Nile to check the burgeoning Israelite population. One mother followed his command but with a twist: Trying to save her little boy, she floated him out onto the river in a basket. Pharaoh’s daughter, at the river to bathe, saw the little boat, gave the baby back to the mother, whom she paid to nurse and raise the child, until she was able to adopt the child as her own. She called him Moses, which means “drawn out.” A tragic tale for the rest of the unlucky babies, but also one that shows how God’s care shows itself in small ways. Where are the little signs of God’s love floating through your life?
TODAY'S READINGS: Exodus 2:1-15a; Matthew 11:20-24
"She named him Moses, ‘because,’ she said, ‘I drew him out of the water.' "
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15
FEAST OF BONAVENTURE, BISHOP, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH
Useful gifts
So gifted with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, our saint of the day has numerous colleges and high schools named after him, plus a starship, the USS Bonaventure (NCC-2977), in Star Trek: The Animated Series. Is it any wonder that we’ve still got his right arm and hand that he used to write his famous Commentary on the Four Books of Peter Lombard on display at his home parish in Bagnoregio, Italy? But all those smarts are simply the gifts of the Holy Spirit, given to all for the sake of all. Saint Bonaventure put his to work for the church. What are you doing with yours?
TODAY'S READINGS: Exodus 3:1-6, 9-12; Matthew 11:25-27
"All things have been handed over to me by my Father."
THURSDAY, JULY 16
FEAST OF OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL
Protect yourself
The Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is also known as the Feast of the Scapular, in honor of the protection the Virgin Mary is said to have given the Carmelite order in a vision to one of its early leaders, Saint Simon Stock. Scapulars, whether in the form of a religious habit, a neck ornament, or even a simple pin, are outward signs of the truth Jesus speaks in today’s gospel: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” The protective comfort Jesus provides is not through barriers he builds up around us but rather through the ways of meekness and humility he teaches us. Get some rest today.
TODAY'S READINGS: Exodus 3:13-20; Matthew 11:28-30
"I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves."
FRIDAY, JULY 17
Image matters
The Bible is replete with various images of God, from God as a judge and executor (Exodus 12:12) to God as a woman baking bread (Matthew 13:33). Often these images seem contradictory—a violent God killing firstborn children versus a God who nourishes with patience and care. Frequently these likenesses are used to describe some kind of attribute of God or the experience of a people’s encounter with God. How do we understand God in the 21st century? What images might we use to describe our experience of God? In a world more interconnected and interdependent than ever before, how does what happens in the Middle East or India affect us and our experience of God? What about the beauty and plight of God’s earth and creatures?
TODAY'S READINGS: Exodus 11:10-12:14; Matthew 12:1-8
" ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ "
SATURDAY, JULY 18
FEAST OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Ready or not!
There are few things more Jewish than matzo, and nothing more Catholic than the Eucharist. In both cases it’s odd to remember that the unleavened bread was purely unintentional. The bread was flat on the day of the great Passover because there was simply no time for it to rise. God doesn’t mind making use of what’s available, no matter how untimely it seems to us. So God later chose a young girl, Mary, not yet married, to be the mother of the world’s great passover from sin, Jesus. When it comes to salvation, there’s no time like the present.
TODAY'S READINGS: Exodus 12:37-42; Matthew 12:14-21
"The dough . . . was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait."
Contributors: Father Paul Boudreau, Daniel Grippo, Father Larry Janowski, O.F.M., Ann O’Connor, Joel Schorn, Patrice J. Tuohy, and Sister Julie Vieira, I.H.M.
©2009 by TrueQuest Communications, L.L.C. PHONE: 800-942-2811; E-MAIL: mail@takefiveforfaith.com; WEBSITE: www.takefiveforfaith.com. Licensed for noncommercial use. All rights reserved. Scripture quotes come from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.
