Good Seeds and Weeds

"He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil." (Matthew 13: 37 – 39)

Christ is the farmer who sows the good seed. Heresy is the instrument of the devil in sowing weeds among wheat. The mass media also sow weeds by offering alternative message to the knowledge of salvation.

How do we know the good seeds from the weeds? "By their fruits you shall know them." The word of God is the template for the discernment of spirits. I pray continuously for the gift of discernment of spirits. I now understand that the more I am into sacred scripture, the more capable I will be in discerning spirits. Discernment of spirits in this context means applied Scripture.

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For, although we are in the flesh, we do not battle according to the flesh, ⁵

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for the weapons of our battle are not of flesh but are enormously powerful, capable of destroying fortresses. We destroy arguments

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and every pretension raising itself against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive in obedience to Christ,

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and we are ready to punish every disobedience, once your obedience is complete. (2 Corinthians 10: 3-6)

 

Inexpressible groanings

"The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings." (Romans 8: 26)

How comforting it is to know that we have such a giant helper in our prayer. Not only does the Holy Spirit bless us with the gift of prayer, but He helps us to use this gift appropriately. Since I learned this truth, I never start any prayer without the invocation of the Holy Spirit. The good news is that we can get the light, guidance and courage to pray well if we ask the Holy Spirit.

Watchful in Prayer

"Father let the gift of your life continue to grow in us, drawing us from death to faith, hope, and love. Keep us alive in Christ Jesus. Keep us watchful in prayer and true to his teaching till your glory is revealed in us…." (Alternate Prayer, 16^th Sunday)

When God's gifts grow in us, we tend towards life. When we grow in negative gifts, we tend towards death. We either tend towards life or we tend towards death. When we grow in faith, hope and live, we become more like Jesus.

How do we wait on God? Like the disciples waiting for Pentecost. In prayer. Prayer gives us the power to wait from day to day. Prayer releases the power of perseverance to work for us. God is the first cause of all things. Prayer is the efficient cause of answers, favors and blessings.

Eagerness to serve God

"Lord, be merciful to your people. Fill us with your gifts and make us always eager to serve you in faith, hope and love….." (Opening Prayer on the 16^th Sunday)

Mercy is the most fundamental attribute of God. Asking for mercy is therefore our most fundamental prayer. This is because we absolutely depend on God for mercy.

Lord make us always to serve you always and everywhere. God will give us the eagerness to serve Him if we ask for this in faith and sincerity.

Not by might and power but..

"Look! My servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul delights, I will send my Spirit upon him, and he will present judgment to the nations." (Matthew 12: 18)

In the above scripture, the Lord God did not say: "I will send divisions of well-trained and armed soldiers to my servant so that he can easily impose his will on the nations." Instead, it is the Holy Spirit that is promised the Servant. The Holy Spirit is all that He needs. When Christ was baptized, the Spirit came down upon Him and confirmed Him in His mission.

What do I need to accomplish the mission given to me? The Holy Spirit. It will not be by might and power that I will succeed but by the Holy Spirit.

Liturgical Calendar

"The night when Yahweh kept vigil to bring them out of Egypt must be kept as a vigil in honor of Yahweh by all Israelites, for all generations to come." (Exodus 12: 42)

The liturgical calendar celebrates the timeline of the saving works of Jesus on our behalf. For example: Christmas, Easter and Pentecost.

Why can't I create my own liturgical calendar to celebrate God's wonderful interventions in my life?

Grace and Technology

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12: 9)

Grace does for us in the supernatural order what technology does for us in the natural order. It extends our abilities.

My technology is sufficient for you

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12: 9)

Grace does for us in the supernatural order what technology does for us in the natural order. It extends our abilities.

My technology is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. God supplies a bunch of actual graces to help us make it through our day. These graces (technologies) are given irrespective of our standing with God. The same benevolence is extended to all living things. But more of the actual graces are provided to those who are ready and ask for them. Prayer for actual graces are answered in real time.

Our weakness is the optimal environment for the operations of the grace of God. In the environment of weakness, the grace of God delivers a solution which makes a clear difference in the before and after of the incident.

Be merciful 2

"Mercy is what pleases me not sacrifice." (Matthew 12: 17)

Lord give me a merciful heart. May your Holy Spirit lead and guide me to a place and time to exercise mercy today. May He also bless me with courage so that I may please you in being merciful.

The Passover and the Eucharist

"This day must be commemorated by you, and you must keep it as a feast in Yahweh's honor." (Exodus 12: 14)

The Passover is a feast in Yahweh's honor. The Eucharist is the new Passover. Just as Yahweh instructed the Israelites to commemorate the Passover, so Christ instructed His disciples to celebrate the Eucharist in memory of Him. The Eucharist commemorates the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.

When we eat "this bread and drink this cup", we commemorate the death of Christ until He comes again in glory.

Heavy Crosses

"Come to me, all you who labor and are overburdened and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light." (Matthew 11L 28 – 30)

• Come to me all you who are overwhelmed by your heavy crosses. I will teach you how to bear them. If you are in me and me in you, you will be able to carry your crosses. Sometimes I take away crosses but more often I teach you how to carry them. Come to me.
  

Compelled to Comply

"I am well aware that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless he is compelled by a mighty hand." (Exodus 3: 19)

God's purpose in life is paramount. To accomplish this, God is ready to compel people, events and things to bend to His will.

"All things serve You." (Psalm 119: 91). Nothing can resist God's will.

Little Children2

"I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to little children." (Matthew 11: 25)

God's plan of salvation is filled with mysteries. The learned professors may speculate but the mysteries of the kingdom are revealed to little children like St. Therese of the Little Flower.

If God is with me

"Moses said to God, 'Who am I to go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?' 'I shall be with you." (Exodus 3: 11 – 12)

Who am I to do the work of God? - I shall be with you.

If God is with me, then it is accomplished. If God is with me in the Enterprise, then it is accomplished.

And surely God is with me.

Mortal Struggle

"All powerful God, may the gifts we present bring honor to your saints, and free us from sin in mind and body."

The experience of the Church is that in spite of our Baptism and participation in the sacraments, we still struggle with sins in our mind and body. St. Paul experienced the same thing when he cried out for deliverance from this struggle. Only the Holy Spirit entrenched in us can help us overcome in this struggle.

Reciprocal Favors

"Then he began to reproach the towns in which most of his miracles has been worked, because they refused to repent." (Matthew 11: 20)

I have two thoughts on the above scriptures:

1. I am like a town where Jesus worked many miracles. When I count my blessings, I am amazed. Yet, I am struggling to show reciprocal favors to the Lord.
   
2. When I make investments in business and the returns are negligible, I fume and I am very disappointed. Can I compare business investment to the investment of Jesus in His ministry with sometimes disappointing results?

A fine child

"There was a man descended from Levi who had taken a woman of Levi as his wife. She conceived and gave birth to a son and , seeing what a fine child he was, she kept him hidden for three months." (Exodus 2: 1 – 2)

God's choice begins very early. God formed and chose Moses right from the womb. He endowed him with features that ensured his survival. (Exodus 2: 1 – 2)

Other fine boys from the Bible:

• Joseph
  
• David
  
• Daniel

Take up your cross

"Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my footstep is not worthy of me." (Matthew 10: 38)

David said to Goliath: "You come against me with sword and spear and scimitar, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel that you have insulted. Today the Lord shall deliver you into my hand; I will strike you down and cut off your head…… All this multitude, too, shall learn that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves. For the battle is the Lord's and he shall deliver you into our hands." (1 Samuel 17)

Everyone has a Goliath to face. Each person has his own cross to carry. With God's grace, we shall vanquish the Goliath and bear our own cross.

Constant Labor

"Accordingly, they put taskmasters over the Israelites to wear them down by forced labor." (Exodus 1: 11)

Constant labor wears down the body and the spirit. God who created human beings understands this very well. This is why He prescribes the Sabbath rest. The Sabbath rest is God's gift to humanity.

The Triumph of God’s Providence

"Almighty and ever-present Father, your watchful care reaches from end to end and orders all things in such power that even the tensions and the tragedies of sin cannot frustrate your loving plans. Help us to embrace your will, give us the strength to follow your call, so that your truth may live in our hearts and reflect peace to those who believe in your love. We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord." (Alternate Opening Prayer on the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time)

How comforting it is know that God's providence triumphs over the tensions and tragedies of sins. Thanks be to God's power, we are not captives by our past sins. Once we reconcile with God, our path to salvation continues and God uses our past sins in a creative way to enhance our ministry.