Matthew 13: 36-43 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen! NRSV Active Service This year’s World Youth Day, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil closed on Sunday with Mass celebrated by Pope Francis with nearly 3 million young pilgrims at Campus Fidei. This gathering site became a gigantic meeting tent where the Holy Father invited all present to lives of prayer and simplicity, leadership and active service –service especially of the poor and those on the margins of society. Moses’ words in today’s reading from Exodus were certainly echoed on Sunday in Brazil: “The Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity, continuing his kindness for a thousand generations.” Surely those present formed one of those “thousand generations” Moses was speaking about. The challenge of any large spiritual gathering—especially one as moving as WYD—is to translate the spiritual energy and personal enthusiasm into daily practice. For all of us in the shadow of this global faith event today’s gospel offers a cue. How is that in an ongoing way we harvest the good seed from this event into the routine of our daily living? “Whoever has ears ought to hear,” Jesus exclaims. What have I heard and seen recently that moves me to gather in even a small part of this spiritual harvest … just today?! Dear Young People: do not bury your talents, the gifts that God has given you! Do not be afraid to dream of great things. The Holy Spirit truly transforms us. With our cooperation, he also wants to transform the world we live in. —Pope Francis —The Jesuit Prayer Team Prayer Lord, we believe that we are here not by chance, but by your choosing. Your hand formed us and made us the people we are. You compare us to no one else – we are one of a kind. We lack nothing your grace can’t give us. You have allowed us to be here at this time in history to fulfill your special purpose for this generation. — Roy Lessin, author of Christian daily devotions
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 11:36:07 +0000
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