June 25, 2014 - Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time Readings 1 2 kgs 22:8-13; 23:1-3 ; Resp Psalm 119:33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40 .......“Go, consult the LORD for me, for the people, for all Judah, about the stipulations of this book that has been found, for the anger of the LORD has been set furiously ablaze against us, because our fathers did not obey the stipulations of this book, nor fulfill our written obligations.” The king then had all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem summoned together before him. The king went up to the temple of the LORD with all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem:priests, prophets, and all the people, small and great. He had the entire contents of the book of the covenant that had been found in the temple of the LORD, read out to them. Standing by the column, the king made a covenant before the LORD that they would follow him and observe his ordinances, statutes and decrees with their whole hearts and souls, thus reviving the terms of the covenant which were written in this book. And all the people stood as participants in the covenant. Responsorial Psalm ps 119:33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40 R. (33a) Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord. Instruct me, O LORD, in the way of your statutes, that I may exactly observe them. Gospel mt 7:15-20 Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them.” Reflection : ARE YOU & ME GOOD-FRUIT BEARING TREES ? Were all like that at times. We have an exterior persona (at least one). Some of us seem rather transparent. Others are very guarded and private. But our mouths will eventually tell what is within, and will reveal our hearts. We are tempted to judge, but your and my observation, ours both, is that...double talk is the name of the game. It isnt pinpointing an individual, but we speak on general terms, yours and mine included. How about truth in advertising as most of these print, online and screen ads profess ? The sugar-sweet promises of wannabes in politics, big organizations and associations....promises here and there, assurances of marketing and sales guys. How about the manliligaw sweet-talking his victim to be, ending up a manloloko pala. The character of Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde ? I dont want to give credit to Gods enemy for his convincing power - but thats what he is - IT is...prince of deceit, king of lies. Hiding the true colors. Presenting bad as good & vice-versa; black as white, a long stretch of road as a never-ending highway so smooth to drive beyond speed limits, leaving unnoticed the fatal dead end. Not unlike the savory fruit used by the serpent to attract Eve who in turn tempted Adam. A vicious spiritually perilous cycle ! To conclude, our point is, it takes a lot of discernment, a PRAYERFUL one, in order for us not to fall prey to the wiles and sugarcoated tongues that betray us. Listen carefully, Jesus is saying . Listen carefully and well be able to tell what this person has stored up inside -- and whether he is committed to God or committed to himself. The deeds reflect whats going in the mind and heart. It is the Holy Spirit, his gifts of Wisdom and Good Counsel that we lean on for us to remain discerning, alert, pat and firm in our Faith, Love and Obedience to Gods laws. Let us pray constantly, walang humpay, that by the gifts of the Holy Spirit we may still bear good fruits, if we havent yet ! Thank You Holy Spirit for the gifts we receive in the Sacraments. But we need spiritual fuel that we may use these gifts unceasingly bearing good fruits in our lives to be shared with the world. Amen !
Posted on: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 08:18:12 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015