Daily Thought For July 21, 2017

Dive Into The Sea of Prayer

In the face of so many wounds that hurt us and could lead to a hardness of heart, we are called to dive into the sea of prayer, which is the sea of the boundless love of God, in order to experience his tenderness.

Pope Francis

Daily Thought For July 20, 2017

Bloom Wherever You Are Planted

You must realise now, more clearly than ever, that God is calling you to serve Him in and from the ordinary, secular and civil activities of human life. He waits for us everyday, in the laboratory, in the operating theatre, in the army barracks, in the university chair, in the factory, in the workshop, in the fields, in the home and in all the immense panorama of work.

St. Josemaria Escriva

Daily Thought For July 19, 2017

Great Prayer from A Great Man

O Jesus, come back into our society, our family life, our souls and reign there as our peaceful Sovereign. Enlighten with the splendor of faith and the charity of Your tender heart the souls of those who work for the good of the people, for Your poor. Impart to them Your own spirit, a spirit of discipline, order and gentleness, preserving the flame of enthusiasm ever alight in their hearts... May that day come very soon, when we shall see You restored to the center of civic life, borne on the shoulders of Your joyful people.

St. John XXIII

Daily Thought for July 18, 2017

The Joy of Discovery

Understand this well: there is something holy, something divine hidden in the most ordinary situations, and it is up to each one of you to discover it.

St. Josemaría Escrivá

Daily Thought For July 16, 2017

The Divine Gardener

Lectio

Matthew 13:1–23

Meditatio

“A sower went out to sow.”

Have you ever planted a garden? I have … with many and varied results! Gardening has given me a great respect for the fragility of the seed and the importance of the weather, the amount of moisture, and sunlight. Then there is the timing! It takes a lot of patience and care to do anything in the garden, but gardening has wonderful rewards.

I wonder how God, the Divine Gardener, looks at me, his garden? Surely when God looks at me, he surveys the land with an expert eye. I am in good, capable hands. In fact, I can entrust myself completely to these hands. God knows me through and through. The Divine Gardener knows how much light I need, how much water and sun. My good God is completely solicitous that I should grow in a way that will be fully according to my nature. He is patient enough to walk with me through all the seasons of my life, even when some are more fallow than others. Through it all, God makes me bear divine fruits through his Son, Jesus Christ
God has given me so much and has been so considerate of me. Even when bad things happen, God walks with me and can bring good out of the situation. God never wills evil, but we live in an imperfect world where we choose the wrong way at times. We can be enticed by evil, and we even get sick and die. Yet evil does not have the last word; it cannot overpower the light. Our God sows the life and light that overcome all obstacles. He gives each one of us what we need.

In the presence of the Sower, I pause and recall the blessings that the Lord has put in my life. In a grateful response to the Divine Gardener, I will nurture another person today. I will be light. The Lord will surely send me someone who needs my help.

Oratio

Lord Jesus, you trusted so fully in your Father’s love. You placed yourself entirely into his hands. Help me trust completely that he is always with me, watering the land that is my small garden and preparing the way for a fruitful harvest. I am able to give to others because of the fruit of God’s love in my life. No matter what happens, I know that God is with me and will teach me through all that happens. I ask for light and wisdom to see with the eyes of faith today and always.

Contemplatio

“Blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear.”


Daughters of St. Paul. (2011). Ordinary Grace Weeks 1–17: Daily Gospel Reflections. (M. G. Dateno & M. L. Trouvé, Eds.) (pp. 252–253). Boston, MA: Pauline Books & Media.

Daily Thought For July 14, 2017

Shrewd As Serpents — Simple As Doves

Lectio

Matthew 10:16–23

Meditatio

“… like sheep in the midst of wolves … shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.”

Any sheep caught in the midst of wolves face grave danger. Jesus warns his apostles of the difficulties they will face in proclaiming the kingdom. But he is our Good Shepherd, so what safety instructions does he give? He uses two additional animal images. First, he says, be shrewd and careful, like a serpent. This may sound odd, since the snake is usually the bad guy in Scripture, on the side of the wolf, not the sheep. For the apostles to become like the serpent would seem to be caving to the pressures of the evil surrounding them. But the second part of the sentence clarifies it—they are to be clever like the serpent, but remain innocent of evil, like a dove.

The sheep sent on mission need to be shrewd in order to outsmart the wolves that surround them. Playing with the image a little, we can say they are sent to bring the wolves into the sheepfold. But they must be careful not to take on the ways of the wolves to such a degree that they lose their mission and identity. Their simple innocence prevents that and is part of the witness of their mission. The rest of this passage talks about the persecution that will result, but that they must not allow to sway them from their witness.

Jesus’ instructions can be hard to carry out in real life. We may tend to go to extremes and lean more toward the serpent part or the dove part of the instructions. If we’re shrewd, we live our Christian life in a way that helps our contemporaries to see the relevance of faith. But if we go too far in learning from the ways of the world around us, we can lose our identity and our mission. However, the answer is not to go too far the other way and become naive doves. In that case we might keep our faith, but nullify its influence and power by a poor witness that alienates our contemporaries.

Oratio

Jesus, you sent me to live my faith in a world that often seems antagonistic to you. Sometimes I do feel like a sheep, with no teeth and claws to protect me—not even legs that run very fast! But you are my Shepherd, so I do not fear. I know you will provide for me whatever I need to do the mission for which you sent me.

Contemplatio

The Lord is my Shepherd.

Daughters of St. Paul. (2011). Ordinary Grace Weeks 1–17: Daily Gospel Reflections. (M. G. Dateno & M. L. Trouvé, Eds.) (pp. 248–249). Boston, MA: Pauline Books & Media.

Daily Thought For July 13, 2017

Many Are Schooled Few Are Educated

One of the greatest problems of our time is that many are schooled but few are educated.

St. Thomas More