One Walk

Dear Lord God, thank You for this day, another day to love and server You, another day to give thanks, another day to love someone in Your name, another day to practice my faith, another day to hope for all I dream, another day to try, another day to walk with You. O Lord God today’s a day for me to choose where and what I will focus on; yesterday, tomorrow or now; regret, fear or hope. Help me to see and chose with Your eyes, eyes of faith.  Lord I come to You, I seek You, knowing that You are the source for all I need and through You all things are possible. So today a day I repeat the prayer of Jabez ‘ Oh that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me always to keep me from evil and from causing pain.’ This I ask in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

 The whole world is asleep, and God, so full of goodness, so great, so worthy of all praise, no one is thinking of Him! See nature praises Him, and man….who ought to praise Him, sleeps! Let us go and wake up the universe…. and sing praises! St. Mariam Baouardy

Genesis 18:16-33

16 Then the men set out from there, and they looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to set them on their way. 17 The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 seeing that Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by him? 19 No, for I have chosen him, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice; so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him." 20 Then the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomor’rah is great and their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry which has come to me; and if not, I will know." 22 So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom; but Abraham still stood before the LORD. 23 Then Abraham drew near, and said, "Wilt thou indeed destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; wilt thou then destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" 26 And the LORD said, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake." 27 Abraham answered, "Behold, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Wilt thou destroy the whole city for lack of five?" And he said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there." 29 Again he spoke to him, and said, "Suppose forty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of forty I will not do it." 30 Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there." He answered, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there." 31 He said, "Behold, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it." 32 Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there." He answered, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it." 33 And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

Bible Study: [20] Israelite tradition was unanimous in ascribing the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah to the wickedness of these cities, but tradition varied in regard to the nature of this wickedness. According to the present account of the Yahwist, the sin of Sodom was homosexuality (Genesis 19:4-5), which is therefore also known as sodomy; but according to Isaiah (Isaiah 1:9-10; 3:9), it was a lack of social justice; Ezekiel (Ezekiel 16:46-51) described it as a disregard for the poor, whereas Jeremiah (Jeremiah 23:14) saw it as general immorality.

Psalm 103:1-4, 8-11

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger for ever. 10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor requite us according to our iniquities. 11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

Bible Study: [Psalm 103] Of David – The speaker in this hymn begins by praising God for personal benefits (Psalm 103:1-5), then moves on to God’s mercy toward all the people (Psalm 103:6-18). Even sin cannot destroy that mercy (Psalm 103:11-13), for the eternal God is well aware of the people’s human fragility (Psalm 103:14-18). The psalmist invites the heavenly beings to join in praise (Psalm 103:19-22).

Matthew 8:18-22

18 Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." 20 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." 21 Another of the disciples said to him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." 22 But Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead."

Bible Study: [18] The other side: i.e., of the Sea of Galilee. [19] Teacher: for Matthew, this designation of Jesus is true, for he has Jesus using it of himself (Matthew 10:24, 25; 23:8; 26:18), yet when it is used of him by others they are either his opponents (Matthew 9:11; 12:38; 17:24; 22:16, 24, 36) or, as here and in Matthew 19:16, well-disposed persons who cannot see more deeply. Thus it reveals an inadequate recognition of who Jesus is.  [20] Son of Man: see the note on Mark 8:31. This is the first occurrence in Matthew of a term that appears in the New Testament only in sayings of Jesus, except for Acts 7:56 and possibly Matthew 9:6 (Mark 2:10; Luke 5:24). In Matthew it refers to Jesus in his ministry (seven times, as here), in his passion and resurrection (nine times, e.g., Matthew 17:22), and in his glorious coming at the end of the age (thirteen times, e.g., Matthew 24:30).  [22] Let the dead bury their dead: the demand of Jesus overrides what both the Jewish and the Hellenistic world regarded as a filial obligation of the highest importance. See the note on Luke 9:60.

Dear Lord God, today I am still wrestling with myself; the old under the sun self vs. the visions of the one I seek to be with and in You. But can I? Can I satisfy anyone but You? Or am I just being weak seeking the easy broad well traveled road, not the narrow one which maybe meant for me.  Only You know and only in and with You will I find the answers. So with the awareness that I am still more of the old self than the one I seek, I must ask and lift up in prayer all those I love and depend on as well as all under the sun and within the universe of You Kingdom that I hurt, offend, effect or weaken through my inability to unite in pure feeling and love. For while I still see myself for what I am, it is the knowledge of how much I have fallen short of what I could be because I waited so long to seek You will, and now the change is harder and more painful for all I touch; especially when the old quick tempered, insensitive, outspoken and judgmental self surfaces. Help me by continuing to provide me with insight into Your wisdom keeping my hears, eyes, mind and heart open to the words of Your servants like Father Guy, all the Prophets and Saints, and the Holy Spirit that lives within me united with Jesus my Lord and Savior and You my God. In Jesus name I ask and pray, let me continue to dream of Your Kingdom, but fuel the fight within myself that must be fought under the sun with Your unconditional love,

Amen.

Ah! Many of us are more afraid of poverty than of humility or modesty or any other virtue. We must therefore take to poverty resolutely if we want to resemble our Lord. Let each one of us, according to his condition; aim at having fewer and less expensive things. Let everything that we buy or receive be a tribute to the holy poverty of our Master Jesus Christ. We shall want to depend on Him for everything: on His light for our mind, on His grace for our will, on His love for our heart, on His Cross for our body. Do not seek any other. He is always here in The Blessed Sacrament.

— St. Peter Emyard

1 Kings 19:16, 19-21

16  and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel; and Eli’sha the son of Shaphat of A’bel-meho’lah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. 

19  So he departed from there, and found Eli’sha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing, with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Eli’jah passed by him and cast his mantle upon him. 

20  And he left the oxen, and ran after Eli’jah, and said, "Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you." And he said to him, "Go back again; for what have I done to you?" 

21  And he returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Eli’jah, and ministered to him. 

Bible Study: [15-17] Elijah himself carried out only the third of the commissions entrusted to him (1 Kings 19:19-21); Elisha was deputed to perform the first in person (2 Kings 8:7-19), and the second through one of his followers (2 Kings 9:1-10). [19-21] Elijah’s act of throwing his mantle over the shoulders of Elisha expressed the divine call to share the prophetic mission. Elisha’s prompt response through destruction of his plow and oxen is an example of total obedience and detachment from his former manner of living in order to promote the glory of God.

Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-11

1  Preserve me, O God, for in thee I take refuge. 

2  I say to the LORD, "Thou art my Lord; I have no good apart from thee." 

5  The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; thou holdest my lot. 

7  I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. 

8  I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 

9  Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also dwells secure. 

10  For thou dost not give me up to Sheol, or let thy godly one see the Pit. 

11  Thou dost show me the path of life; in thy presence there is fulness of joy, in thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.

Bible Study: [Psalm 16] A miktam of David. In the first section, the psalmist rejects the futile worship of false gods (Psalm 16:2-5), preferring Israel’s God (Psalm 16:1), the giver of the land (Psalm 16:6). The second section reflects on the wise and life-giving presence of God (Psalm 16:7-11). [1] Miktam: a term occurring six times in psalm superscriptions, always with "David." Its meaning is unknown. [4] Take their names: to use the gods’ names in oaths and hence to affirm them as one’s own gods. [6] Pleasant places were measured out for me: the psalmist is pleased with the plot of land measured out to the family, which was to be passed on to succeeding generations ("my inheritance").  [10] Nor let your faithful servant see the pit: Hebrew shahath means here the pit, a synonym for Sheol, the underworld. The Greek translation derives the word here and elsewhere from the verb shahath, "to be corrupt." On the basis of the Greek, Acts 2:25-32; 13:35-37 apply the verse to Christ’s resurrection, "Nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption."

Galatians 5:1, 13-18

1  For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 

13  For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another. 

14  For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 

15  But if you bite and devour one another take heed that you are not consumed by one another. 

16  But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 

17  For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would. 

18  But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law. 

Bible Study: [1-6] Paul begins the exhortations, continuing through Gal 6:10, with an appeal to the Galatians to side with freedom instead of slavery (Gal 5:1). He reiterates his message of justification or righteousness by faith instead of law and circumcision (Gal 5:2-5); cf Gal 2:16; 3:3. Faith, not circumcision, is what counts (Gal 5:6). [1] Freedom: Paul stresses as the conclusion from the allegory in Gal 4:21-31 this result of Christ’s work for us. It is a principle previously mentioned (Gal 2:4), the responsible use of which Gal 5:13 will emphasize. [13-26] In light of another reminder of the freedom of the gospel (Gal 5:13; cf Gal 5:1), Paul elaborates on what believers are called to do and be: they fulfill the law by love of neighbor (Gal 5:14-15), walking in the Spirit (Gal 5:16-26), as is illustrated by concrete fruit of the Spirit in their lives. [13] Serve . . . through love: cf Gal 5:6. [14] Lev 19:18, emphasized by Jesus (Matthew 22:39; Luke 10:27); cf Romans 13:8-10. [16-25] Spirit . . . flesh: cf Gal 3:3 and the note on Romans 8:1-13.

Luke 9:51-62

51  When the days drew near for him to be received up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 

52  And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him; 

53  but the people would not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 

54  And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to bid fire come down from heaven and consume them?" 

55  But he turned and rebuked them. 

56  And they went on to another village. 

57  As they were going along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." 

58  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." 

59  To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." 

60  But he said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 

61  Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." 

62  Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." 

Bible Study: [9:51-18:14] The Galilean ministry of Jesus finishes with the previous episode and a new section of Luke’s gospel begins, the journey to Jerusalem. This journey is based on Mark 10:1-52 but Luke uses his Marcan source only in Luke 18:15-19:27. Before that point he has inserted into his gospel a distinctive collection of sayings of Jesus and stories about him that he has drawn from Q, a collection of sayings of Jesus used also by Matthew, and from his own special traditions. All of the material collected in this section is loosely organized within the framework of a journey of Jesus to Jerusalem, the city of destiny, where his exodus (suffering, death, resurrection, ascension) is to take place (Luke 9:31), where salvation is accomplished, and from where the proclamation of God’s saving word is to go forth (Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8). Much of the material in the Lucan travel narrative is teaching for the disciples. During the course of this journey Jesus is preparing his chosen Galilean witnesses for the role they will play after his exodus (Luke 9:31): they are to be his witnesses to the people (Acts 10:39; 13:31) and thereby provide certainty to the readers of Luke’s gospel that the teachings they have received are rooted in the teachings of Jesus (Luke 1:1-4).

 [51-55] Just as the Galilean ministry began with a rejection of Jesus in his hometown, so too the travel narrative begins with the rejection of him by Samaritans. In this episode Jesus disassociates himself from the attitude expressed by his disciples that those who reject him are to be punished severely. The story alludes to 2 Kings 1:10, 12 where the prophet Elijah takes the course of action Jesus rejects, and Jesus thereby rejects the identification of himself with Elijah.  [51] Days for his being taken up: like the reference to his exodus in Luke 9:31 this is probably a reference to all the events (suffering, death, resurrection, ascension) of his last days in Jerusalem. He resolutely determined: literally, "he set his face."  [52] Samaritan: Samaria was the territory between Judea and Galilee west of the Jordan river. For ethnic and religious reasons, the Samaritans and the Jews were bitterly opposed to one another (see John 4:9).  [57-62] In these sayings Jesus speaks of the severity and the unconditional nature of Christian discipleship. Even family ties and filial obligations, such as burying one’s parents, cannot distract one no matter how briefly from proclaiming the kingdom of God. The first two sayings are paralleled in Matthew 8:19-22; see also the notes there.  [60] Let the dead bury their dead: i.e., let the spiritually dead (those who do not follow) bury their physically dead. See also the note on Matthew 8:22.