Side By Side

July 31, 2018

Today’s gospel is a sobering reminder that the presence of evil is always among us. Side by side, good and evil, exist and grow. It is the theme of super hero movies, great novels, and epic poetry. The existence of one gives the other its purpose. Does that make sense? Free will is the gift given to us to choose the good or to choose the bad. God wants us to freely choose good, of course, but when sin entered the scene (through the enemy), the battle began and continues. The parable says, “The slaves of the householder came to him and said, ‘Master, did you not sow seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘an enemy has done this.’ His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest.’” I know that we, the “righteous”, want to rid the world of all the jerks, the rude, the ugly, the hateful, the more sinful than we, but today’s gospel tells us that we are not qualified nor called to this task. That is reserved for God and our only care is to grow. It occurred to me that both the wheat and the weeds are covered in the same sunlight and rooted in the same soil. God covers all and God can make all things good and beautiful as well. If we uproot the weeds, we uproot their chance at becoming beautiful, useful, and good. 

So let’s let God be God and He will continue shining on all with the hope and the desire that all will make it to the harvest. Let’s not forget that sunflowers and dandelions and daisies and wildflowers are weeds. God’s mercy allows even the sinful to be redeemed and it is well with my soul. 

P.S. Happy Memorial of St. Ignatius to all my Jesuit friends (Fr. Gil!!)

Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest
Lectionary: 402

Reading 1 JER 14:17-22

Let my eyes stream with tears
day and night, without rest,
Over the great destruction which overwhelms
the virgin daughter of my people,
over her incurable wound.
If I walk out into the field,
look! those slain by the sword;
If I enter the city,
look! those consumed by hunger.
Even the prophet and the priest
forage in a land they know not.

Have you cast Judah off completely?
Is Zion loathsome to you?
Why have you struck us a blow
that cannot be healed?
We wait for peace, to no avail;
for a time of healing, but terror comes instead.
We recognize, O LORD, our wickedness,
the guilt of our fathers;
that we have sinned against you.
For your name's sake spurn us not,
disgrace not the throne of your glory;
remember your covenant with us, and break it not.
Among the nations' idols is there any that gives rain?
Or can the mere heavens send showers?
Is it not you alone, O LORD,
our God, to whom we look?
You alone have done all these things.

Responsorial Psalm PS 79:8, 9, 11 AND 13

R. (9) For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Remember not against us the iniquities of the past;
may your compassion quickly come to us,
for we are brought very low.
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Help us, O God our savior,
because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name's sake.
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Let the prisoners' sighing come before you;
with your great power free those doomed to death.
Then we, your people and the sheep of your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
through all generations we will declare your praise.
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.

Alleluia 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower;
all who come to him will live for ever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 13:36-43

Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house.
His disciples approached him and said,
"Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."
He said in reply, "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.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Just as 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 who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the Kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears ought to hear."

Grow And Rise | July 30, 2018

July 30, 2018

Today Jesus gives us two images for the Kingdom of Heaven. Why two? He wanted to make sure that His teaching was relevant to His entire audience. The mustard seed reference would have been one that the men of His time could fully understand and the analogy of using yeast to leaven the bread would have been one that women would grasp. Jesus shows us that He came for all of us and He wants to make it clear that we are all called to His purpose. The heart of these parables is that matters of faith and building the kingdom take time, which requires patience. Patience might be the most un-American virtue there is. We want everything immediately and most of our technological advancements have that immediacy as a core value. Jesus wants us to slow down to watch the seeds grow and the bread rise. He wants us to wait until the plant is big enough. How will we know when it’s big enough? When the birds find rest in it. How will we know when the bread is ready? When it can feed more people. Our faith takes time to grow, but its maturity will provide rest, comfort, nourishment, and fellowship, and in those outcomes, others will be given the opportunity to be the tiny seed or the yeast, to also grow and rise, building the kingdom slowly, but surely. Patience is required. Raise your hand if patience is not your strongest virtue. 

Jesus invites all of us to grow and rise today. The Kingdom of God begins with one tiny you and me and when we wait for the Lord to germinate glory within us, we become signs of His wonder, bringers of peace, and food for the hungry, and it is well with my soul. 

Reading 1 JER 13:1-11

The LORD said to me: Go buy yourself a linen loincloth;
wear it on your loins, but do not put it in water.
I bought the loincloth, as the LORD commanded, and put it on.
A second time the word of the LORD came to me thus:
Take the loincloth which you bought and are wearing,
and go now to the Parath;
there hide it in a cleft of the rock.
Obedient to the LORD's command, I went to the Parath
and buried the loincloth.
After a long interval, the LORD said to me: 
Go now to the Parath and fetch the loincloth
which I told you to hide there.
Again I went to the Parath, sought out and took the loincloth
from the place where I had hid it.
But it was rotted, good for nothing!
Then the message came to me from the LORD: 
Thus says the LORD:
So also I will allow the pride of Judah to rot,
the great pride of Jerusalem.
This wicked people who refuse to obey my words,
who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts,
and follow strange gods to serve and adore them,
shall be like this loincloth which is good for nothing.
For, as close as the loincloth clings to a man's loins,
so had I made the whole house of Israel
and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says the LORD;
to be my people, my renown, my praise, my beauty.
But they did not listen.

Responsorial Psalm DEUTERONOMY 32:18-19, 20, 21

R. (see 18a) You have forgotten God who gave you birth.
You were unmindful of the Rock that begot you,
You forgot the God who gave you birth.
When the LORD saw this, he was filled with loathing
and anger toward his sons and daughters.
R. You have forgotten God who gave you birth.
"I will hide my face from them," he said,
"and see what will then become of them.
What a fickle race they are,
sons with no loyalty in them!"
R. You have forgotten God who gave you birth.
"Since they have provoked me with their 'no-god'
and angered me with their vain idols,
I will provoke them with a 'no-people';
with a foolish nation I will anger them."
R. You have forgotten God who gave you birth.

Alleluia JAS 1:18

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Father willed to give us birth by the word of truth
that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 13:31-35

Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds.
"The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
that a person took and sowed in a field.
It is the smallest of all the seeds,
yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants.
It becomes a large bush,
and the 'birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.'"

He spoke to them another parable.
"The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast
that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch was leavened."

All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables.
He spoke to them only in parables, 
to fulfill what had been said through the prophet:

I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation 
of the world.

The Harvest

July 27, 2018

The parable of the sower and the seed is one we pretty much know by heart isn’t it? Thanks to Vacation Bible School or Veggie Talesor CCD or Sunday School, it is likely that most of us have been studying today’s gospel since we were toddlers. And isn’t that the theme? Seeds of faith have been deeply planted since our Baptism and those seeds go through each of the scenarios presented by Jesus in this most memorable parable. Life gives us thorns, and birds, and rocky ground, and dusty paths, and life gives us fertile ground as well. As Christians we need to continue nurturing the fertile ground so that whenever seeds are planted there, (faith is an ongoing harvest) they will be received into an environment where growth is fostered. There will be fallow times, but it is those times of rest and stillness that allow the soil to become rich in nutrients so that the next abundant crop will thrive. The good news about today’s gospel is that the sower scatters the seed to all the areas so we are pretty much guaranteed that some of our seeds are germinating in fertile soil. I used to think that if you were the sad soul that only had the seeds planted among the thorns there was no hope for you and I couldn’t quite understand that unfair distribution. God is so generous with His gifts that He pours them over all and those meant to take root within us will grow if we nurture them. 

I had a real life sower and the seed experience just last night. I was invited into a friend’s home to lead some praise and worship with three families that I have known over the years through Family Camp, Vacation Bible School, Youth Group, and Confirmation Formation. After we sang our favorite songs, we shared our closest moments to Christ. One by one I witnessed the harvest of the seeds planted over the years. These young people that were once participants at Family Camp (of which I had the blessing of being musician and/or program director for several years) were now volunteers and staff members for the same camp and they were now the ones continuing the good work that began so long ago. Many hands of love, deep faith, and sacrifice had tilled the fertile soil, and the harvest keeps growing in abundance and beauty. What a blessing to see the fruits of the labor started so many years ago and on the eve of the parable of the sower and the seed. God is good and today I am rejuvenated in my own spirituality to remember that sometimes it takes years for the harvest, but it will be abundant and beautiful because of love, deep faith, and sacrifice.  

This week has been a bit of a fallow field week for me as far as posting daily gospel reflections and now I get it. I needed to let the seeds incubate for a time just like in the gospel and it is okay. I want everything I do to bear fruit and sometimes that means waiting patiently for the fruit to ripen. Have a fertile soil kind of day and it is well with my soul. 

Reading 1 JER 3:14-17

Return, rebellious children, says the LORD,
for I am your Master;
I will take you, one from a city, two from a clan,
and bring you to Zion.
I will appoint over you shepherds after my own heart,
who will shepherd you wisely and prudently.
When you multiply and become fruitful in the land,
says the LORD,
They will in those days no longer say,
"The ark of the covenant of the LORD!"
They will no longer think of it, or remember it, 
or miss it, or make another.

At that time they will call Jerusalem the LORD's throne;
there all nations will be gathered together
to honor the name of the LORD at Jerusalem,
and they will walk no longer in their hardhearted wickedness.

Responsorial Psalm JEREMIAH 31:10, 11-12ABCD, 13

R. (see 10d) The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
proclaim it on distant isles, and say:
He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together,
he guards them as a shepherd his flock. 
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
The LORD shall ransom Jacob,
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.
Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
they shall come streaming to the LORD's blessings:
The grain, the wine, and the oil,
the sheep and the oxen.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.

Alleluia SEE LK 8:15

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart
and yield a harvest through perseverance.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 13:18-23

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Hear the parable of the sower.
The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the Kingdom
without understanding it,
and the Evil One comes and steals away
what was sown in his heart.
The seed sown on rocky ground
is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy.
But he has no root and lasts only for a time.
When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
he immediately falls away.
The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word,
but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word
and it bears no fruit.
But the seed sown on rich soil
is the one who hears the word and understands it,
who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold."

Signs

July 23, 2018

Signs are necessary tools when we don’t know where we are. One sign can save us from getting lost. Signs point us in the right direction, or tell us what to do, or indicate something important, or explain what we are looking at, or tell us how far we have to go. Pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago follow one simple yellow arrow painted on the sides of buildings, on street curbs, on trees in the forest, on fences, on the ground, on anything along the way to help the pilgrim move forward. I never knew that I could actually develop a relationship with a sign. When I walked the Camino the yellow arrow became my best friend and a symbol of grace leading me along a beautiful mysterious journey. My only job was to find the arrow and to follow it. One painted yellow arrow navigated me across two countries. One yellow arrow kept me found. One yellow arrow gave me all I needed to direct my steps. One yellow arrow let me know where I was and where I was going. This still blows my mind. Spiritually, my only vocation is to find the signs of grace and to follow them. Signs are necessary when we don’t know where we are going. 

Today the Pharisees show us just how lost they really were by saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” Jesus must have been gobsmacked (dumfounded) by their willful ignorance to read all the signs given up to this point. Are you kidding me guys, a sign? Healing lepers, restoring sight to the blind, feeding thousands, and raising peeps from the dead are not clear enough for you? Raise your hand if you know someone that is navigationally challenged and can get lost even with a map or GPS. Jesus quickly recognizes that these religious leaders were lacking faith and that He needed to pull out the big guns in the way of a “sign”. “An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given itexcept the sign of Jonah the prophet. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earththree days and three nights.” Here we have a foreshadowing of Jesus’ own passion, death, and resurrection for those that still manage to be lost. 

The Pharisees wanted magic tricks and I totally get it because a lot of times when my faith is weak, I also want a magic trick. I want miraculous healing for my friends with cancer, or I want a voice from heaven to tell me exactly what I’m supposed to do, or I want to win the lottery. I negotiate these things with God guaranteeing Him that if any of these magic tricks were to occur; I’d be all in. However, when my faith is deeply grounded and I use the yellow arrows of grace given to me daily, when I open my eyes and see the extraordinary in the ordinary, when I encounter the magic in the present moment, when I know exactly where I am and whose I am because of a solid prayer life, then I recognize that the signs are all around me. I am constantly being moved forward by faith, hope, and love. These are the yellow arrows and my only vocation is to see them and follow them.

My prayer is that we direct our steps toward the yellow arrows of grace and stop demanding magic tricks. The enchantment of the resurrection should be the only sign we need to go all in. Have an enchanting day and it is well with my soul. 

Reading 1 MI 6:1-4, 6-8

Hear what the LORD says:
Arise, present your plea before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice!
Hear, O mountains, the plea of the LORD,
pay attention, O foundations of the earth!
For the LORD has a plea against his people,
and he enters into trial with Israel.

O my people, what have I done to you,
or how have I wearied you? Answer me!
For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
from the place of slavery I released you;
and I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and Miriam.

With what shall I come before the LORD,
and bow before God most high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with myriad streams of oil?
Shall I give my first-born for my crime,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
You have been told, O man, what is good,
and what the LORD requires of you:
Only to do the right and to love goodness,
and to walk humbly with your God.

Responsorial Psalm PS 50:5-6, 8-9, 16BC-17, 21 AND 23

R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Gather my faithful ones before me,
those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
And the heavens proclaim his justice;
for God himself is the judge.
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.
I take from your house no bullock,
no goats out of your fold.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

Alleluia PS 95:8

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 12:38-42

Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,
“Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”
He said to them in reply,
“An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign,
but no sign will be given it
except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights,
so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth
three days and three nights.
At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah;
and there is something greater than Jonah here.
At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation
and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon;
and there is something greater than Solomon here.”

Eight Days A Week

July 20, 2018

Jesus used every opportunity He could to reveal Himself and the Truth of the matter at hand. Today’s gospel is a beautiful example of choosing the better portion and understanding the essence of keeping the Sabbath holy. The commandment refers to the Sabbath as a day of rest because God rested on the seventh day. Rest from labor and work is a good thing, but taking it to the extreme is where we get ourselves in trouble and we allow the rule to undermine the reason the rule exists in the first place. Resting in the Lord, giving thanks, spending time in scripture, communion, and replenishing our souls is the essence of the third commandment. Some super strict practicing Jews even have the lights in their house on timers so that they don’t even have to lift a finger to flip a light switch on the Sabbath. While the practice itself is not a bad thing, if the Messiah Himself were to walk into your house, His presence outweighs not working on the Sabbath, and you better offer Him some wine or a beer or make Him a sandwich or some guacamole and chips at least! Does that make sense? 

Jesus challenges the Pharisees (and us) to take a second look at their minutia to put things into their proper order, or the better portion. He calls us to do the same because it is our human tendency to go extreme when we are passionate about things. We want to do things right and rule following, especially religious rules, becomes almost a badge of honor rather than a way of growing closer to God and others. It’s easy to get caught up in this trap and Jesus just wants us to remember that God’s work never takes a break. He is constantly in motion, working in our lives, and feeding us. The apostles didn’t even realize that their choice of snacks (heads of grain) was a foreshadowing to the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist, but that’s how Jesus rolls. He uses the ordinary to usher in the extraordinary. 

I have one personal experience that captures today’s theme. Dad died on a Sunday and being the “good Catholic” that I am, at one point I remember saying to myself that I would need to go to confession for missing Sunday mass. Really Jen? You still don’t get it. This was the most holy Sabbath you have ever had because the liturgy of the present moment captured you in an ocean of grace, mercy, and love. Don’t miss this Sunday mass right in front of you. Your dad rested in eternity on this Sabbath and that sacrament outdoes the darn rule. The liturgy of your dad’s last breath is the holy of holies because the Spirit of God is there bringing Him home. The Eucharist was never more real as our family members and best friends held hands around His deathbed, while priests and deacons recited the prayers for the dying. This indeed was the most sacred liturgy I have ever experienced and by far the better portion. How dare I think that any of that holiness was sinful? Jesus snapped me out of my small mindedness and back into the blessed sacrament of the moment. 

In today’s gospel He tries snap the Pharisees out of their small mindedness by saying, “If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." The better portion, friends, is mercy because mercy is the only rule that Jesus Christ would have us live by eight days a week. Have a merciful day and it is well with my soul. 

Reading 1 IS 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8

When Hezekiah was mortally ill,
the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, came and said to him:
"Thus says the LORD: Put your house in order,
for you are about to die; you shall not recover."
Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD:

"O LORD, remember how faithfully and wholeheartedly
I conducted myself in your presence,
doing what was pleasing to you!"
And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: "Go, tell Hezekiah:
Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David:
I have heard your prayer and seen your tears.
I will heal you: in three days you shall go up to the LORD's temple;
I will add fifteen years to your life.
I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria;
I will be a shield to this city."

Isaiah then ordered a poultice of figs to be taken
and applied to the boil, that he might recover.
Then Hezekiah asked,
"What is the sign that I shall go up to the temple of the LORD?"

Isaiah answered:
"This will be the sign for you from the LORD
that he will do what he has promised:
See, I will make the shadow cast by the sun
on the stairway to the terrace of Ahaz
go back the ten steps it has advanced."
So the sun came back the ten steps it had advanced.

Responsorial Psalm ISAIAH 38:10, 11, 12ABCD, 16

R. (see 17b) You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
Once I said,
"In the noontime of life I must depart!
To the gates of the nether world I shall be consigned
for the rest of my years." 
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
I said, "I shall see the LORD no more
in the land of the living.
No longer shall I behold my fellow men
among those who dwell in the world."
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
My dwelling, like a shepherd's tent,
is struck down and borne away from me;
You have folded up my life, like a weaver
who severs the last thread.
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
Those live whom the LORD protects;
yours is the life of my spirit.
You have given me health and life.
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.

Alleluia JN 10:27

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 12:1-8

Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath.
His disciples were hungry
and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,
"See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath."
He said to the them, "Have you not read what David did
when he and his companions were hungry,
how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering,
which neither he nor his companions
but only the priests could lawfully eat?
Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath
the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath
and are innocent?
I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.
If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
you would not have condemned these innocent men.
For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath."

Meek And Humble Of Heart

July 19, 2018

Raise your hand if you understand weariness. Raise your hand if you’ve ever been so worn down, you can hardly remember your own name. Have you ever been so exhausted that your hair hurts? Weariness is more than just being tired; it is utter physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual depletion. We are just not ourselves when we are weary, labored, or burdened. Jesus shows us His sweet pastoral side in today’s gospel. "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,and I will give you rest.” For me I picture Jesus sitting on a shaded park bench and I show up all beaten down and spent, drowsy from dealing with the daily anxieties of life, heavy and laden with useless worry, desperate for relief from the anguish, and He pats the seat next to Him for me to sit. There are no words or deep conversations, just His empty lap for me to lie down and rest. He strokes my hurting weary hair, and He sings me a lullaby. Eventually, I fall into a deep sleep and when I wake, my tense shoulders feel squishy, my hair no longer throbs, my worries have faded, and I know that I am deeply loved. 

Jesus wants us to be our truest self because we were created in the pure and total love of His Father. The secret to becoming our truest self is given in today’s gospel if we are brave enough to trust in it, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,for I am meek and humble of heart;and you will find rest for yourselves.For my yoke is easy, and my burden light." Meekness and humility of heart is the key to lightening our loads and shedding our weariness. When we become docile to the love of our Father and allow Him to be God and Savior, lover of our souls, and center of our lives, then and only then will we ever be free of the burdens that weigh us down and tire us on the journey. Another word for meekness is peacefulness and I don’t know about you, but peace is the fruit of the Spirit that I cherish most because it allows me to stop fighting and to simply be. Simply being is resting and I love me some good and lasting rest these days. I spent so many years scurrying about like a squirrel collecting acorns for the winter, and not enough time sitting under a tree enjoying the summer. My life was about doing and not about being. 

Jesus wants us to rest today and enjoy our lightness. He will do all our heavy lifting if we simply come to Him with peaceful and gentle hearts. I will focus on the status of my heart as I pray throughout the day. Have a meek and humble day and it is well with my soul. 

Reading 1 IS 26:7-9, 12, 16-19

The way of the just is smooth;
the path of the just you make level.
Yes, for your way and your judgments, O LORD,
we look to you;
Your name and your title
are the desire of our souls.
My soul yearns for you in the night,
yes, my spirit within me keeps vigil for you;
When your judgment dawns upon the earth,
the world's inhabitants learn justice.
O LORD, you mete out peace to us,
for it is you who have accomplished all we have done.

O LORD, oppressed by your punishment,
we cried out in anguish under your chastising.
As a woman about to give birth
writhes and cries out in her pains,
so were we in your presence, O LORD.
We conceived and writhed in pain,
giving birth to wind;
Salvation we have not achieved for the earth,
the inhabitants of the world cannot bring it forth.
But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise;
awake and sing, you who lie in the dust.
For your dew is a dew of light,
and the land of shades gives birth.

Responsorial Psalm PS 102:13-14AB AND 15, 16-18, 19-21

R. (20b) From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
You, O LORD, abide forever,
and your name through all generations.
You will arise and have mercy on Zion,
for it is time to pity her.
For her stones are dear to your servants,
and her dust moves them to pity. 
R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
The nations shall revere your name, O LORD,
and all the kings of the earth your glory,
When the LORD has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in his glory;
When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
and not despised their prayer.
R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
Let this be written for the generation to come,
and let his future creatures praise the LORD:
"The LORD looked down from his holy height,
from heaven he beheld the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die."
R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.

Alleluia MT 11:28

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 11:28-30

Jesus said:
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."