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Theo Tigno•
7/11/2010 7:33 pm
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Monday, July 12th 2010 |
Matthew 10:41 - 11:1
Jesus said to his Apostles: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's enemies will be those of his household.
"Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
"Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple -- amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward."
When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.
Dawg's Thought:
Today's prayer intention - for those who teach in secular schools, that they may stand for truth despite pressure to perpetuate the lies of the evil one.
I'm not sure if I had written about this, but it applies to today's reading, so ...
For the past few weeks I have been trying to authentically live out "four things that bring great peace" as stated in the Imitation of Christ (Thomas a Kempis):
1. Always strive to do another's will rather than your own.
2. Always choose to have less rather than more.
3. Always seek the lowest place and be submissive in all things.
4. Always desire and pray that God's will be entirely fulfilled in you.
I wish I can tell you that it has brought about a tremendous amount of peace. Instead, it's revealing that my life is not peaceful where it was. For as much as I like to write and reflect on the readings for the day, I have a long way to go before I can say that I have carried my cross with dignity, seeking The Lord's will in all things.
I wish that I could say that I did well in seeking another's will. Instead, many times I seek approval versus doing what is best. In today's reading, Jesus reminds us that He didn't come so that we can be popular. If that was the case, we'd all have our own one-hour television show where we tell other's what we're going to do and where we are going ;)
I wish that I could tell you that I did well in having less rather than more, or that I have done well in the other areas. Instead, I am grateful that the cross truly is what it should be: a cross (how about that???).
I have also been reflecting on the life that I have now, seeing that a few months ago I could have found out where I would be spending my eternity. I am grateful that I am alive, for it reminds me that I still need a lot of work carrying my cross with dignity.
Take care and God Bless.
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