Jeremiah 13:1-11
                                    
I, along with all other human beings, so naturally and stubbornly do my own will when push comes to shove, deferring more often than not to what is considered comfortable, smart, profitable or safe.  But what about God’s will?  God’s default is always love and truth, or ‘righteousness’ , tempered with purity, humility, righteousness, kindness, faithfulness, hopefulness, patience and self-control. Do I have the courage and the fortitude to do God’s will rather than stubbornly clinging to my own agendas? Will I generously  do God’s will not counting my own cost, but bowing to the tremendous cost of God’s will – the obedient death (and resurrection) of his own Son? Holy Spirit of God, help me to generously do your will.
 
Submit to God and accept the word that he plants in your hearts, which is able to save you.   (James 1:21 )
 
“Remain in Me”, not for a few moments, a few hours which must pass away, but "remain . . ." permanently, habitually. Remain in Me, pray in Me, adore in Me, love in Me, suffer in Me, work and act in Me.
 Elizabeth of the Trinity
 
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Soli ad gloriam De
 
 
 
 
 

Matthew 13:47-52

                                       
Living into the ‘holy’ ‘mystery’ of baptism is as much about detachment as it is about attachment. A kanajuk, a ‘sculpin’, a.k.a an ugly fish, lives in arctic waters and is often caught by line or in nets.  Full of bones and spikes, it is alluringly exotic and fun to catch, but most often when it is jigged to the surface, or peeled from a net, it is left on the ice as a curiosity for children to look at or for bird food. To eat a larger sculpin, it has to be boiled whole, and the meat and organs have to be separated painstakingly from the tiny bones, and eaten cautiously. Our lives are to some extent a fishing activity. We must cautiously select the ‘fish’ we will keep. It is important to select not the beguiling ugly fish but the good fish, to ingest not the bones but the meat, and to ensure that we detach ourselves from the evil around us to be able to grow in purity and holiness in the eyes of God. Will I take the trouble to detach myself, soul and body from all that is evil? Holy Spirit of God, help me live into the holy mystery of my baptism.
 
Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help. Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, who made heaven and earth the sea and all that is in them.   (Psalm 146: 3,5)
 
“Remain in Me”, not for a few moments, a few hours which must pass away, but "remain . . ." permanently, habitually. Remain in Me, pray in Me, adore in Me, love in Me, suffer in Me, work and act in Me.
 Elizabeth of the Trinity
 
www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca  
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Soli ad gloriam De
 
 
 

Matthew 13:36-43

                                       
When I was baptized, [my] life was set on the path of fulfilling my identity as a child of God, and aligning [my] heat, mind, soul and strength with the Holy Spirit of God. This is indeed a ‘holy’ , ‘mystery’ of attachment, full of forgiveness and grace –and choices to hold fast to the Love and truth of Jesus’ Gospel message.  As my life unfolds, will [I] be deemed a child of the evil one, to be tossed into a furnace of fire, or will [I] be welcomed into the kingdom of God as a holy and fruitful child of God? Holy Spirit of God, help me live into the holy mystery of my baptism; help my family members, my friends, all the baptized, live into the holy mystery of their baptisms.
 
If you turn back, I will take you back and you shall stand before me.  (Jeremiah 15:19)
 
Remain in Me, not for a few moments, a few hours which must pass away, but "remain . . ." permanently, habitually. Remain in Me, pray in Me, adore in Me, love in Me, suffer in Me, work and act in Me.
 Elizabeth of the Trinity
 
www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca  
& Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook
Soli ad gloriam De
 
 

 
Micah 7: 14-20
                                      
Having lived and camped in the Arctic, I well know the cool, fresh, thirst-quenching taste of iceberg water, melted down from a chunk hacked off from an ancient iceberg.  In a semi-desert zone, where most of the water sources are at least slightly pijaik, or “slippery” (salty), a drink of melted iceberg water is indeed life giving. Why drink anything else?  The prophet Michal similarly wondered about humankind’s choices, and contrasted the life giving waters of mercy and love that flow endlessly from the Holy Spirit of God, with the cisterns that the chosen people of God chose for themselves, to collect ground water and runoff to drink.  Why drink anything other than the living waters of God?  When I become hot and thirsty journeying along my life’s path, will I use the ‘slippery” water close at hand, and depend on human ‘cisterns’ tainted with the desires and sins of the flesh and the world (such as self-help programs or familiar addictions)?  Or will I take time to chip off a piece of the ancient word of God, let it melt in my mind, and drink from the fountain of living water, that is cool, always fresh and profoundly thirst-quenching, provided by the Holy Spirit of God? Holy Spirit of God, help me drink deeply from your fountain of life-giving waters.
 
For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.  (Psalm 36:9)
 
Prayer is a new, gracious, lasting will of the soul united and fast-bound to the will of God by the precious and mysterious working of the Holy Ghost.”
― Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love
 
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Soli ad gloriam De

Matthew 13:18-23

Receiving the word of God is an active, rather than a passive activity.  Yes, I can passively hear scripture read aloud, or read endless passages from the Bible, and walk through life merely chalking up human experiences, one after the other – and become increasingly fruit-less in my life.  But Christ calls me to hear the word and understand it.  I am called to meditate and reflect on every sentence I hear, every passage I read, and every event I experience, in the light of God’s truth and love.  I have been designed to ‘ruminate’ on the seeds of the word of God I receive by listening, by reading, by experiencing, to speak them out into my lived reality, and in turn live into their mercy in my life as a beloved child of God.  Then the seed of the word of God will take root within me, through the water of tears, the digging of repentance and forgiveness, and the sunlight of God’s holiness and righteous, so that faith, hope and love will flourish in and through my life to bear much good fruit.  Will I seek to understand the word of God, every day, in every way? Holy Spirit of Jesus, help me hear and understand the word of God.   
 
For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.  (Psalm 36:9)
 
Prayer is a new, gracious, lasting will of the soul united and fast-bound to the will of God by the precious and mysterious working of the Holy Ghost.”
― Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love
 
www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca  
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Soli ad gloriam De