Luke 13:18-21
 
A tiny mustard seed makes no noise or commotion as it silently germinates and grows into a tall plant that not only flowers and fruits, but also support birds in its branches. Similarly minute granules of yeast quietly spread and multiply their way through three measures of flour, tripling the volume of the original ingredients, to produce fragrant and life-giving bread. This is the way the kingdom of God is coming about through any small “holy” word or action that is inspired by the love and light of God; without noise or fanfare holy ‘germs’ of God’s kingdom grow (often slowly) into large, fruitful and life-supporting things in our lives. Am I quiet and patient enough to notice the kingdom of God at work? Holy Spirit, help me recognize the kingdom of God at work in our midst.
 
Make known to all people your mighty deed, and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.  (Psalm 145:12)
 
A waiting person is a patient person. The word patience means the willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full in the belief that something hidden there will be manifest.
Heni Nouwen    
 
www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca  & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook
Soli ad gloriam Dei
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Luke 13:1-9
   
We sometimes think that our fate is inevitable: either God will welcome us whole heartedly in heaven when we die or he will cast us into hell.  The truth is, however, that God is always infinitely patient with us. He is willing to allow his Son to work with us, as a gardener works on a barren fig tree, to give us time to heal and respond to the cultivation and pruning of our lives, with humility and faithfulness, no matter what branches need to be clipped, and no matter how putrid the manure being dug around our roots.  But, as Bishop Robert Barren points out: “But if no life comes, the tree will be cut down.  This...note of urgency ...is struck over and again in the Bible.  We can run out time.  We can become so resistant to God’s grace that our leaves dry up.  This is not divine vengeance; it is spiritual physics.”* How responsive am I to Christ’s healing touch? Holy Spirit, help me welcome Christ’s healing cultivation of my life.   
* https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgxvzLNZlSGzBJTCVmczpRCpPXWQd
 
You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. (Psalm 51:6)
 
Well and good if all things change, O Lord God, provided I am rooted in You.
St. John of the Cross    
 
www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca  & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook
Soli ad gloriam Dei
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Luke 12:54-59
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Life as an adult requires that I almost constantly make choices about what to eat, where to go, whom to contact, what to purchase, but more particularly, what to say and what to do in any given moment.  Although these choices can become burdensome and cause for anxiety, Jesus intended that none of his followers become captivated by their decisions, but rather be freed to live a life aligned with God, by judging for ourselves what is right, by tuning into the Holy Spirit of God at every turning point.  Listening for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, instead of being tossed about by personal passions, pride and consumerism is indeed freeing, and keeps our relationships with others clear, and our connections with the world, the flesh, and the devil loose enough to leave behind. Am I ready to listen to the Holy Spirit of God enough to judge for myself what is right? Holy Spirit, help me judge for myself what is right.   
 
You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. (Psalm 51:6)
 
Well and good if all things change, O Lord God, provided I am rooted in You.
St. John of the Cross    
 
www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca  & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook
Soli ad gloriam Dei
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Luke 12:49-53

 
As a follower of Jesus, I am called, like any servant, to stand in the strength of my Master.  The truth of God’s mercy is twofold.  On the one hand, are the blessings of God as expressed in the Beatitudes and all of Jesus’ teaching. On the other hand is the purifying fire of God’s love that purges sin, all that separates human beings from their Creator. This fire of God’s love was unleashed by Jesus as he taught love with truth and truth with love throughout his ministry, and by his passion and resurrection.  When I follow Christ in his strength of ‘twofold’ mercy, I too can expect to be caught up in the stress expressed by Jesus in this passage:  “I have come to bring fire to earth. I have a baptism with which to be baptized (that is overwhelmed), and what stress I am under until it is completed.” Am I prepared for the stress and strain – and the strength –of Christ Jesus?  Holy Spirit, help me stand in the strength of Christ Jesus.   
 
I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, God may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with the power through his Spirit.  (Isaiah 12:2,3)
 
If you are what you are meant to be, you will set the world on fire. 
St. Catherine of Sienna   
 
www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca  & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook
Soli ad gloriam Dei
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Luke 12:35-48

As a follower of Jesus, I am called, like any servant, to constantly be attentive to all the comings and goings of my Master, and so to be ‘dressed, ready for action, with [my] lamp lit’. Clothed in purity, humility and mercy, I am ready to be ready to serve in any kind of capacity, in any kind of ‘weather of the heart’. Tending my lamp of faith, hope and love for my Master, I begin to have the wisdom and the prudence needed to prepare for his arrival, that is his intervention, even in the darkest of times. Am I caught up in the frenzy of my own self-centred life, or am I committed to being a ready and willing servant of Jesus?  Am I lounging around in my ‘casual clothes’ of amusement, comfort and self-satisfaction, or am I dressed with faithfulness, ready for action at any cost? Am I allowing my ‘lamp’, my capacity for wisdom, to dim or am I tending it carefully, keeping it full of the oil of gladness and prudence, and trimmed to shine brightly and steadily into the dark corners of life? Holy Spirit of God, help me to always be dressed, ready for action, with my lamp lit.
 
Surely God is my salvation; ... With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.  (Isaiah 12:2,3)
 
If you are what you are meant to be, you will set the world on fire. 
St. Catherine of Sienna   
 
www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca  & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook
Soli ad gloriam Dei