SATURDAY GOSPEL It reminds me about our confusion and possible doubts we have. We can not agree. It reminds me to listen first to everything before making judgement. Everyone deserves a fair hearing. Jesus didn't get a fair hearing. JOHN 7: 40-53 40 Some of the crowd who had been listening said, 'He is indeed the prophet,' and some said, 'He is the Christ,' but others said, 'Would the Christ come from Galillee? Does not scripture say that the Christ must be descended from David and come from Bethlehem, the village where David was?' So the people could not agree about him. Some wanted to arrest him, but no one actually laid a hand on him. The guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees who said to them, 'Why haven't you brought him?' The guards replied, 'No one has ever spoken like this man.' 'So,' the Pharisees answered, 'you, too, have been led astray?' Have any of the authorities come to believe in him? Any of the Pharisees? This rabble knows nothing about the Law - they are damned.' One of then, Nicodemus - the same man who had come to Jesus earlier said to them, 'But surely our Law does not allow us to pass judgement on anyone without first giving him a hearing and discovering what he is doing?' To this they answered, 'Are you a Galilean too? Go into the matter, and see for yourself: prophets do not arise in Galilee.' They all went home,
This speaks to me about jealousy, having one's power challenged and one's position in the Church. These were the reasons that they wanted to kill him. Sinful pride. Their refusal to serve (like satan) they wanted to lead and lord it over people and when they were shown that they had got it all wrong. Instead of causing it to change them, they did away with Truth. Our beautiful Lord. They heard him Jane, they just didn't like what they heard. Like satan crying out.. "I will not serve!"
The spiritual blindness struck me when you have this type of pride at work you can't see the wood for the trees, it closes you of like the pharaisees and you miss out on so much as it illustrates in this gospel where there is doubt & confusion this is a perfect opportunity for unsavoury people to exploit the situation usually for nefarious ends Satan thrives on this and it has happened so much throughout history
I don't see it this way at all Jane. These people were serving themselves, all of us here are trying to serve God. When you look at all our posts here, they are actually very healthy. Firstly, you can see a great love of the scriptures, a love of the Sacraments, a love for Our Blessed Mother, and many hearts that want to serve God first and foremost. There is a great love for the saints here, respect for all our saints and for prophecies and visions that have been approved by the Church. So a respect for the authority within the Church. We are all trying to discern prophets/prophecies which we are called to do as Christians. We accept those with open arms that we believe resonate with the Gospels and Truth, and if the Church (not necessarily anyone within but the magiserium) declares them false then I am sure that at least 98% here would turn away. This 98% is not being unkind, I haven't spoken to all on this forum, not all post, so I couldn't possibly comment on them, but if there were a percentage that didn't listen and still followed condemned visionaries then I would like to think that that percentage is very low.. SO, bottom line, as a group we live this and send out this message. Get back to putting God centre in your life Get back to the Mass Get back to prayer and the Sacraments Read the Gospels Try to live good lives worthy of The Gospel Have devotion to Mother Mary and your guardian angels Pray for all those who are in need Remember your brothers and sisters in purgatory. Be open to the prophets, but do test the spirits.
SUNDAY'S GOSPEL JOHN 8 1-11 and Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At daybreak he appeared in the Temple again; and as all the people came to him, he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman along who had been caught committing adultery; and making her stand there in the middle they said to Jesus, 'Master, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adutery, and in the Law Moses has ordered us to stone women of this kind. What have you got to say?' They asked him this as a test, looking for an accusation to use against him. But Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with his finger. As they persisted with their question, he straightened up and said, 'Let the one among you who is without sin be first to throw the first stone.' Then he bent down and continued writing on the ground. When they heard this they went away one by one, begining with the eldest, until the last one had gone and Jesus was left alone with the woman, who remained in the middle. Jesus again straightened up and said, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' 'No one, sir,' she replied. 'Neither do I condemn you,' said Jesus. 'Go away, and from this moment sin no more.' The word of the Lord.
How horrible for this woman to be put in the middle of the crowd. To be singled out, feeling terrible and dirty. This woman put there to be condemned, they all wanted to throw stones at her. Was it to prove their own self righteousness at the same time as testing Jesus? Besides. Doesn't it take two to committ adultery? Where was the man she was with. Maybe the other men might have used this woman for their own pleasure in the past. Jesus proves to us, there is nothing so bad we can do. He will always forgive us. What a loving and merciful Jesus we have.
Jimmyiz, if you were to imagine what He wrote. What would it be? I remember a few years ago in the Homily, the priest suggested maybe He was writing the sins in which were committed by the men who were there to stone the woman.
I love this Gospel. My thoughts.. Here was a woman ashamed, frightened she knew she was about to be stoned to death. The fact that Jesus crouched down in the ground disarmed him straight away, any fear she had regarding him would have diminished. A person crouching down writing in the sand is not a person that is about to pounce on you. The fact that he was writing in the sand meant he wasn't looking directly at her. We have all felt shame whether as children or adults in our wrongdoing, and we know how difficult it is to look someone in the eye. How awful a good and holy person such as Jesus? He didn't look at her head on to spare her this shame. This gospel tells us so much about the Character of Christ and how he thought about how others were feeling etc. This women must of been shocked, normally men wanted to look at her, they lusted after her, she must of felt like an object. Yet here was a man who didn't lust after her, who wanted to help her and had no ulterior motive. Here was a man who saved her life, who was prepared to be stoned with her, for they could so easily have stoned him as well. He jumped right in not thinking about his own safety and was crouched down disarming himself to her but making him more vulnerable to his new enemies had they decided to stone him too. Thankfully, he spoke with authority and pricked their consciences, they must have known that he could see their sins. When they had left, she waited, what was this man now to do with her, what did he want from her? She now owed him her life. But he wanted nothing, he just gave her the chance to start her life again and to know that she was forgiven. He gave her back her self worth, let her see that she was worth risking everything for, and yet she didn't know him or him her. What must this have given her? What an encounter with Christ. Next time that you are in Church, take a look in the confessional, where the priest sits.. You will see that his chair is not facing the penitent. but that it is the side of his face, his ear that they whisper into it. I think this was inspired by this particular gospel.
Thank you Mary's Child, you truly are Mary's daughter. I'm going to ponder this all day long. Beautiful!!!
MONDAY'S GOSPEL LUKE 10 1-12 17-20 Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two After this the Lord appointed seventy-two[a] others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. 17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
This makes me think of when the Holy Spirit comes to us with inspirations and we ignore them. If we listen He will stay with us but when we ignore the inspirations He just shakes the dust of our soul off and leaves.
The Holy Spirit never leaves us. The only way we cast Him from our souls is through mortal sin. Even then, He remains very close to us continuously calling us back to The Sacrament of Confession. This is where He restores us and once again takes up residence in our souls restoring them to their former beauty and endowing them with many graces. Please read. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Read this continuously. God is Love. This passage speaks of God's love.
