Posted on 07/07/2020 10:03:55 PM PDT by Salvation
Israel is a luxuriant vine
whose fruit matches its growth.
The more abundant his fruit,
the more altars he built;
The more productive his land,
the more sacred pillars he set up.
Their heart is false,
now they pay for their guilt;
God shall break down their altars
and destroy their sacred pillars.
If they would say,
“We have no king”—
Since they do not fear the LORD,
what can the king do for them?
The king of Samaria shall disappear,
like foam upon the waters.
The high places of Aven shall be destroyed,
the sin of Israel;
thorns and thistles shall overgrow their altars.
Then they shall cry out to the mountains, “Cover us!”
and to the hills, “Fall upon us!”
“Sow for yourselves justice,
reap the fruit of piety;
break up for yourselves a new field,
for it is time to seek the LORD,
till he come and rain down justice upon you.”
R. (4b) Seek always the face of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
R. Seek always the face of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. Seek always the face of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the LORD, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail.
R. Seek always the face of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Kingdom of God is at hand:
repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and every illness.
The names of the Twelve Apostles are these:
first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew;
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
Philip and Bartholomew,
Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;
James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus;
Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot
who betrayed Jesus.
Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,
“Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
-- St. Rose Philippine Duchesne
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The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.
Amen. "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28) "Blessed are you among women, |
It is time to seek the Lord. (Hosea 10:12)
Idolatry was everywhere. Israel had begun to place their faith in military strength and foreign alliances instead of trusting in God. At the same time, they began erecting altars and offering sacrifices to honor Baal, the pagan god of fertility (Hosea 10:1). How could God’s precious chosen people have fallen so low?
The truth is, we all have a tendency to worship “false gods,” sometimes without even realizing it. It happens when we let anything take priority over the Lord. When we allow other things to grab our attention or our hearts more than God, or when we seek our joy and comfort in things God has created more than in God himself, we have in essence made them idols.
What’s the solution? Hosea tells the people, quite simply, “It is time to seek the Lord” (10:12). Seek the Lord when you cling to your own strength instead of relying on God’s grace. Seek the Lord when you find yourself rearranging your schedule to fit in more screen time and end up squeezing out your prayer time. Seek the Lord when you realize you are doing things to please other people because you care more about their opinion of you than what God thinks. Seek the Lord when you are tempted to place career success above time with your family.
Today, make time to seek the Lord. Ask him, “What things am I tempted to place before you? What can I do to put you first?” When you ask these questions on a regular basis, you give God the opportunity to open your eyes and heart to show you what steps you might need to take to knock those “gods” off their pedestals. It might mean easing up on Netflix for a few weeks to spend extra time in prayer. It might mean making it a point to go to Confession on a regular basis. Or it might mean putting a little extra money into the poor box after Mass.
It is always a good time to seek the Lord. As you do, he will show you how you can place him at the center of your life.
“Lord, what am I tempted to place above you? Show me how to make a change.”
Psalm 105:2-7
Matthew 10:1-7
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