MY daily reflection and prayer:
Monday, July 18, 2016
Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Dear my friends,
Here is the Gospel for us today according to St. Matthew 12:38-42
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nin’eveh will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.”
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.
***
THE Gospel reading today tells us that the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” This did not flow from their humility of faith. They had closed their hearts to any possible openness toward him in advance. Their pride made impossible demands on Jesus and would not be satisfied until these impossible demands were met!
In fact, rather than make demands on Jesus Christ, we need to make demands on ourselves to repent. We need to make demands that we grow in humility, selflessness and authentic love in imitation of Jesus Christ. All of these begin with repentance.
In the Perpetual Adoration of the Eucharist while worshipping Jesus Christ, we learn to repent and grow in humility, selflessness and authentic love. This is a form a self-giving love that we can all achieve at any moment of our lives. Do we always demand on his sign, or do we make demands on ourselves to repent?
Let’s pray: Lord Jesus Christ, our prayer will be fruitfull only if we have humility in your presence. So we are approaching you with meekness and humility of heart. Thank you for the unfathomable gift of your love. Grant us the grace of practicing contrition of heart throughout the day now and forever. Amen.
Kredit foto: Ilustrasi (Ist)
