A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew 7:21-29
(Glory to you O Lord!)
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the Kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day,
‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?
Did we not drive out demons in your name?
Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’
Then I will declare to them solemnly,
‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’
“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine
but does not act on them
will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”
When Jesus finished these words,
the crowds were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority,
and not as their scribes.
The Gospel of the Lord (Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ!).
Reflection: Jesus loves us and He journeys with us!
In today’s Gospel reading we hear Jesus say, “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.” What does our Lord mean by that?
Well, we need to begin reading a few chapters back in the Gospel of Matthew from Chapter 5 to 7 to understand the full context of what our Jesus is talking about, where our Lord shared to the disciples about the Beatitudes, about living lives of true humility, of being kind to one another, to have patience for one another, to have hearts of mercy and forgiveness, to share our blessings with compassion for everyone, to depend on and trust in God, and to always pray and lift up our needs, to ask God to help us discern the choices in life that lead to holiness and truth, joy and peace, to truly seek to follow Jesus as His disciples by following His teachings, as Jesus teaches us to follow the narrow way that leads to eternal life in Paradise.
I know, most of us will say, it is too hard! Jesus never said that it will be easy. What our Lord does teach us is that we need to always choose the way through the narrow gate that leads to a life of holiness and life. God will always be there to help us overcome the challenges in life if we trust and allow Him to guide us.
Remember, we are not journeying alone. Jesus loves us and He journeys with us always through His Spirit. The Holy Trinity is always with us. We can overcome the challenges we face in this life and choose holiness that leads to Paradise by listening to His daily promptings in our hearts and minds, by “following Jesus”.
We can do it! Trust in God, trust in our Lord Jesus! He journeys with us always! Call upon Him daily to guide us throughout our remaining days on earth until the day He calls us to Himself.
Action for the Day:
Pray for our Lord to increase our faith. Lift up our challenges and tendencies that keep us from choosing what is holy. Pray to be aware of God presence always throughout our days on earth. Ask God to continue to guide and help us always for we are “nothing” without Him. Lord Jesus, you knew us even before we were formed in our mother’s wombs. Please continue to guide us to be patient with ourselves and one another. Help to discern what leads to holiness, of your love and mercy with all or our decisions. Thank you, Lord Jesus!
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