Please remember us when buying

Can anyone please help us payoff

our loan on the building?

                November 4, 2010

                R. We have a wounded human nature and
                we have all been hurt — God created us to
                be more and more one with Him, to die to
                the ways not like God, to live more the resurrected
                life —

                    5 years ago my step-mother and Fr. Joe's
                step-mother died — she was 95 — When I was
                5 years old and Fr. Joe was 14 our real mom
                died of cancer — There were five children
                in our family, I was the youngest —
                Fr. Joe the oldest — When Rosella died he
                did a homily I put in the first cycle A
                book —

Homilies by Fr. Joe Robinson
Guiding Light - Cycle A
$5.00 plus shipping
Call Doris
1-888-211-3041

Rosella Robinson

Funeral November 12, 2005

In Rosella we have all had a good friend. Offering sympathy is in order, because we’ve lost a step-mother, a grandmother, an aunt, a friend, a wonderful lady. At the same time we are not here to grieve but to celebrate. We celebrate that Rosella lived a good and full life for 95 years, that she died a peaceful death, that she lived and died filled with God’s grace. We also celebrate our faith that she is now enjoying the rewards of eternal life. As our first reading says: “The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed in the view of the foolish to be dead…but they are in peace.” For the bible, a fool is someone who doesn’t believe in God. Their vision of reality is limited. Their mind is closed to anything they cannot discover for themselves. So death is the end of life in the view of a foolish person, since they have no belief in God. But for one who has faith, there is more to life than just the few years we spend on this earth. There is unending life with God. If a fool is someone who doesn’t believe in God, then by those standards, Rosella was a person with profound and extraordinary wisdom. Her life was centered on God and her prayers were for those she loved that they too would live a life centered on God.

I was talking with George the other evening and he said whenever she called him she would introduce herself as: “This is Rosella, your godmother.” She took her role seriously. George said by reminding him she was his godmother, he thinks she was also reminding him that she had the responsibility and the authority to straighten him out if he needed it. I’m sure all her godchildren got gentle reminders at times and I’m sure they got lots of extra prayers as well.

The gospel I chose for our Mass today was on the Eucharist. The Eucharist was so important to Rosella. She would come to Mass every day when she could. Jesus tells us “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.” It is in this faith that I can say we are here to celebrate, knowing Rosella was well nourished with the bread of life, the body and blood of Jesus who promised: “whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

In 1952 our mother, Alice, died. Rosella knew Alice and often Rosella told me that because of the friendship they shared, she felt she should step in and help out after Alice died. And she did when she married my father in February, 1953. For over 52 years she has been with us. She was a caregiver through and through. When she was finished caring for us, she cared for her sister, Catherine, and she cared for her grandchildren. It was what made her happy, to be needed by someone. And she didn’t want to inconvenience anyone. She would always tell me, “Now if you have something planned and something happens to me, don’t change your plans. Just go ahead with what you were going to do.”

All kinds of great things could be said about Rosella, her kindness, her gentleness, her faith, her dedication to family. One thing I always remarked about was that I seldom heard her say a negative thing about anyone. Dad would often get frustrated with her when he wanted to complain about someone and she would make excuses for them or stand up for them.

I have no worries about where she is now. I’m sure she can say with St. Paul: “ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on a merited crown awaits me…” I believe she now must have a double crown, the first for living with my father (I loved my father, but those who knew him will understand what I mean). The second crown would be for taking over the care of five children, four in grade school and me in high school.

Since she’s been at the Little Sisters, who took wonderful care of her, I would try to visit her every week. Whenever I was about to leave she would say “If I don’t see you next week, I’ll be on my way to heaven.” She was peaceful with her God, with herself and with those who knew her. She was ready to go. So I can’t grieve. I can only say thank you God for giving us a good woman to take care of us when we needed her, a good woman to inspire us in the way of holiness and a good woman to pray for us and whom I am sure will continue to pray for us until we’re all together.

When she died a week ago we were enjoying the beautiful colors of fall. The red and yellow and gold trees were telling us that summer is over. But we do not grieve that the green leaves are gone and that nature is shutting down for we know it’s only temporary. Spring will return and so will a new life for Rosella and for all of us, a life that will never end. Amen.

                R. I dedicated this Cycle A book to our real
                mom and dad who were married in St. Boniface
                Church, 1 1/2 years before Fr. Joe was born —

                    When mom died I was only 5, but I learned
                about heaven — because 5 year olds are really
                close to their mom and they told me — Jesus
                took her home — My mom went to Church
                every day and my dad was serving at St. Louis
                downtown that is how they met —

                    This past week I was sick and couldn't
                be there at Clearwater — I was hoping everyday
                to get better and then go. When we are sick
                we have to rest and wait and put up with
                the sickness and hope we get better — drinking
                water — doing things to make us better — If a
                sickness is bad enough we can die. Like my
                mom, at the age of 48, she died.

                    Our spiritual life is like this — we
                have bad habits we do that can be very displeasing
                to God — We seek goodness and truth so we
                have to keep dying to those bad habits, sins
                to live more the resurrected life and be
                like Jesus.

                    When I was sick, I had to do things, I took
                medicine, I drank water, I rested, I wanted
                to get back to good health —

                    Sometimes God takes somebody like my
                mom at 48, but she was really holy — I called
                her, my saint Alice — from the suffering,
                I had to go to Jesus —

                When I made my first communion everybody's
                mom and dad were there — after mom died when I
                was six dad married Rosella, but he had a
                nervous breakdown after Alice died and he
                was left without my first mom and had
                five children to raise — he didn't go to
                my first communion — he was sick, but
                I'm sure Fr. Joe was there, but I didn't
                know the gifts God had in store for both
                of us — My step-mom was there, but I was
                really close to Jesus at First Communion —
                I love to think of that time I first went to
                communion and how wonderful it was —
                It was at St. Lawrence Church — 

                they have stained glass windows on each
                side and a big window higher than the others
                on each side —

                Those special windows were special to me
                    so we have them
                    on one side is St. Margaret Mary and the
                    Sacred Heart of Jesus

                    On the other St. Dominic and the Blessed Mother
                giving him the rosary

                    We went to Church every day in grade school —
                a whole church of children filled that big,
                big Church — going to Mass — wow — all that
                grace —

                    We had three priests —

                    Well if I can talk about physical sickness
                in this manner —

                    You are sick — you want to get better —
                        you work for it —

                So much more we should see our
                    spiritual life — a process —
                    we are able to sin
                    If we are baptized and in the state of grace
                        the Father, Son and Holy Spirit dwell
                        in us in a special way —

                    We keep choosing life —
                    We don't want to get sick in sin —
                    We don't want to sin mortally —
                    We can die and go to hell if we live
                        a life being dead in sin —

               
                Jesus says:

                R. The Eucharist and the Word is the Bread
                    of Life —

                I remember feeling really down once and
                    I was on my bed —
                    I put my feet on the ground in
                        frustration and said
                    "What is life, anyway?"

                I literally ran to the Eucharist —
                    to be before the tabernacle —
                    When we are feeling down to know
                        we can run to the Eucharist
                        and be before the tabernacle —

                R. We can run to Mass —

Fr. Joe Robinson

                R. Help me circulate this book

Guiding Light - Cycle C
Homilies by Fr. Joe Robinson

                  R.  the Eucharist and the Word is the
                    Bread of Life —

                We are fed by his book —
                    It is so heavily focused on the
                        Word — the Old Testament
                        the New Testament

R. The Blue Books
The Mass Books
All my Book

                so focused on the Mass and Adoration

Mass Book

Blue Book I

Blue Book II

Blue Book III

Blue Book IV

Blue Book V

Blue Book VI

     

                R. God told me for 6 weeks
                    September and October 1991
                    to feed the hungry —

                        From the Blue Book I

To The Reader

Jesus wants to share His love with you. He comes in these letters to tell you how you can be in intimate union with Him.

All of us possess everything we need to have an intimate union with Him. He has written to me since October of 1991. For at least a year I sat in front of the tabernacle and begged him to talk to me. I wanted words. I prayed to the Holy Spirit and begged and begged Him to baptize me. After a long and seemingly endless search, trying to hear God, He told me to "feed the hungry." For six weeks this was all I heard. I thought maybe I wasn't feeding my children well or eating well enough myself. What a long wait for three words! At long last one day, as I was writing to Jesus, I received a letter back. He told me, "I am Jesus, Son of the Living God." I did not want to write this but it kept coming-and so many other messages. I knew nothing of anyone getting messages. I wrote them, reluctantly, and hid my notebooks. The letters kept coming-a lot in the night-and I would be awakened by long letters which I felt compelled to get up and write down. I read these letters privately and my life began to change. I felt a new life within me.

He taught me of His fervent love and how truly present He was. He taught me how precious I was to Him. Over and over again He would call me His precious child and tell me how He loved me, how He clothed me with dignity and honor. He told me over and over how He was right by my side always. He is teaching me to give up all fear and to trust in Him. He is teaching me to let go of myself and let Him run my life. I am trying every day to do His will.

He is also telling you in your heart all you need to know. He has all the answers for you there in your heart. You must be silent and go to Him so you can hear His words for you.

Sit in front of the tabernacle and be with Him. Sit and be open and just be with Him. Read these letters there. These are Jesus' love letters to you. Sit in front of the tabernacle and let Him talk to you. Sit silent awhile. Read these letters part of the time. Open any page and He will talk to you. Do not read this like a book, cover to cover. Just open to a page and read that page. That is the way He speaks to you.

  

               R. On December 17, 1991 — I saw His
                    Sacred Heart —

                R. 5 years later

                    December 17, 1996

                    Mary's image appeared at Clearwater

                R. Calendars are available with Mary's
                    Image for $1.00 and postage

                    Call Doris

                    1-888-211-3041 

Calendars - $1.00

1-888-211-3041 
 

                R. Jesus is the bread of life

                We must die to our sinful ways —

                Be humble — truthful
                    see the evil and the good in us 

Prayer for Union with Jesus

Come to me, Lord, and possess my soul. Come into my heart and permeate my soul. Help me to sit in silence with You and let You work in my heart.

    I am Yours to possess. I am Yours to use. I want to be selfless and only exist in You. Help me to spoon out all that is me and be an empty vessel ready to be filled by You. Help me to die to myself and live only for You. Use me as You will. Let me never draw my attention back to myself. I only want to operate as You do, dwelling within me.

    I am Yours, Lord. I want to have my life in You. I want to do the will of the Father. Give me the strength to put aside the world and let You operate my very being. Help me to act as You desire. Strengthen me against the distractions of the devil to take me from Your work.

    When I worry, I have taken my focus off of You and placed it on myself. Help me not to give in to the promptings of others to change what in my heart You are making very clear to me. I worship You, I adore You and I love You. Come and dwell in me now.

-God's Blue Book, January 17, 1994

                R. Oh Jesus,
                    we have sinned, the human race,
                    please forgive us and outpour
                    Your grace for our starting these
                    prayer chapters as You told Fr. Carter
                    praying for the priests, the Church
                    and the world

English

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                R. Help us to be humble God —
                Help us to live in the truth —

                Increase our faith, hope and love —

Excerpt from The Spirituality of Fatima

by Fr. Edward Carter, S.J.

Before receiving the six apparitions of Our Lady, May through October of 1917, the three Fatima visionaries were visited by an angel on three different occasions during the preceding year. He appeared to them in the spring, summer, and fall. Lucia (now Sr. Lucia) describes the springtime apparition of the angel:

"My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You! I ask pardon of You for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You."

Then, rising he said: "Pray thus. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications."

His words engraved themselves so deeply on our minds that we could never forget them (3)

During the summer of 1916, the angel again appeared to the three visionaries. He said to them:

Pray! Pray a great deal. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary have merciful designs on you. Offer prayers and sacrifices continually to the Most High. Make everything you do a sacrifice, and offer it as an act of reparation for the sins by which God is offended, and as a petition for the conversion of sinners. Bring peace to our country in this way.... I am the Guardian Angel of Portugal Accept and bear with submission all the sufferings the Lord will send you. (4)

In the fall of the same year, the angel visited the visionaries a final time:

The angel came...bearing a golden chalice in one hand and a Host above it in the other. The amazed children noticed that drops of blood were falling from the Host into the chalice. Presently, the angel left both suspended in mid-air and prostrated himself on the ground, saying this beautiful prayer: "Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly. I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference by which He is offended. By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and [the intercession of] the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners." (5)

Sr. Lucia relates how the angel gave them Communion:

Then, rising, he took the chalice and the Host in his hand. He gave the Sacred Host to me and shared the Blood from the chalice between Jacinta and Francisco, saying as he did so:

"Take and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by ungrateful men! Make reparation for their crimes and console your God." (6)

Reflecting upon these messages of the angel, we see how much they contain for our spiritual instruction.

---

NOTES:

3. Louis Kondar, SVD, editor, Fatima in Lucia's Own Words (Fatima: Postulation Center, 1976), p.62. Distributed in the U.S.A. by the Ravengate Press, Cambridge, MA.
4. Our Lady's Peace Plan, op cit., pp.1-2.
5. Ibid., p.2 (The words in brackets are my own-added for clarification).
6. Fatima in Lucia's Own Words, op cit., pp.64-65.

                R. Oh God help us to spread this devotion
                    to your Sacred Heart and Mary's
                    Immaculate Heart —

                Oh God help us to spread Fr. Joe's
                    books of homilies focused on the
                    Word —

                Oh God we love You, we adore You,
                    we worship You — we want
                    to help make reparation for our
                    sins —

                Oh God thank You —
                Oh God thank You

O God, on behalf of Shepherds of Christ Ministries and Our Lady of Light Ministry, we offer up these prayers of thanksgiving:

Thank You Father for Your love, patience, and understanding. We know we are not worthy of such gifts, but that You give them anyway - because of Your great love for souls.

Thank You Jesus for the many gifts and graces You give us as members of Your Movement - Shepherds of Christ. We offer You our love and gratitude through Your Mother’s Immaculate Heart.

Thank You Holy Spirit for Your special gifts. Please inspire us to be grateful for what we have been given. Please help us to give ourselves in love to You and all we meet.

Thank You Holy Trinity for Your boundless love and mercy. Please help us to nurture Your presence within us. Help us to be obedient to Your commands and give all the glory to You - Our loving God. We especially thank You for the gift of our Heavenly Mother, Mary.

Thank you Mary for your example while on earth, and for your constant intercession today. Please help us to grow in holiness and put into action all that your Son Jesus asks of us.

We thank St. Michael and the Holy Angels for their prayers, help, and protection. Finally, we thank the saints in heaven and the souls in purgatory for their prayers. We ask them to unite with us in giving thanks and praise to the most Holy Trinity - Our Heavenly Father, Our Lord Jesus, and our Comforter - the Holy Spirit.

We love You! We love You! We love You! Amen.

                R. Oh God have mercy on us and outpour
                    Your grace —

                Help us do this Mission

Rita Ring and Fr. Edward Carter, S.J. Founder
 

John Weicker, Rita Ring and Fr. Edward Carter, S.J. Founder
 

A Message for the Earth from Jesus

January 22, 1998

    I am the Good Shepherd, these are My prayers, the prayers I give to help renew the Church and the world, all prayer chapters are asked to include these prayers (found in the Shepherds of Christ Prayer Manual). As My Apostles and Shepherds I ask you to encourage all existing Chapters to try to encourage all existing prayer groups to pray the Shepherds of Christ prayers. Encourage all Churches to pray these prayers. It is most urgent that the people of this earth concur with the Father's wishes to begin Prayer Chapters. This is an urgent request from the Good Shepherd. The flock will become one when they have given their hearts to Jesus and Mary. Encourage all priests to pray the Shepherds of Christ prayers. Your world will be lighted with great light as the people of this earth pray these prayers.

    My promise is this to you My beloved earth: When you give your heart to Me and spread the devotion to My Sacred Heart, I will write your name In My Heart. I promise to give the greatest graces when you pray these prayers for renewal of the Church and the world and take all who pray them deeply into My Heart. The prayers I give will bring about the reign of My Sacred Heart and the triumph of Mary's Immaculate Heart. I am Jesus Christ, this is My message of January 22, 1998, Please circulate this message to your world. I am the Good Shepherd, I know Mine and Mine know Me and they follow Me. Grace My Shepherds, I will give you the greatest graces for spreading these words to this earth and to your Church. I love you, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, it is the Plan of the Father that Prayer Chapters are begun immediately and the Priestly Newsletter is given to all priests. The Voice of the Good Shepherd speaks through it.

end of January 22, 1998

                Jesus says —
                    I call you to repent for your sins —
                        you don't lie to Me —
                    Live in the truth —
                    Be accountable —
                    Be responsible for what you are
                        called to do —
                    Satan wants you to sin —
                    Satan wants you to try to prove
                        you are right when you
                        have sinned —
                    Don't give into satan —

                R. In the beginning of the Bible it accounts
                in Genesis — Man is created in the image and
                likeness of God —

                Then man's fall —

                Eve giving into satan —

                Eve listening to satan and giving in —

                R. True Goal: the vision of God

                Happiness: God's will

                Happiness: God as goal
 

Excerpts from The Spirituality of Fatima

by Fr. Edward Carter, S.J.

May 13, 1917 

    "Do not be afraid, I will do you no harm..... I am from Heaven.

    "I have come to ask you to come here for six months in succession, on the 13th day, at the same hour. Later on, I will tell you who I am and what I want

    "Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and in supplication for the conversion of sinners?

    "Pray the Rosary every day in order to obtain peace for the world, and the end of the war." ⁽⁸⁾

  

June 13, 1917

    "God wishes you to remain in the world for some time because He wants to use you to establish in the world the devotion to my Immaculate Heart. I promise salvation to those who embrace it, and their souls will be loved by God as flowers placed by myself to adorn His throne." ⁽¹⁰⁾

  

July 13, 1917

    "During her appearance in July, Our Lady, in answer to Lucia's plea, promised that in October she would work a great miracle so that all might believe and know who she was. Again, the Mother of God told the children to sacrifice themselves for sinners and to say many times, especially when making a sacrifice, this prayer: "O my Jesus, I offer this for love of Thee, for the conversion of poor sinners, and in reparation for all the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary." ⁽¹¹⁾

    "During this same July apparition, Mary showed the three children a vision of Hell. She told them:

    "You have seen Hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish, in the world, devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If people do what I tell you, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.

    "The war (World War I, then raging) is going to end. But if people do not stop offending God, another and worse one will begin in the reign of Pius XI. When you shall see a night illuminated by an unknown light [January 2, 1938], know that this is the great sign that God gives you that He is going to punish the world for its many crimes by means of war, hunger, and persecution of the Church and the Holy Father. ⁽¹²⁾

    "To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the five first Saturdays. If my requests are granted, Russia will be converted and there will be peace. If not, she will scatter her errors throughout the world, provoking wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, and various nations will be destroyed....

    "But in the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph, the Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, Russia will be converted, and a certain period of peace will be granted to the world." ⁽¹³⁾

  

August 19, 1917

    She told them she was greatly displeased by the action of the mayor. As a result, the miracle promised for October would not be as impressive as originally planned. ⁽¹⁵⁾

 

September 13, 1917

    More than 30,000 people were present in September, and saw a shower of mysterious white petals fall to within 10 feet of the ground before dissolving into the air. Many also saw the globe of light bearing the Lady come to rest atop the tree, and the branches bend as though someone were standing on them. Later, they saw the cloud depart into the east, from whence it had come.⁽¹⁶⁾

  

October 13, 1917

    I am the Lady of the Rosary. I have come to warn the faithful to amend their lives and to ask pardon for their sins. They must not offend Our Lord any more, for He is already too grievously offended by the sins of men. People must say the Rosary. Let them continue saying it every day.⁽¹⁷⁾

    While the people in attendance were beholding the great Miracle of the Sun, the three young visionaries, and they alone, were privileged to see striking visions in the heavens:

    As Our Lady had promised, St. Joseph had come with the Holy Family and had blessed the world. Then, Our Lady appeared as the Mother of Sorrows, accompanied by her Divine Son, Who also blessed the world. Finally, Lucy had seen the Blessed Virgin, dressed in the brown robes of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, crowned as Queen of Heaven and Earth, holding a brown Scapular in her hand, with her infant Son upon her knee. However, in none of these visions had any of the figures spoken to the children. ⁽¹⁸⁾

    Besides the messages associated with the major Fatima apparitions, there were other revelations given by Our Lady. Before Jacinta died, she told of other messages given her (during her illness) by Mary:

    More souls go to Hell because of sins of the flesh than for any other reason.

    Certain fashions will be introduced that will offend Our Lord very much.

    Many marriages are not good; they do not please Our Lord and are not of God.

    Priests must be pure, very pure. They should not busy themselves with anything except what concerns the Church and souls. The disobedience of priests, to their superiors and to the Holy Father, is very displeasing to Our Lord.

    I can no longer restrain the hand of my Divine Son from striking the world with just punishments for its many crimes.

    If the government of a country leaves the Church in peace and gives liberty to our Holy Religion, it will be blessed by God.

    Tell everybody that God gives graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Tell them to ask grace from her, and that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be venerated together with the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Ask them to plead for peace from the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the Lord has confided the peace of the world to her. ⁽¹⁹⁾

---

NOTES:

8. Frere Michael de la Trinite', The Whole Truth about Fatima 
    (Buffalo: Immaculate Heart Publications, 1989), pp.112-114.
9. For background material on Fatima, I am particularly indebted to 
    Our Lady of Fatima's Peace Plan from Heaven (Rockford: TAN 
    Books and Publishers, Inc., 1983). p.30.
10. Ibid., p.3.
11. Ibid., pp.3-4.
12. Ibid., pp.4-5.
13. Ibid., p.5.
14. Rev. Edward Carter, S.J., Mother at Our Side: Mary's Role in 
        the Spiritual Life (1993: Faith Publishing Co., Milford, Ohio), p.21.
15. Our Lady's Peace Plan, op cit., p.6.
16. Ibid., p.6.
17. Ibid., p.7.
18. Ibid., p.8.
19. Ibid., pp.9-10.

                Book of Ruth

Ruth 1: 1-14

In the days when the Judges were governing, a famine occurred in the country and a certain man from Bethlehem of Judah went—he, his wife and his two sons—to live in the Plains of Moab. The man was called Elimelech, his wife Naomi and his two sons Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem of Judah. Going to the Plains of Moab, they settled there. Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died, and she and her two sons were left. These married Moabite women: one was called Orpah and the other Ruth. They lived there for about ten years. Mahlon and Chilion then both died too, and Naomi was thus bereft of her two sons and her husband. She then decided to come back from the Plains of Moab with her daughters–in–law, having heard in the Plains of Moab that God had visited his people and given them food. So, with her daughters-in-law, she left the place where she was living and they took the road back to Judah.

    Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, 'Go back, each of you to your mother's house. May Yahweh show you faithful love, as you have done to those who have died and to me. Yahweh grant that you may each find happiness with a husband!' She then kissed them, but they began weeping loudly, and said, 'No, we shall go back with you to your people.' 'Go home, daughters,' Naomi replied. 'Why come with me? Have I any more sons in my womb to make husbands for you? Go home, daughters, go, for I am now too old to marry again. Even if I said, "I still have a hope: I shall take a husband this very night and shall bear more sons," would you be prepared to wait for them until they were grown up? Would you refuse to marry for their sake? No, daughters, I am bitterly sorry for your sakes that the hand of Yahweh should have been raised against me.' They started weeping loudly all over again; Orpah then kissed her mother–in–law and went back to her people. But Ruth stayed with her.

 

Ruth 1: 19-22

    The two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. Their arrival set the whole town astir, and the women said, 'Can this be Naomi?' To this she replied, 'Do not call me Naomi, call me Mara, for Shaddai has made my lot bitter.

    I departed full,
    and Yahweh has brought me home empty.
    Why, then, call me Naomi,
    since Yahweh has pronounced against me
    and Shaddai has made me wretched?'

    This was how Naomi came home with her daughter–in–law, Ruth the Moabitess, on returning from the Plains of Moab. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

                R. Boaz married Ruth
                Ruth conceived Obed —
                Obed was the father of Jesse —
                Jesse was the father of David

Ruth 4: 18-22

The Genealogy of David

These are the descendants of Perez. Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.

Yahweh said to Samuel, ‘How much longer do you mean to go on mourning over Saul, now that I myself have rejected him as ruler of Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have found myself a king from among his sons.

    When they arrived, he looked at Eliab and thought, ‘This must be Yahweh’s anointed now before him, but Yahweh said to Samuel, ‘Take no notice of his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him; God does not see as human beings see; they look at appearances but Yahweh looks at the heart.

Jesse thus presented seven of his sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Yahweh has not chosen these. He then asked Jesse, ‘Are these all the sons you have?’ Jesse replied, ‘There is still one left, the youngest; he is looking after the sheep.’ Samuel then said to Jesse, ‘Send for him, for we shall not sit down to eat until he arrives. Jesse had him sent for; he had ruddy cheeks, with fine eyes and an attractive appearance. Yahweh said, ‘Get up and anoint him: he is the one! At this, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him, surrounded by his brothers; and the spirit of Yahweh seized on David from that day onwards. Samuel, for his part, set off and went to Ramah.

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All the tribes of Israel then came to David at Hebron and said, 'Look, we are your own flesh and bone. In days past when Saul was our king, it was you who led Israel on its campaigns, and to you it was that Yahweh promised, "You are to shepherd my people Israel and be leader of Israel." ' So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a pact with them in Yahweh's presence at Hebron, and they anointed David as king of Israel.

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Yahweh said to Samuel, ‘How much longer do you mean to go on mourning over Saul, now that I myself have rejected him as ruler of Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have found myself a king from among his sons. Samuel replied, ‘How can I go? When Saul hears of it he will kill me.’ Yahweh then said, ‘Take a heifer with you and say, “I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh. Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I shall reveal to you what you must do; and you will anoint for me the one I indicate to you.

David said to Saul, 'Let no one be discouraged on his account; your servant will go and fight this Philistine.' Saul said to David, 'You cannot go and fight the Philistine; you are only a boy and he has been a warrior since his youth.'

    David said to Saul, 'Your servant used to look after the sheep for his father and whenever a lion or a bear came and took a sheep from the flock, I used to follow it up, lay into it and snatch the sheep out of its jaws. If it turned on me, I would seize it by the beard and batter it to death. Your servant has killed both lion and bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine will end up like one of them for having challenged the armies of the living God.' 'Yahweh,' David went on, 'who delivered me from the claws of lion and bear, will deliver me from the clutches of this Philistine.' Then Saul said to David, 'Go, and Yahweh be with you!'

    Saul dressed David in his own armour; he put a bronze helmet on his head, dressed him in a breastplate and buckled his own sword over David's armour. David tried to walk but, not being used to them, said to Saul, 'I cannot walk in these; I am not used to them.' So they took them off again.

He took his stick in his hand, selected five smooth stones from the river bed and put them in his shepherd's bag, in his pouch; then, sling in hand, he walked towards the Philistine.

Thus David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; he hit the Philistine and killed him, though he had no sword in his hand. David ran and stood over the Philistine, seized his sword, pulled it from the scabbard, despatched him and cut off his head.

    When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

[For the choirmaster   Tune: 'Do not destroy'   Of David   In a quiet voice   When he escaped from Saul in the cave]

Take pity on me, God, take pity on me,
for in you I take refuge,
in the shadow of your wings I take refuge,
until the destruction is past.

I call to God the Most High,
to God who has done everything for me;
may he send from heaven and save me,
and check those who harry me;                             Pause
may God send his faithful love and his constancy.

I lie surrounded by lions,
greedy for human prey,
their teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongue a sharp sword.

Be exalted above the heavens, God!
Your glory over all the earth!
They laid a snare in my path
    — I was bowed with care —
they dug a pit ahead of me,
but fell in it themselves.                                         Pause

My heart is ready, God,
    my heart is ready;
I will sing, and make music for you.
    Awake, my glory,
awake, lyre and harp,
    that I may awake the Dawn.

I will praise you among the peoples, Lord,
    I will make music for you among nations,
for your faithful love towers to heaven,
    your constancy to the clouds.
Be exalted above the heavens, God!
    Your glory over all the earth!

God, you are my God, I pine for you;
my heart thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
as a land parched, dreary and waterless.
Thus I have gazed on you in the sanctuary,
seeing your power and your glory.

Better your faithful love than life itself;
my lips will praise you.
Thus I will bless you all my life,
in your name lift up my hands.
All my longings fulfilled as with fat and rich foods,
a song of joy on my lips and praise in my mouth.

On my bed when I think of you,
I muse on you in the watches of the night,
for you have always been my help;
in the shadow of your wings I rejoice;
my heart clings to you,
your right hand supports me.

May those who are hounding me to death
go down to the depths of the earth,
given over to the blade of the sword,
and left as food for jackals.
Then the king shall rejoice in God,
all who swear by him shall gain recognition,
for the mouths of liars shall be silence

        

2 Samuel 11: 1-27

At the turn of the year, at the time when kings go campaigning, David sent Joab and with him his guards and all Israel. They massacred the Ammonites and laid siege to Rabbah-of-the-Ammonites. David, however, remained in Jerusalem. It happened towards evening when David had got up from resting and was strolling on the palace roof, that from the roof he saw a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. David made enquiries about this woman and was told, 'Why, that is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite.' David then sent messengers to fetch her. She came to him, and he lay with her, just after she had purified herself from her period. She then went home again. The woman conceived and sent word to David, 'I am pregnant.'

    David then sent word to Joab, 'Send me Uriah the Hittite,' whereupon Joab sent Uriah to David. When Uriah reached him, David asked how Joab was and how the army was and how the war was going. David then said to Uriah, 'Go down to your house and wash your feet.' Uriah left the palace and was followed by a present from the king's table. Uriah, however, slept at the palace gate with all his master's bodyguard and did not go down to his house.

    This was reported to David; 'Uriah', they said 'has not gone down to his house.' So David asked Uriah, 'Haven't you just arrived from the journey? Why didn't you go down to your house?' To which Uriah replied, 'The ark, Israel and Judah are lodged in huts; my master Joab and my lord's guards are camping in the open. Am I to go to my house, then, and eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As Yahweh lives, and as you yourself live, I shall do no such thing!' David then said to Uriah, 'Stay on here today; tomorrow I shall send you off.' So Uriah stayed that day in Jerusalem. The next day, David invited him to eat and drink in his presence and made him drunk. In the evening, Uriah went out and bedded down with his master's bodyguard, but did not go down to his house.

    Next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by Uriah. In the letter he wrote, 'Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest and then fall back, so that he gets wounded and killed.' Joab, then besieging the city, stationed Uriah at a point where he knew that there would be tough fighters. The people of the city sallied out and engaged Joab; there were casualties in the army, among David's guards, and Uriah the Hittite was killed as well.

    Joab sent David a full account of the battle. To the messenger he gave this order: 'When you have finished telling the king all about the battle, if the king's anger is aroused and he says, "Why did you go near the town to give battle? Didn't you know that they would shoot from the ramparts? Who killed Abimelech son of Jerubbaal? Wasn't it a woman who dropped a millstone on him from the ramparts, causing his death at Thebez? Why did you go near the ramparts?" you are to say, "Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead too." '

    So the messenger set off and, on his arrival, told David everything that Joab had instructed him to say. David flew into a rage with Joab and said to the messenger, 'Why did you go near the ramparts? Who killed Abimelech son of Jerubbaal? Wasn't it a woman who dropped a millstone on him from the ramparts, causing his death at Thebez? Why did you go near the ramparts?' The messenger replied to David, 'Their men had won an initial advantage and then came out to engage us in the open. We then drove them back into the gateway, but the archers shot at your retainers from the ramparts; some of the king's retainers lost their lives, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead too.'

    David then said to the messenger, 'Say this to Joab, "Do not take the matter to heart; the sword devours now one and now another. Attack the town in greater force and destroy it." That will encourage him.' When Uriah's wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for her husband. When the period of mourning was over, David sent to have her brought to his house; she became his wife and bore him a son. But what David had done displeased Yahweh.

                R. Bathsheba lost her child
                    as Nathan the prophet said
                    would happen

                Bathsheba's child died
                    because David set
                    up Uriah to be killed

Psalm 51

Have mercy on me, O God, in your faithful love, 
in your great tenderness wipe away my offences; 
wash me clean from my guilt, 
purify me from my sin. 

For I am well aware of my offences, 
my sin is constantly in mind. 
Against you, you alone, I have sinned, 
I have done what you see to be wrong, 

that you may show your saving justice when you pass sentence, 
and your victory may appear when you give judgement, 
remember, I was born guilty, 
a sinner from the moment of conception. 

But you delight in sincerity of heart, 
and in secret you teach me wisdom. 
Purify me with hyssop till I am clean, 
wash me till I am whiter than snow. 

Let me hear the sound of joy and gladness, 
and the bones you have crushed will dance. 
Turn away your face from my sins, 
and wipe away all my guilt. 

God, create in me a clean heart, 
renew within me a resolute spirit, 
do not thrust me away from your presence, 
do not take away from me your spirit of holiness. 

Give me back the joy of your salvation, 
sustain in me a generous spirit. 
I shall teach the wicked your paths, 
and sinners will return to you. 

Deliver me from bloodshed, God, God of my salvation, 
and my tongue will acclaim your saving justice. 
Lord, open my lips, 
and my mouth will speak out your praise. 

Sacrifice gives you no pleasure, 
burnt offering you do not desire. 
Sacrifice to God is a broken spirit, 
a broken, contrite heart you never scorn. 

In your graciousness do good to Zion, 
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. 
Then you will delight in upright sacrifices,
—burnt offerings and whole oblations—
and young bulls will be offered on your altar.

  

                R. Then Solomon is born

                David's other sons Amnon
                    and Absalom — and David's
                    daughter Tamar

                But Amnon wanted to have Tamar.

2 Samuel 13: 7-22

David then sent word to Tamar at the palace, 'Go to your brother Amnon's house and prepare some food for him.' Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon who was lying there in bed. She took dough and kneaded it, and she made some cakes while he watched, and baked the cakes. She then took the pan and dished them up in front of him, but he refused to eat. Amnon said, 'Let everyone leave me!' So everyone withdrew. Amnon then said to Tamar, 'Bring the food to the inner room, so that I can eat what you give me.' So Tamar took the cakes which she had made and brought them to her brother Amnon in the inner room. And as she was offering the food to him, he caught hold of her and said, 'Come to bed with me, sister!' She replied, 'No, brother! Do not force me! This is no way to behave in Israel. Do not do anything so disgraceful! Wherever should I go? I should be marked with this shame, while you would become disgraced in Israel. Why not go and speak to the king? He will not refuse to give me to you.' But he would not listen to her; he overpowered her and raped her.

    Amnon was then seized with extreme hatred for her; the hatred he now felt for her was greater than his earlier love. 'Get up and go!' he said. She said, 'No, brother! To send me away would be worse than the other wrong you have done me!' But he would not listen to her. He called his personal servant. 'Rid me of this woman!' he said. 'Throw her out and bolt the door behind her!' (She was wearing a magnificent dress, for this was what the king's unmarried daughters wore in days gone by.) So the servant put her out and bolted the door behind her.

    Tamar put dust on her head, tore the magnificent dress which she was wearing, laid her hand on her head, and went away, crying aloud as she went.

    Her brother Absalom said to her, 'Has Amnon your brother been with you? Sister, be quiet; he is your brother; do not take the matter to heart!' Tamar, however, went back to her brother Absalom's house inconsolable.

    When King David heard the whole story, he was very angry; but he had no wish to harm his son Amnon, whom he loved because he was his first-born. Absalom, however, would not so much as speak to Amnon, since he hated Amnon for having raped his sister Tamar.

                R. Absalom then killed Amnon
                    because of what Amnon
                    did to Tamar —

                David would punish Amnon,
                    but it wasn't good
                    enough for Absalom —
                    he killed Amnon —

                Absalom shed his brother's
                    blood —

                Absalom went away then
                    returned —

                Absalom was pardoned
                    by David —

                Absalom turned on his
                    father —

                Power struggle between
                    David and Absalom —

                David went to find men
                    faithful to him —

                David said the Psalms —

                David got support —

                David suffered because of
                    his mercy to Absalom

                Absalom wanted to be King

                Men were enemies of David —
                    many men hated him —

                God chooses who He wants —

                Men opposing those God has
                    chosen are fighting God

                Absalom took the crown —
                    He wanted David killed —

                Absalom was killed and defeated — 
     

2 Samuel 22

                R. David was restored
                David King of Jerusalem

                David had to get over the death
                    of Absalom to bring the
                    Kingdom to life —

                David — Celebrated the
                    life of Jerusalem —

                His son Solomon would
                    be the next King —

                After every trial we go
                    through God can
                    strengthen us stronger
                    than before

                God gave David Solomon

                God said:
                    Solomon will build the
                        temple —

                God gives us grace to see
                    His Plan if we don't
                    keep holding onto our
                    own will —

                We can be blinded —

                We look with distorted vision

                God has a Plan and when
                    we do God's Plan we
                    have God's might behind
                    us.

Wisdom of Solomon
 

1 Kings 3: 1-15 

1 Kings 5: 15-19

Hiram king of Tyre sent an embassy to Solomon, having learnt that he had been anointed king in succession to his father and because Hiram had always been a friend of David. And Solomon sent this message to Hiram, 'You are aware that my father David was unable to build a temple for the name of Yahweh his God, on account of the wars waged on him from every side, until Yahweh put his enemies under the soles of his feet. But now Yahweh my God has given me peace on every side: not one enemy, no calamities. I propose, then, to build a temple for the name of Yahweh my God, in accordance with what Yahweh told my father David, "Your son whom I shall place on your throne to succeed you will be the man to build a temple for my name."

1 Kings 6: 11-13

And the word of Yahweh came to Solomon,  'With regard to this temple which you are now building, if you follow my statutes and obey my ordinances and faithfully follow my commandments, I shall fulfil the promise which I made about you to your father David. And I shall make my home among the Israelites and never forsake Israel my people.'

1 Kings 8: 22-26

Then, in the presence of the whole assembly of Israel, Solomon stood facing the altar of Yahweh and, stretching out his hands towards heaven, said, 'Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth beneath, as loyal to the covenant and faithful in love to your servants as long as they walk wholeheartedly in your way. You have kept the promise you made to your servant, my father David, as you promised him you would. Today you have carried it out by your power. And now, Yahweh, God of Israel, keep the promise which you made to your servant David when you said, "You will never lack for a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, provided that your sons are careful how they behave, walking before me as you yourself have done." So now, God of Israel, let the words come true which you spoke to your servant, my father David.

1 Kings 9: 1-5

When Solomon had finished building the Temple of Yahweh, the royal palace and everything else which Solomon had wanted to do, Yahweh appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. Yahweh said to him, 'I have heard your prayer and the entreaty which you have before me. I consecrate this temple which you have built: I place my name there for ever; my eyes and my heart will be there always. For your part, if you walk before me in innocence of heart and in honesty, like your father David, if you do everything that I command and keep my laws and my ordinances, I shall make your royal throne secure over Israel for ever, as I promised your father David when I said, "You will never lack for a man on the throne of Israel."

Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

July 19, 2009

HOMILY: There was a man who worked in a museum whose job it was to explain the different exhibits. On one occasion he pointed to the bones of a dinosaur saying the bones were 100 million and 9 years old. Someone asked how they could date those bones so accurately. He said “well, when I started working here, I was told these bones were 100 million years old and I’ve worked here for nine years.”

Today I want to give everyone a little history lesson. I’m not going back to the dinosaurs, but I am going back pretty far – to King David, 1000 years before Christ. When I was in school, I hated history. It wasn’t until we studied the history of the Old Testament in the seminary that I began to appreciate it. I cannot cram 1000 years of history into a couple of minutes. I just want to touch on the parts of Jewish history that are mentioned in today’s reading. If you want to learn more, read everything in the Old Testament, but be sure you have a commentary to help you. Otherwise, you’ll give up in despair because you won’t know what it’s all about - especially the prophets and the historical books.

When David was king 1000 years before Christ, David wanted to build a house for God, since there was no Temple for God at that time. God did not give David permission to do so, however God promised David through the prophet Nathan that he would bless him and build David a house in the sense that David’s kingdom would continue forever and one of his descendants would always rule. This blessing lasted through the reign of David’s son, Solomon; but we humans somehow have the ability to sabotage God’s blessings. Solomon turned to pagan gods and over-extended the country financially by elaborate building projects and exorbitant taxes, so when Solomon died there was a rebellion and most of Israel broke away from Solomon’s successor, David’s grandson, Rehoboam. Rehoboam continued to rule over the southern part of Israel, the area we know as Judaea . For 400 years (and this is amazing) the kings of Judaea were descendants of King David. The northern kingdom that rebelled against David’s successors suffered under a succession of kings and rebellions. In less than 300 years the northern kingdom was destroyed by the Assyrians, people from northern Iraq. About 100 years after that, the Babylonians from southern Iraq conquered the Assyrians and took control of the entire Middle East. The conquest of the Babylonians brings us up to Jeremiah whom we heard in today’s first reading. At the time of Jeremiah, here was the situation: the northern kingdom no longer existed. The southern kingdom, Judaea, was still being ruled by David’s descendants but they were not loyal to God or to God’s laws. Jeremiah spoke to these kings as they came into power, the last four being: Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoikin and Zedekiah. Zedikiah, the last reigning king, died in disgrace. After the Babylonians captured him, his sons were slaughtered before his eyes, he was then blinded and led off to Babylon in chains where he presumably died. You can read how Jeremiah spoke with them in great detail in the book of Jeremiah. He told them exactly what they needed to do to survive the invading forces of Babylon. His messages were ignored. He blames them and their leadership for the destruction that came upon God’s people. As we heard in today’s first reading, God speaks through Jeremiah: “Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture.” God said he would take over shepherding his people; he would bring them back from exile; he would appoint leaders over them who would serve them well and lead them to peace and security. It took 600 years before God thought the world was ready for this king who would reign and govern wisely, who would do what is just and right in the land.

But then he came, through the announcement of an angel to a virgin who was engaged to a man named Joseph of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel said to her “Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”

In last week’s gospel, Jesus sent his apostles out to heal and cast out demons and to call people to repentance. In today’s gospel we are told of their return, excited over their experience and tired. Jesus wanted to some time off, but he couldn’t. The mission of Jesus and his apostles apparently was so successful that a great crowd caught up with them before they had chance to catch their breath. Mark describes Jesus taking compassion on them (his heart was moved with deep sympathy for them would probably be a better translation). He saw them as sheep without a shepherd, - people without leadership, and he began to teach them.

One of the important messages in today’s readings is that in love our Lord leads us, by teaching us and appointing others to teach us. But we need to listen, and we need to keep on listening. We’ll never be finished listening and learning as long as our world suffers from injustice, poverty, hunger, discrimination, war, hatred and killing of innocent people. Christ would be put to death before he would stop teaching. It is to our own great loss when we stop listening. That’s one of the reasons we are here each weekend, to listen and to learn. We call ourselves disciples. The word disciple means learner. When we’ve quit learning, we’ve quit being a disciple.

1 Kings 17: 10-16

So he went off to Sidon. And when he reached the city gate, there was a widow gathering sticks. Addressing her he said, 'Please bring a little water in a pitcher for me to drink.' She was on her way to fetch it when he called after her. 'Please', he said, 'bring me a scrap of bread in your hand.'  'As Yahweh your God lives,' she replied, 'I have no baked bread, but only a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a jug; I am just gathering a stick or two to go and prepare this for myself and my son to eat, and then we shall die.' But Elijah said to her, 'Do not be afraid, go and do as you have said; but first make a little scone of it for me and bring it to me, and then make some for yourself and for your son. For Yahweh, God of Israel, says this: Jar of meal shall not be spent, jug of oil shall not be emptied, before the day when Yahweh sends rain on the face of the earth.' The woman went and did as Elijah told her and they ate the food, she, himself and her son. The jar of meal was not spent nor the jug of oil emptied, just as Yahweh had foretold through Elijah.

Guiding Light - Cycle B
Homilies by Fr. Joe Robinson

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32^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - November 12, 2006 

INTRODUCTION – (1 Kings 17, 10-16; Hebrews 9, 24-28; Mark 12, 38-44) I want to begin by saying something about the second reading. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews was interested in showing the superiority of Jesus’ sacrifice to those of the Old Testament. He is presuming those who received this letter would be thinking of the once a year sacrifice on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) which was just celebrated a few weeks ago on October 2. In the days before the Temple was destroyed by the Romans, the High Priest would enter the Holy Place, where no one ever went except on this occasion and he would offer sacrifice for the sins of God’s people. The Letter to the Hebrews emphasizes that Christ’s sacrifice for sins took place only once and didn’t need to be offered again and again because his sacrifice was perfect. 

Our first reading will make more sense if we know that the events that are described in the reading happened during a severe famine.  We have to marvel at the faith of this widow.

Guiding Light - Cycle B
Homilies by Fr. Joe Robinson

19^th Sunday in Ordinary Time - August 13, 2006

INTRODUCTION – (1 Kings 19, 4-8; Ephesians 4, 30 – 5, 2; John 6, 41-51) Eight hundred fifty years before Christ there lived in Israel a queen with an evil reputation named Jezebel.  Among her many goals in life was to eliminate the Israelite religion.  There lived also in Israel at this time the prophet Elijah whose life was dedicated to serving the one true God, Yahweh.  Naturally these two would clash.  In a very dramatic and powerful confrontation on Mt. Carmel, a place now known as Haifa, the prophet Elijah worked a miracle that demonstrated that Yahweh was truly God, while the gods of Jezebel were nothing at all.  Jezebel was not a happy loser in this confrontation, and she sent her army after Elijah in order to kill him.  Elijah took off running.  Today’s first reading finds him in the southern part of the Holy Land, hungry, tired and depressed.  But God took care of him and gave him special food that strengthened him to be able to walk for 40 days through desert wildness to Mt. Horeb, the mountain in the Sinai Peninsula where God gave Moses the 10 Commandments.

This passage has been chosen because of the special food God gave Elijah.  The passage connects with the gospel where Jesus tells us he is the bread that will strengthen us on our journey through life and into eternal life.

1 Kings 19: 9a, 11-13a

There he went into a cave and spent the night there. Then the word of Yahweh came to him saying, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'

Then he was told, 'Go out and stand on the mountain before Yahweh.' For at that moment Yahweh was going by. A mighty hurricane split the mountains and shattered the rocks before Yahweh. But Yahweh was not in the hurricane. And after the hurricane, an earthquake. But Yahweh was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, fire. But Yahweh was not in the fire. And after the fire, a light murmuring sound. And when Elijah heard this, he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then a voice came to him, which said, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'

Guiding Light - Cycle A
Homilies by Fr. Joe Robinson

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INTRODUCTION – (1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a, Romans 9:1-5, Matthew 14:22-33) Our first reading today takes us back roughly 860 years before Christ. The wicked Queen Jezebel was reigning in Israel at that time. The prophet Elijah was living in Israel at that time too. Jezebel was trying to lead God’s people into paganism and Elijah was trying to keep them faithful to God. So there was conflict between them. She decided to have Elijah killed, and to save his life he had to get out of Israel. He fled to Mount Sinai. That was the place where God made a covenant with Israel and where he gave Moses the Ten Commandments four centuries earlier. When God spoke to Moses and the people who were fleeing Egypt, God spoke in thunder and lightening and earthquake. Elijah did not experience God in such powerful natural events but rather heard God in the silence of the desert.

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Homilies by Fr. Joe Robinson

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