Daily Writing
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December 8, 2010 - Feast of the Immaculate Conception
December 9th Holy Spirit Novena
Scripture selection is Day 3 Period I.The Novena Rosary Mysteries
for December 9th are Joyful.
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December 8, 2010 - Feast of Immaculate Conception
Holy Cross-Immaculata
R. Heart of Jesus
Son of the Eternal Father
Heart of Jesus on fire for men
I place my trust in Thee —
My heart is yours Lord —
My soul I give to Thee
Form me as Your own —
When He cried out we heard
His cry to spread this
devotion to His Heart
of love —
Oh beauteous God —
how good You are to me —
Oh beauteous God
My beloved —
How dear You are to me —
Come and work in my heart —
I empty myself so You can
work in me —
Oh God give me the grace to love,
to be kind,
to see Your Heart on fire for me —
To see You once again —
all full of light —
Your face so beautiful
and real to me —
Jesus: Light coming from My Sacred Heart
My beloved —
Who is real
Who is a Person
R. Who is with us —
Jesus, the Light of the World —
Love for all —
Love for the new born baby
Love for the parents
Love for life —
Love for the toddlers
Love for the priests
Real love for those God has chosen —
I scarce can breathe —
To want to serve You as You
ask —
Oh Heart of Jesus — on fire
for love of men —
consume me with this
burning love —
So my emptiness of self
is more empty and
my gift as Your instrument
is made more filled by
Thee
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
Song: In My Heart
R. Oh Immaculate Mother —
conceived without sin —
Oh Mother I love you —
Oh Mother I love you —
Oh Mother I love you —
Thank You God the Father for Mary —
Thank you for Your grace
Sing: Be with me Lord when I am in trouble —
God the Father: Do not fear, My child, for
I am your Father who calls
you My little child —
Come to Me, My baby, My child
harken to the love I give you —
harken to My gifts to you —
Be not afraid, but empowered
by My love —
I love you so much —
Consumed with love for you —
My Son mounted the cross
and died for your sins and
the sins of men —
Oh precious child —
how indeedly you
are loved by your God —
Come - come now to Me
Know I gave Mary as
a gift to this world —
Mary, the New Eve
Mary the Perfect Handmaid
of the Lord
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us (repeat after each invocation).
Holy Mother of God,
Holy Virgin of virgins,
Mother of Christ,
Mother of the Church,
Mother of divine grace,
Mother most pure,
Mother most chaste,
Mother inviolate,
Mother undefiled,
Mother most amiable,
Mother most admirable,
Mother of good counsel,
Mother of our Creator,
Mother of our Savior,
Virgin most prudent,
Virgin most venerable,
Virgin most renowned,
Virgin most powerful,
Virgin most merciful,
Virgin most faithful,
Mirror of justice,
Seat of wisdom,
Cause of our joy,
Spiritual vessel,
Vessel of honor,
Singular vessel of devotion,
Mystical rose,
Tower of David,
Tower of ivory,
House of gold,
Ark of the Covenant,
Gate of heaven,
Morning star,
Health of the sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Comforter of the afflicted,
Help of Christians,
Queen of angels,
Queen of patriarchs,
Queen of prophets,
Queen of apostles,
Queen of martyrs,
Queen of confessors,
Queen of virgins,
Queen of all saints,
Queen conceived without original sin,
Queen assumed into heaven,
Queen of the most holy rosary,
Queen of peace,
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.Let us pray: Grant, we beseech You, O Lord God, that we Your servants may enjoy perpetual health of mind and body and, by the glorious intercession of the blessed Mary, ever virgin, be delivered from present sorrow, and obtain eternal joy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
We fly to your patronage, O holy Mother of God. Despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen.
Sing Song: Jesus My Lord My God My All
R. Jesus appeared in brilliant
light as the Sacred Heart
at Holy Cross-Immaculata
before this writing
Sing: The Prayer for Union
(refrain)Song: 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.
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.
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. (refrain)
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.
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.
(refrain)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.
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. (refrain)
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. (refrain)
Sing: Your Presence Pervades My Soul
Jesus: You can reject the grace
I give you now —
You have a free will —
I love you and
I give you the grace to love
and to be good —
But the devil's grip is gripping
many who give into him —
Who is your ruler
(1) The Sacred Heart (2) Satan
The 2 Camps —
I love you, I love you, I love you
I am Jesus —
I want to live in you and operate
from you
Sing: The Prayer for Union
Song: Prayer for Union with Jesus
(refrain)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.
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.
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. (refrain)
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.
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.
(refrain)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.
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. (refrain)
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. (refrain)
December 5, 1996
R. Mary had appeared almost every 5th for two and 1/2 years beginning July 5, 1994.
On December 5, 1996, instead of Mary appearing Jesus appeared on the cross in utter anguish at the point of death at Holy Cross-Immaculata Church.
I saw Him at the point of death on the cross December 5, 1996, after Mary appeared 500 times.
He hung, all battered, greatly weakened. His mouth moved very clearly. It seems that a man in His condition could not move His mouth to that extent.
Later in the rosary that night, He gave messages and said: "No one was listening."
end of excerpt
| Excerpt from Rosary on December 5, 1996:
Jesus: I am alive, I am alive. I am alive. My beloved ones, I show you My face. Do you see the body of a man? Do you see Me alive on the cross? I am speaking to you but the world does not hear. They do not hear the message that I deliver to them. You must pray fervently. You must come to Me that I can be one in you and that I can operate through you as you go into the world this day. I love you. I love you with the most tender love. I am Jesus. I am alive. You are My main soldiers that I will send into the world to lead the strayed ones to My Heart.The days ahead will be dark days. You must come to My Heart and take shelter in My Heart. It is there that you will be rooted on a firm rock. For My Heart is your home. You will not know the terrors of the night if you stay rooted in My Heart. Division is blackness in the heart. You must not be divided, divided from anyone. You must remain in union with all men. You must see yourselves as part of the Father's family. Each one of you is so important to the Father's plan. end of excerpt from rosary of December 5, 1996 |
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Excerpt from the Mass Book
IN THE DEEPEST RECESSES OF HIS HEART
The place Jesus took me was into the deepest recesses of His Heart. I was enveloped in His burning love. It was a red room with heat and an intense glow. I was swept away in this embrace, and I only existed in Him. The power of the Almighty God enveloped me, and I only existed in Him. There was no fear, for I was existent in this Almighty Being. My heart was wrapped in the eternal embrace of this Supreme Being. The security, the power I know was His deep presence in which I existed.
I knew the room was red and warm. I knew His immenseness, but I felt my own completeness in Him. I did not feel little, as a speck, but elevated and empowered for I existed then in Him in a most special way.
I was overtaken by the love of God. The fire of the Holy Spirit filled me. I was absorbed by the love of the Father, and I existed IN Him and in the deepest recesses of the Heart of Jesus. Our heaven on earth is these inner chambers of His magnificent Heart - the Heart of the Almighty God, with all the power, with omnipotence, with the fire of the love of God. He took me to the deepest chamber of this fiery Heart, and in that moment, I touched eternity, for I knew what it was to be enveloped in the deep furnace of His love. I now want to exist in this chamber of His Heart, swept away in His burning love, absorbed in my every cell with His love.
We do not understand the fire of His love. We do not understand what it is to be absorbed by love itself. He took me to the inner, deepest chamber of His Heart, and I felt the heat and knew the presence of love itself, and there was no fear, only a feeling of completeness, omnipotence, all-embracing, penetrating love - a power indescribable in words, a saturation of my being in the presence of God, and I was as I was created to be - living in Him!
This is how I will forever live my life, saturated with His divine life and love deep within this inner chamber of His burning Heart, living in Him as He possesses my being, and I operate with His power in me.
Little creatures though we are, we are His, His power, His life, flowing through us. In Him, we are as the Father intended: one in Him, each one of us, dwelling in this fiery furnace of His love. With our fears quieted and our hearts empowered by His life, we live forever in Him - in the Heart of Jesus.
Let no man separate what God has joined together. I am wed in the deepest love with my beloved Spouse, wed to the Heart of Jesus. As I am, I am one in Him. I live and I breathe in Him. He, Who is love, He Who is our all, He Who is mighty and without limits, He Who is, He Who is God and as I live, He lives in me in this world.
I am wed to Him, and I shall not fear for He is God - one, complete, loving, God. Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in Thee. As I live, I live in Your most adorable Heart, the furnace of God's love!
end of December 18, 1995
A Prayer before the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
Let me be a holy sacrifice and unite with God in the sacrament of His greatest love.
I want to be one in Him in this act of love, where He gives Himself to me and I give myself as a sacrifice to Him. Let me be a holy sacrifice as I become one with Him in this my act of greatest love to Him.
Let me unite with Him more, that I may more deeply love Him. May I help make reparation to His adorable Heart and the heart of His Mother, Mary. With greatest love, I offer myself to You and pray that You will accept my sacrifice of greatest love. I give myself to You and unite in Your gift of Yourself to me. Come and possess my soul.
Cleanse me, strengthen me, heal me. Dear Holy Spirit act in the heart of Mary to make me more and more like Jesus.
Father, I offer this my sacrifice, myself united to Jesus in the Holy Spirit to You. Help me to love God more deeply in this act of my greatest love.
Give me the grace to grow in my knowledge, love and service of You and for this to be my greatest participation in the Mass. Give me the greatest graces to love You so deeply in this Mass, You who are so worthy of my love.
-Mass Book, December 27, 1995
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L
ET US LOVE THE TWO HEARTS OF JESUS AND MARYHE GAVE HIMSELF TO US ON THE CROSS. HE GIVES HIMSELF TO US IN THE EUCHARIST.
How great was the act of love, God gave to this world, when He gave Himself and died on the cross. He gives Himself to us this day in the Holy Eucharist.
The greatest commandment is that we must love God with our whole heart, our whole soul, and our whole being. This is a commandment. If we are to enter heaven, we must follow the commandments. They are commands given by God for us to follow.
The greatest act we can do on this earth is an act of loving God. The reason for our existence is to love God. In the sacrament of His greatest love, He gives Himself to us. This is an act of love on His part. We are called to respond by giving ourselves in love to Him.
This is the purpose of the Holy Eucharist: to unite in such oneness with our Holy, Loving God. Our all consuming passion should be that of loving God. How many go to the Eucharist with the sole purpose of giving great love to God? He wants us to love Him. He wants souls to tell Him how much they truly love Him. This is the most intimate act of love when Jesus gives Himself-Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity to man. If it is such an act of love, how are we receiving Him in Communion? We should beg God, in this most intimate union with Him, to help us to love Him with greatest love.
Jesus is a Person. He wants our love. The Holy Spirit wants such intimacy with us. Our Father wants us to love Him. In the Eucharist, we unite with God. In this intimate act of uniting with our beloved God, with Divinity, we must pour out our love to God. We must pour out our heart to the most adorable Heart of Jesus. Jesus is so unjustly treated by many of His beloved souls He loves so much. Let us help make reparation to the Almighty God by loving God with our whole heart, our whole soul, and our whole being in the sacrament of His greatest love. This is the Gift of Himself.
Think of how it is to love someone and give your all for that person, to pour out your heart to him or her and then be treated with coldness and neglect. It hurts our heart so much more when we deeply love someone to be rejected by that person. Jesus loves us with the deepest love. We cannot fully comprehend this love. Let us love Him with the deepest love. Let us love Mary and her Immaculate Heart. Let us love her as the Mother of God. Let us love her as the virgin who bore the Son of God. May we, in the reception of the Eucharist pour out our love to Him, to this adorable Heart. May we pour out our love to His Holy Mother.
Mary said at Fatima that Jesus wants His Heart venerated next to the heart of His Mother. Let us love these two Hearts as we receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Then we are so deeply united with God. We see Their two Hearts surrounded with thorns for the injustices against Their Hearts. Let us help make reparation daily as we receive Him in the Eucharist. This is a special time to help make reparation to Their wounded Hearts.
Let us remember how He poured His love out to us on the cross and how He pours out His love to us now when He gives us Himself in the Eucharist, the Eucharist which contains His Heart of burning love. His Heart was pierced with a lance. Her heart was invisibly pierced with a sword. As the wounds in Their Hearts are deep, so too is Their love so deep.
He does not want "surface love". He wants hearts filled with deep burning love.
end of December 27, 1995
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Homilies by Fr. Joe Robinson
Jeremiah 17: 5-8
Yahweh says this,
Accursed be anyone
who trusts in human beings,
who relies on human strength
and whose heart turns from Yahweh.
Such a person is like scrub
in the wastelands:
when good comes, it does not affect him
since he lives in the parched places
of the desert,
uninhabited, salt land.
‘Blessed is anyone who trusts in Yahweh,
with Yahweh to rely on.
Such a person is like a tree by the waterside
that thrusts its roots to the stream:
when the heat comes it has nothing to fear,
its foliage stays green;
untroubled in a year of drought,
it never stops bearing fruit.
Homilies by Fr. Joe Robinson
Guiding Light - Cycle C
6th Sunday of Ordinary Time - February 11, 2007
INTRODUCTION: Life is full of options for people in the world today, but the Bible tells us that all our options ultimately will be reduced to two. We either make God the center of our lives or we don’t. Choosing to make God the center of our lives will lead to true happiness, making any other choice may satisfy us temporarily, but it will in the end leave us disappointed and unhappy. This was crystal clear to Jeremiah the prophet who lived at the time of the Babylonian exile. His way of expressing this truth is crystal clear too.
Jeremiah 20: 7-9
You have seduced me, Yahweh,
and I have let myself be seduced;
you have overpowered me:
you were the stronger.
I am a laughing-stock all day long,
they all make fun of me.
For whenever I speak, I have to howl
and proclaim, ‘Violence and ruin!’
For me , Yahweh’s word has been the cause
of insult and derision all day long.
I would say to myself,
‘I will not think about him,
I will not speak in his name any more,’
but then there seemed to be a fire
burning in my heart,
imprisoned in my bones.
The effort to restrain it wearied me,
I could not do it.
Homilies by Fr. Joe Robinson
Guiding Light - Cycle A
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - August 28, 2005
: (Jeremiah 20, 7-9) Our first reading goes back about 600 B.C. The author of our passage is the prophet Jeremiah. Apparently he thought that people would be grateful to him for speaking God’s word to them. But his job of telling them to change their ways and get right with God only made them hate him. The people ridiculed him, threw him in jail and even tried to kill him. We hear him complaining to God “You duped me! You tricked me, God!” I’m sure it wasn’t the first time God heard the complaint that life is not fair. Jesus’ faithfulness to his mission would bring him suffering too, but Jesus was well aware of what was going to happen to him as we hear him warn his disciples in today’s gospel. In last Sunday’s gospel Jesus praised Peter for acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus even promised Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven. But Peter wasn’t ready for all this talk about suffering and when Peter tried to talk Jesus out of the idea Jesus called him Satan. That’s because Peter was trying to tempt Jesus away from being faithful to his calling.INTRODUCTION
Jeremiah 20: 10-13
I heard so many disparaging me,
‘Terror on every side!
Denounce him! Let us denounce him!’
All those who were on good terms with me
watched for my downfall,
‘Perhaps he will be seduced into error.
Then we shall get the better of him
and take our revenge!’
But Yahweh is at my side
like a mighty hero;
my opponents will stumble, vanquished,
confounded by their failure;
everlasting, unforgettable disgrace
will be theirs.
Yahweh Sabaoth,
you who test the upright,
observer of motives and thoughts,
I shall see your vengeance on them,
for I have revealed my cause to you.
Sing to Yahweh,
praise Yahweh,
for he has delivered the soul of one in need
from the clutches of evil doers.
Homilies by Fr. Joe Robinson
Guiding Light - Cycle A
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time - June 22, 2008
INTRODUCTION: The prophet, Jeremiah lived in Israel about 600 years before Christ. The Babylonian destruction of Israel was immanent. The Babylonians came from modern day Iraq. Their capital, Babylon, was located just 100 miles south of Baghdad. Jeremiah was warning God’s people that they could avoid the destruction that was on its way if they started living according to God’s laws (most of which were being flagrantly ignored or violated. The people didn’t like the message, so they decided to kill Jeremiah. His words in today’s first reading reflect the pain and misery he experienced for being faithful to his mission. We should not be shocked when we hear him pray that God take vengeance on his persecutors. After all, he was human and not as perfect as Jesus who was able to pray for those who crucified him.
Our first reading leads into the gospel. As we heard last Sunday, Jesus had just chosen his twelve apostles. In today’s gospel he prepares to send them out as missionaries. He is warning them their message will not always be well received, they may even suffer and die for it, but they must preach with courage and not be afraid of what might happen to them if they meet rejection
Jeremiah 31: 1-9
When that time comes, Yahweh declares, I shall be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.
Yahweh says this:
They have found pardon in the desert,
those who have survived the sword.
Israel is marching to his rest.
Yahweh has appeared to me from afar;
I have loved you with an everlasting love
and so I still maintain
my faithful love for you.
I shall build you once more,
yes, you will be rebuilt,
Virgin of Israel!
Once more in your best attire,
and with your tambourines,
you will go out dancing gaily.
Once more you will plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria
(those who plant will themselves
enjoy the fruit).
Yes, a day will come
when the watchmen shout
on the mountains of Ephraim,
‘Up! Let us go up to Zion,
to Yahweh our God!’For Yahweh says this:
Shout with joy for Jacob!
Hail the chief of nations!
Proclaim! Praise! Shout,
‘Yahweh has saved his people,
the remnant of Israel!’Watch, I shall bring them back
from the land of the north
and gather them in
from the far ends of the earth.
With them, the blind and the lame,
women with child, women in labour,
all together: a mighty throng
will return here!
In tears they will return,
in prayer I shall lead them.
I shall guide them to streams of water,
by a smooth path
where they will not stumble.
For I am a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is my first–born son.
Homilies by Fr. Joe Robinson
Guiding Light - Cycle B
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time - October 29, 2006
INTRODUCTION: (Jeremiah 31, 7-9; Hebrews 5, 1-6; Mark 10, 46-52) The Jews have had numerous periods of great suffering throughout history. One of those difficult periods was during the Babylonian exile. The prophet who speaks to us in today’s first reading, Jeremiah, lived through it all. Before the exile he had the unpopular task of telling God's people what hey needed to do in order to avoid disaster – unpopular because he had to tell them they had to start obeying God's laws. Instead of heeding his counsel the people tried to kill Jeremiah. When the Babylonians descended upon Judah, they took many people captive as slaves to Babylon. Jeremiah could have said “I told you so.” But he didn’t. Instead he offered God's people hope. We hear him in today’s first reading telling a conquered people: “shout for joy for Jacob” for God would bring his people back home. Even the blind and the lame would not be left behind. The passage prepares us for the gospel where Jesus heals a blind man.
Jeremiah 33: 14-16
“Look, the days are coming, Yahweh declares, when I shall fulfil the promise of happiness I made to the House of Israel and the House of Judah:
In those days and at that time,
I shall make an upright Branch
grow for David,
who will do what is just and upright
in the country.
In those days Judah will triumph
and Israel live in safety.
And this is the name the city will be called:
Yahweh–is–our–Saving–Justice.”
Homilies by Fr. Joe Robinson
Guiding Light - Cycle C
1st Sunday of Advent - December 3, 2006
INTRODUCTION: The prophet, Jeremiah, lived during one of the most devastating times in the history of Israel. He witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonians. He saw many of his fellow citizens enslaved and taken into exile. Yet his words reflect hope and not despair. His hope is based not on human capabilities but on God's faithfulness to God’s promises. Jeremiah recalls God’s promise to his people made over 400 years earlier, during the time of King David, that God would bring to the throne a successor to the King who would bring peace and security to Jerusalem. We still wait for peace and security not only in Jerusalem but all over the world, but the promised one, a descendant of the House of David has begun his reign. The gospel tells us one day he will come in great glory to establish the kingdom of God forever.
Jeremiah 38: 4-6
The chief men then said to the king, 'You must have this man put to death: he is unquestionably disheartening the remaining soldiers in the city, and all the people too, by talking like this. This man is seeking not the welfare of the people but their ruin.' King Zedekiah answered, 'He is in your hands as you know, for the king is powerless to oppose you.' So they took Jeremiah and put him into the storage-well of the king's son Malchiah in the Court of the Guard, letting him down with ropes. There was no water in the storage-well, only mud, and into the mud Jeremiah sank.
Homilies by Fr. Joe Robinson
Guiding Light - Cycle C
INTRODUCTION: Unfortunately suffering and turmoil have been part of everyday life in the Middle East for a long time. Our first reading takes us back 600 years before Christ when the land we now know as Iraq had the name Babylon. The Babylonians were in power at that time in history and the king and his army’s ambitions were to conquer all the nations around them. The events in our first reading occurred at a time when the Babylonians were trying to take Jerusalem. Jeremiah, God’s prophet, told the Jews it was useless for them to fight or to try to defend themselves; they should just go ahead and surrender or Jerusalem would be destroyed. Such talk was viewed as unpatriotic and Jeremiah was considered a traitor. Many of the Jewish leaders decided to kill Jeremiah and they persuaded their king, Zedekiah, to give in to their wishes. He allowed Jeremiah to be thrown into a cistern to die. Later, Ebed-Melech, a Cushite (which means an Ethiopian), one of Jeremiah’s friends, persuaded the king to change his mind.
Jeremiah 23: 1-6
‘Disaster for the shepherds who lose and scatter the sheep of my pasture, Yahweh declares. This, therefore, is what Yahweh, God of Israel, says about the shepherds who shepherd my people, “You have scattered my flock, you have driven them away and have not taken care of them. Right, I shall take care of you for your misdeeds, Yahweh declares! But the remnant of my flock I myself shall gather from all the countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; they will be fruitful and increase in numbers. For them I shall raise up shepherds to shepherd them and pasture them. No fear, no terror for them any more; not one shall be lost, Yahweh declares!
Look, the days are coming,
Yahweh declares,
when I shall raise an upright Branch
for David;
he will reign as king and be wise,
doing what is just and upright
in the country.
In his days Judah will triumph
and Israel live in safety.
And this is the name he will be called,
‘Yahweh–is–our–Saving–Justice.’ ”
Homilies by Fr. Joe Robinson
Guiding Light - Cycle B
INTRODUCTION – (Jeremiah, 23, 1-6; Ephesians, 2, 13-18; Mk. 6, 30-34) (I used the following as introduction to the penitential rite): In the Scriptures, those who were leaders of God’s people: kings and priests, teachers and other spiritual leaders were often compared to shepherds. Frequently these leaders were more interested in serving themselves than they were in providing good leadership for God’s people. Jeremiah, today’s first reading, blames the kings of Judah for the destruction of the nation under the Babylonians. In today’s gospel our Lord views the people of his day as sheep without a shepherd and has compassion on them. He is a good shepherd. He desires to lead his followers to glory and eternal happiness. The way to follow him is through faith and love. For the times we have failed, we ask his forgiveness and his help to do better.
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.
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