February 26, 2016

                Today's Readings

Genesis 37: 3-4, 12-13, 17-28  

   Jacob loved Joseph more than all his other sons, for he was the son of his old age, and he had a decorated tunic made for him. But his brothers, seeing how much more his father loved him than all his other sons, came to hate him so much that they could not say a civil word to him.

Joseph sold by his brothers

   His brothers went to pasture their father’s flock at Shechem. Then Israel said to Joseph, ‘Your brothers are with the flock at Shechem, aren’t they? Come, I am going to send you to them.’ ‘I am ready,’ he replied.

The man answered, ‘They have moved on from here; indeed I heard them say, "Let us go to Dothan." ’ So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
   They saw him in the distance, and before he reached them they made a plot to kill him. ‘Here comes that dreamer,’ they said to one another. ‘Come on, let us kill him now and throw him down one of the storage–wells; we can say that some wild animal has devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams.’
   But Reuben heard, and he saved him from their clutches. ‘We must not take his life,’ he said. ‘Shed no blood,’ said Reuben to them, ‘throw him down that well out in the desert, but do not kill him yourselves’—intending to save him from them and to restore him to his father. So, when Joseph reached his brothers, they pulled off his tunic, the decorated tunic which he was wearing, and catching hold of him, threw him into the well. The well was empty, with no water in it. They then sat down to eat.
   Looking up, they saw a group of Ishmaelites who were coming from Gilead, their camels laden with gum tragacanth, balsam and resin, which they were taking to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What do we gain by killing our brother and covering up his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, then we shall not have laid hands on him ourselves. After all, he is our brother, and our own flesh.’ His brothers agreed.
   Now some Midianite merchants were passing, and they pulled Joseph out of the well. They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver, and these men took Joseph to Egypt.

   

Psalm 105: 16-21

He called down famine on the land, 
he took away their food supply; 
he sent a man ahead of them, 
Joseph, sold as a slave. 

So his feet were weighed down with shackles, 
his neck was put in irons. 
In due time his prophecy was fulfilled, 
the word of Yahweh proved him true. 

The king sent orders to release him, 
the ruler of nations set him free; 
he put him in charge of his household, 
the ruler of all he possessed,

      

Matthew 21: 33-43, 45-46

Parable of the wicked tenants

‘Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them thinking, "They will respect my son." But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, "This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance." So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They answered, ‘He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him at the proper time.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures:

   The stone which the builders rejected
   has become the cornerstone;
   this is the Lord’s doing
   and we marvel at it? 

‘I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’ 
   When they heard his parables, the chief priests and the scribes realised he was speaking about them, but though they would have liked to arrest him they were afraid of the crowds, who looked on him as a prophet.

                R. Children love to read the story of Joseph.

                We know about envy and jealousy
                and this story tells us about the
                jealousy of Joseph's brothers because
                of his Father's love and favor for
                Joseph, but it tells us about our
                story too – when the Father has a
                Plan for our life and we have so
                many gifts and instead of being
                busy about using these gifts God
                has given us and done the things
                He asks us to do – we can waste
                energy and time when we could
                be knowing and loving and serving
                God, giving into jealousy and envy
                toward our brothers who the Father
                calls to their vocation.

                    Think of Joseph's brothers and all
                the energy they wasted and the maliciousness
                of their hearts to want to kill Joseph
                and finally to sell him.

                    God is so good to us. God the Father created
                us so special with a mission. Many
                times it would not be too difficult to
                do the job He asks us to do. But we can
                use our life in jealousy and pride trying
                to make ourselves better than our brothers,
                not doing the simple way and thing
                God asks us to do and then sit on a
                pity-pot – when it doesn't work
                and blame everybody for the mess
                we have made by not doing what
                God created us to do.

                    Pride is a big thing – always putting
                ourselves above God and others and
                trying to be great.

                    Being great is rejoicing in our
                brothers serving God and others and
                doing the job God asks us to do.

                    Mary appeared in Clearwater
                and asked us to spread the Consecration
                to the Two Hearts, the rosary, the
                Blue Books – try to get the rosary
                in families and schools –
                tell people about the Eucharist,
                lift their hearts up – be happy
                because Mary has appeared.

                    Mary is a great intercessor –
                I see her pray with us when she
                appears to me. In the state the
                world is in – in our country –
                we can pray for each other –
                our brothers in our vocation and
                needs and ask Mary to intercede
                for us and know her prayers
                are so powerful. Mary prayed at
                the wedding of Cana. We need to pray
                through the intercession of Mary –
                we need the Holy Spirit to do God's will –

                    We need to not give into the weak
                will to oppose what God is asking
                of us. If we keep giving into the deadly
                sins we have a weak will and we
                can just keep giving into jealousy
                and pride and envy and slothfulness
                (laziness in the way God is calling us) –

                    A person who is really praying
                for greater faith and hope and love
                with all their heart and knows their
                place – UNDER GOD – is
                living to serve God, to be under God –
                to put God first – to be happy –
                to believe in God, to hope in God
                for help with their own salvation
                and that of others –

                    Love is rejoicing in men doing
                God's will and working as team
                players – wanting God's will –
                serving God – being a servant like
                Jesus showed us.

                    We pray in the Holy Spirit Prayer Jesus
                gave Fr. Carter in the prayer manual –
                we pray for a strong will to serve
                God, to be pure –

                From the Prayer Manual

Holy Spirit Prayer

Come, Holy Spirit, almighty Sanctifier, God of love, who filled the Virgin Mary with grace, who wonderfully changed the hearts of the apostles, who endowed all Your martyrs with miraculous courage, come and sanctify us. Enlighten our minds, strengthen our wills, purify our consciences, rectify our judgment, set our hearts on fire, and preserve us from the misfortunes of resisting Your inspirations. Amen.

                R. Joseph suffered, but he was faithful
                to God. Some one lied about Joseph
                and he still was faithful to God –

                    God gave Joseph gifts to help
                Egypt and Joseph used his gifts.
                Joseph helped Egypt through his
                dreams. The gift God gave Joseph
                helped them all. Joseph had to be
                faithful to his calling. Joseph was
                a servant for God. God was using
                Joseph, Joseph said "yes" to
                his vocation.

                    Satan tempts a person with
                a weak will and they can give
                into the deadly sins so easily and
                satan knows it.

                    Fear works in a person's life and
                satan uses that. Pride they want
                to think they are above – even
                above being the servant God
                calls them to be. They don't want
                to trust anyone, but themselves,
                many times, including God.

                    We can suffer and God may
                be working in this to get us to
                learn and change our stubborn
                heart and will, but we can just
                keep going and doing things that
                oppose God with a weak will
                and a stubborn, selfish attitude.
               
                    We see God and others and ourselves
                with distorted thinking. We need to
                see through our heavenly Father's
                eyes the Plan of God, Our Father,
                for us and be living under God,
                not trying to get God to fit into
                our old fearful plan –

                    Distorted Vision can keep a
                person stuck and satan works
                through their weak will and the
                deadly sins of pride, envy, jealousy,
                anger, slothfulness etc.

                    God puts people in our lives
                as guides and the person full
                of pride wants it their own way.

                    God is working in our lives today.
                God put Joseph's father over his
                sons and they were jealous of
                Joseph.

                    Jacob, Joseph's father, was chosen
                by God and he was serving God
                and doing God's will when he
                picked Joseph.

                    But Joseph's brothers were
                jealous and didn't see the gift
                in it for them, by obeying
                God's choice, in choosing Joseph.
                They wanted to get Joseph out of
                the way. Joseph's brothers did bad
                things to him and they were
                angry at Joseph for doing
                what Jacob wanted because of
                their jealousy and pride.
 

                R. In the Fourth Sunday of Ordinary
                Times – Fr. Joe addresses this –

                R. God has given us the sign on the
                building as Mary appeared –
                Mary wore a coat of many colors –
                the color of the rainbow –
                What have we done to see such
                a sign?

                R. Do we treat this sign like the
                coat of many colors of Joseph –

                God is speaking to us, telling us about
                things in His Word in the Bible
                and we must listen and pray to
                the Holy Spirit and see ourselves as
                servants of God and be glad –
                Not be like Joseph's brothers
                jealous of Joseph, envious of
                our brothers and blocking
                God's plan –

                    God knows everything – God knows
                when we sit and stand – God knows
                our hearts.

                    Do we put God first and His will?

                    Is our will weak from giving into
                pride and anger and jealousy and
                envy, slothfulness – so its real easy to just
                keep giving into evil – opposing
                God's plan for us and how God
                is working in others in our
                lives.

                    Do we act like Joseph's brothers?
                The coat of many colors – remember
                Mary's image?

                Remember Noah

    God spoke as follows to Noah and his sons, ‘I am now establishing my covenant with you and with your descendants to come, and with every living creature that was with you: birds, cattle and every wild animal with you; everything that came out of the ark, every living thing on earth. And I shall maintain my covenant with you: that never again shall all living things be destroyed by the waters of a flood, nor shall there ever again be a flood to devastate the earth.’ 

    ‘And this’, God said, ‘is the sign of the covenant which I now make between myself and you and every living creature with you for all ages to come: I now set my bow in the clouds and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I gather the clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, I shall recall the covenant between myself and you and every living creature, in a word all living things, and never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all living things. When the bow is in the clouds I shall see it and call to mind the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth, that is, all living things.’ 

    ‘That’, God told Noah, ‘is the sign of the covenant I have established between myself and all living things on earth.’

                R. Remember how they threw Jeremiah
                    into a cistern –

                Jeremiah was faithful to God –

                    The King blocked Jeremiah and
                they threw him into a cistern
                and there was the Babylonian
                exile –

                    Look at all they blocked there –

                Mary gave messages at Fatima and
                    they weren't followed and
                    66,000,000 people were
                    killed –

                The men who fought Jesus put Him
                    to death – on a cross –

                Haven't we seen the message –

                    God is telling us about peace
                and love and joy –

                    Why would we fight the message
                of Mary at Clearwater?

                    Why don't we pray through
                her powerful intercession for
                the world?

                    The brothers took off Joseph's
                fancy coat.

                    Mary's image head was destroyed.
 

                R. Judas sold Jesus for 30
                pieces of silver.

                    Joseph's brothers sold him
                for 20 pieces of silver because
                they wanted him out of the way.
                Why did they do this –

                    They were jealous, envious,
                prideful – they had a weak will –

Romans 5: 3

Not only that; let us exult, too, in our hardships, understanding that hardship develops perseverance,

                R. Jesus wants us to serve Him!

                    God has a plan –
                    We are to be under God –
                    not getting angry and jealous
                    expecting God to do it our
                    way –

                Jesus was always faithful to
                    His mission to the heavenly
                    Father. At first they listened
                    to Jesus –

                    Then they wanted to kill Him and
                    run Him out of town –
                    because they wanted Jesus to
                        do what they wanted –
                    they wanted Jesus to serve them.

                They weren't doing what God the
                    Father wanted them to do –
                    they were too busy fighting
                    Jesus and wanting to get
                    rid of Him because they
                    wanted to be over God!

                God blessed Joseph –

                Joseph helped Egypt with the
                    famine –

                They had to tighten their belts
                    if they wanted to survive
                    the famine and listen
                    to Joseph.

                They had to do God's will –
                    not give into jealousy
                    and anger and envy
                    and pride and
                    expect God to serve them.

                Joseph loved his brothers –

                After all they did to him –
                    Joseph loved his brothers –
                    Joseph did God the Father's plan –

                God is love –

                When people are angry and wanting
                    to hurt other people for their
                    jealousy and pride –
                    they give into their distorted
                    vision of God, others and
                    themselves –
                    and they can block God's
                    plan and fight God for
                    their pity-pot –

                God has called us to be obedient to His
                    will and to put Him first –
                    some put their anger above
                    everything, their jealousy
                    and envy and they refuse
                    to do God's will of serving
                    God – working with others –
                    they have a weak will because
                    they are always giving into
                    the deadly sins of pride, greed, envy,
                    wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth

                God calls us to forgive and to ask for
                    forgiveness from
                    Him and others when we
                    have offended Him and others –

                    We can work with God's plan for
                salvation history – or work against
                our Father in heaven and
                hurt our brother who is doing
                the will of God and being called
                to deliver a message –

                God has a plan for us in our
                    vocation –
                    and we can waste a lot of
                    time and energy fighting
                    God's plan for our pride
                    and anger and jealousy –

                God gives us the story of Adam and Eve
                    in the beginning of the Bible –
                    Eve wanted to be equal to God –

                Knowing our place under God
                    is important.
                    We are to be servants of God –
                    not angry and fighting on
                    a pity-pot in jealousy
                    and pride –

                Doesn't the stories in the
                    Bible sink in our
                    minds?

Philippians 1: 6

I am quite confident that the One who began a good work in you will go on completing it until the Day of Jesus Christ comes.