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June 29, 2018 - Feast of Sts Peter and Paul Apostles

Acts 3:1-10
The cure of a lame man

Once, when Peter and John were going up to the Temple for the prayers at the ninth hour, it happened that there was a man being carried along. He was a cripple from birth; and they used to put him down every day near the Temple entrance called the Beautiful Gate so that he could beg from the people going in. When this man saw Peter and John on their way into the Temple he begged from them. Peter, and John too, looked straight at him and said, 'Look at us.' He turned to them expectantly, hoping to get something from them, but Peter said, 'I have neither silver nor gold, but I will give you what I have: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk!' Then he took him by the right hand and helped him to stand up. Instantly his feet and ankles became firm, he jumped up, stood, and began to walk, and he went with them into the Temple, walking and jumping and praising God. Everyone could see him walking and praising God, and they recognised him as the man who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple. They were all astonished and perplexed at what had happened to him.

Response: Their message goes out through all the earth.

Psalm 19: 2-5

day discourses of it to day,
night to night hands on the knowledge.

No utterance at all, no speech,
not a sound to be heard,
but from the entire earth the design stands out,
this message reaches the whole world.
High above, he pitched a tent for the sun,

who comes forth from his pavilion like a bridegroom,
delights like a champion in the course to be run.

Galatians 1: 11-20

Now I want to make it quite clear to you, brothers, about the gospel that was preached by me, that it was no human message. It was not from any human being that I received it, and I was not taught it, but it came to me through a revelation of Jesus Christ. You have surely heard how I lived in the past, within Judaism, and how there was simply no limit to the way I persecuted the Church of God in my attempts to destroy it; and how, in Judaism, I outstripped most of my Jewish contemporaries in my limitless enthusiasm for the traditions of my ancestors. But when God, who had set me apart from the time when I was in my mother's womb, called me through his grace and chose to reveal his Son in me, so that I should preach him to the gentiles, I was in no hurry to confer with any human being, or to go up to Jerusalem to see those who were already apostles before me. Instead, I went off to Arabia, and later I came back to Damascus. Only after three years did I go up to Jerusalem to meet Cephas. I stayed fifteen days with him but did not set eyes on any of the rest of the apostles, only James, the Lord's brother. I swear before God that what I have written is the truth.

John 21: 15-19

When they had eaten, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?’ He answered, ‘Yes, Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He replied, ‘Yes, Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Look after my sheep.’ Then he said to him a third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was hurt that he asked him a third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and said, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.

                R. Man performs actions – everyday
                we can determine what we will
                do that day. So we seek to do things
                all day.

                    God has a plan for us. God
                wants us to serve Him and to
                do His will.

                    With every day a new day we
                have a choice what actions
                we will do and what good
                we will attain.

                    Are we really living to
                co-operate with God's plan
                for us to serve Him in the
                building of the Kingdom of God?

                    Are we really living the calling
                God has called us to in our
                vocation?

                    Yesterday in the Gospel I heard
                a scripture Fr. Carter quoted
                frequently and lived by –

Matthew 7: 21

'It is not anyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," who will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven.

                    A person can develop habits
                of seeking God's will in their lives
                and live by this 24 / 7 – saying
                to themselves – asking the Holy Spirit
                to guide them – "What is God's will
                for me? What does God want me
                to do today?" Obedience to God
                becomes a habit. Seeking God's
                will over our will becomes a
                habit. Learning to work with
                others in trust and love
                becomes a habit. Asking for
                God's help in everything we do
                becomes a habit.

                    Like a little child with
                their parents – it's a habit
                to be docile – under the Lord –
                surrendering control to God.

                    Likewise it's a habit to always
                be in control of one's life. Saying,
                "I want my space, I want my
                comfort zone, I don't let anyone
                tell me what to do, I am
                autonomous, I don't trust
                anyone, I don't believe anyone
                is trustworthy" ETC. –
                ETC. ETC.

                    This is self-talk a person
                has lived by shutting door after
                door daily because of wounded,
                survival tactics they learned
                in the past. CLOSED, CAVED-IN.
                The devil's playground is in
                shutting the door to the past
                and keep acting-out unfinished
                business. The unfinished
                business doesn't go miraculously
                away.

                    Yesterday I cut a finger opening
                some fresh fruit with a plastic
                seal. It was kind-of deep.
                Someone called me down the
                street so I quickly put a bandage
                on it and went –

                    I basically left it alone. I usually
                wash my hands a lot of times
                and instead I nursed that hand
                until today. When I got up today
                and took off the bandage it
                was still cut and it needs to
                heal.

                    It is on my right hand and
                it isn't good practice to
                not use your dominant hand,
                not wash your hand etc.
                I did that because I cut myself
                and it needs to heal. The
                practice one uses when one
                has a wound is not the same
                as when one is healed.

                    What about deep - deep wounds
                of trusting others because of
                abuse, incest, abandonment,
                not having one's emotional needs
                met as a child?

                    To live in homes such as this,
                where communication was thwarted,
                union with others, lack of
                trust, lack of expressing feelings
                and oneself, lack of talking
                problems out – a child may
                have been forced to survival tactics,
                to deal with the dysfunctional,
                serious situation, but we are
                to look for the truth in our
                present situation and not be
                a slave to unhealed, bad
                habits of healthy living.
                Impulses, memories can be
                acted out constantly when a
                person refuses to let go of
                control from the past.

                    The truth must be
                ours and we need to heal.
                I will work with my cut
                finger until it heals.

                    Our habits should be good habits
                rooted in greater faith – seeing the
                vision of the heavenly Father,
                in hope of eternal salvation for
                ourselves and others and of
                love –
                All of our actions done in love –
                When we love God first and
                love our neighbor as ourselves
                we are most likened to God.
                God created us in His image
                and likeness. God is love
                We are to love –

                    Will the real me, please stand up.
                God calls us in our vocation to
                serve Him and thereby attain
                eternal salvation. We are to
                live with good habits – that
                is virtuously.

                    The deadly sins are bad habits,
                pride, anger, jealousy, envy,
                slothfulness, gluttony, lust.
                Bandages from the past need
                to be removed and the
                truth looked at so it can
                be healed when one keeps
                acting out behaviors of closing
                down, not trusting anyone,
                not loving, not communicating
                needed information and being
                hard in heart.

                    God created us to grow more
                and more loving – to co-operate
                with Him and others helping
                the world to be more and
                more Christic.

                    We must seek the will of
                God in our lives and live
                with an open heart in the
                vocation and family God has
                given to us.

                    Jesus is the way, the truth and
                the life. We seek the truth –
                it is a habit to seek the truth
                and tell the truth as God
                command us to do.

We are to live by the commandments
of God –

R. The Word is the Bread of Life.

Matthew 7: 21-29

'It is not anyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," who will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven. When the day comes many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?" Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you; away from me, all evil doers!

'Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock. But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell; and what a fall it had!'

Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say, and his teaching made a deep impression on the people because he taught them with authority, unlike their own scribes.

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. It is in right reasoning and
                living as the Father wills us
                to live, that we perform
                actions in our lives that will
                help build the Kingdom of God –

                    God has called us to be
                a fit instrument to help in
                the building of the Kingdom of God –

Our health is a habit – taking
care of ourselves.

                    We are to live to serve God –
                to obey God, to put God's will
                first in our lives, to love
                our neighbor as ourselves.
                God calls us to grow in greater
                faith – to seek the vision God
                wants for us in our lives –
                God is the Initiator –
                We are the soul waiting His
                favor.

                    We are full of gratitude
                and co-operate with God in
                His plan unfolding in our lives.
                We seek what God wants for
                the good in our lives and the
                good of others. We are not
                selfishly disposed to controlling
                our lives and what concerns
                us so we can block God's
                plan in our lives that
                effect His plan for the salvation
                of others.

                    We are to be meek and tender
                in our hearts – not full of
                anger and pride and jealousy
                that are habits that effect
                our actions.

Reason and will –

                    God has elevated our knowing
                and loving capacity in baptism –
                God has given us a sharing
                in His life – We go beyond our
                natural capabilities and we
                see the vision of God in faith –
                We hope for our eternal salvation
                and that of our brothers
                and we can love more and more
                on a supernatural level.
                In baptism we can share
                in God's loving activity –
                We are given a sharing in
                Divine life in baptism –

                    Actions that are God-like
                can increase in us or
                diminish. When we act
                in truth and honesty this
                becomes a habit to always
                act in truth and honesty –

                To not pay our debts and
                hold back becomes a habit.
                Hold back what is needed
                is a habit.

Love is giving for the good
of the other –

Hold out in reluctance for
control becomes a habit –

                It's a habit to work toward
                    unity and co-operate
                    with superiors and others –

                It can become a habit to always
                    disobey what one is called
                    to do for control.

The more we disobey God the
further we go from Him –

                The more we live to do God's
                    will and be loving
                    likened to God – the more
                    He can unite and live
                    in unity and love in
                    our soul –

                Acting contrary to others and to God's
                will – opposing God is addressed
                over and over again in the
                scriptures at Mass.

                    It speaks of how they abandoned
                God and did their own will and
                tells us consequences of this –

                    Yesterday we heard of the
                Babylonian exile and how the
                Jews suffered because the King
                ignored God. They were taken
                over, they lost their freedom,
                their treasures, they lived in
                such suffering.

                    That is what the devil does –
                tempts people to disobey and do
                their own will.