Sunday, June 16, 2019

God lovingly makes Himself known to us—we should listen! (readings for June 16, 2018 annotated)

Key
What these scriptures tell us about God
What these scriptures tell us to do
Commentary
Hyperlinks to other resources

Reading 1    Proverbs 8:22-31  
Thus says the wisdom of God:
"The LORD possessed me, the beginning of his ways,
the forerunner of his prodigies of long ago;
from of old I was poured forth,
at the first, before the earth.
When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no fountains or springs of water;
before the mountains were settled into place,
before the hills, I was brought forth;
while as yet the earth and fields were not made,
nor the first clods of the world.

"When the Lord established the heavens I was there,
when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep;
when he made firm the skies above,
when he fixed fast the foundations of the earth;
when he set for the sea its limit,
so that the waters should not transgress his command;
then was I beside him as his craftsman,
and I was his delight day by day,
playing before him all the while,
playing on the surface of his earth;
and I found delight in the human race."

If Wisdom (i.e. Christ, or perhaps the Holy Spirit), was present at and participated in the creation of the universe we live in (and at/in the establishment of the laws that govern it/us), we are therefore wise to be as attentive as possible to what He tells us

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
R.O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
When I 
behold your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars which you set in place
What is man that you should be mindful of him,
or the son of man that you should care for him?
R. 
O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
You have made himlittle less than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
putting all things under his feet:
R. 
O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
All sheep and oxen,
yes, and the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fishes of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
R. 
O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!

Reading 2 Romans 5:1-5  
Brothers and sisters:
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have gained access by faith
to this grace in which we stand,
and we 
boast in hope of the glory of God.
Not only that, but we even 
boast of our afflictions,
knowing that affliction produces endurance,
and endurance, proven character,
and proven character, hope,
and hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

The magnitude of God’s love is partially reflected here—the creator of the universe reaches out to us in extraordinary ways.  His loving outreach is also reflected in the scriptures collected in Wisdom Principles—God Loves and Calls Us to Him, In Spite of our Sin

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; to God who is, who was, and who is to come.
R. 
Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel John 16:12-15  
Jesus said to his disciples:
"I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.
But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.
He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming.
He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you."

God wants us to know Him, and communicates Himself to us in Multiple ways.  This calls to mind paragraph 1 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church. To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as Redeemer and Saviour. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life.

It is therefore foolish—not to mention rude—to not eagerly, attentively, and obediently listen for and to Him

What these scriptures tell us about God
What these The LORD possessed me
from of old I was poured forth
When the Lord established the heavens I was there,
I beside him as his craftsman,
I was his delight day by day,
playing on the surface of his earth;
I found delight in the human race."
O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars which you set in place
O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
have made him
O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have gained access by faith
the love of God has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
I have much more to tell you
when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.
he will speak what he hears
will declare to you the things that are coming.
He will glorify me
he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
Everything that the Father has is mine
he will take from what is mine and declare it to you."

What these scriptures tell us to do
behold your heavens, the work of your fingers,boast in hope of the glory of God.even boast of our afflictions,

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