"Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me." (Mt 10:40)
READING OF THE DAY
A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah
IS 1:10-17
Hear the word of the LORD,
princes of Sodom!
Listen to the instruction of our God,
people of Gomorrah!
What care I for the number of your sacrifices?
says the LORD.
I have had enough of whole-burnt rams
and fat of fatlings;
In the blood of calves, lambs and goats
I find no pleasure.
When you come in to visit me,
who asks these things of you?
Trample my courts no more!
Bring no more worthless offerings;
your incense is loathsome to me.
New moon and sabbath, calling of assemblies,
octaves with wickedness: these I cannot bear.
Your new moons and festivals I detest;
they weigh me down, I tire of the load.
When you spread out your hands,
I close my eyes to you;
Though you pray the more,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood!
Wash yourselves clean!
Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes;
cease doing evil; learn to do good.
Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,
hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Matthew
MT 10:34-11:1
Jesus said to his Apostles:
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.
I have come to bring not peace but the sword.
For I have come to set
a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one’s enemies will be those of his household.
“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
“Whoever receives you receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet
will receive a prophet’s reward,
and whoever receives a righteous man
because he is righteous
will receive a righteous man’s reward.
And whoever gives only a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones to drink
because he is a disciple–
amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”
When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples,
he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.
MONDAY OF THE FIFTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - Mt 10:34-11:1
THE WORD OF THE DAY
Dear People of God,
The Word of God today instructs the apostles about the following basic things:
- The first thing: God came to earth to fight Satan and after that spiritual battle, people will be at peace. Therefore, the Word of God says: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s enemies will be those of his household."
God wants to tell everyone that: between people, there is always rivalry, superiority, calculation, jealousy, and hatred of each other. Everyone wants to be number one, to be the one who knows best, to be right. Those things are caused by Satan's demons intervening to attack and rob souls. Therefore, God came to earth to bring justice, peace, and happiness to humanity. But to achieve that, there needs to be a long spiritual battle between souls, there will be conflict, and God's purification for each person.
- The second basic thing: God brings to humanity His teachings that he wants people to live and practice, which are: love God above all things and love others as themselves. Whoever values people more than God, and who does not carry their cross to suffer with God, is not worthy of the graces that God gives, which is eternal life. And whoever values his life above all else and does not run to cry out to God the Father who gives eternal life to people, then his life and soul will not be guaranteed eternal life with God.
- The third basic thing: God commanded His apostles: "Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me." ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Therefore, when His disciples go out to reap the mission field, they bring the image of the loving Jesus to humanity. When someone welcomes those sent by God, he or she welcomes God Himself. His apostles should try to live according to God the Father's teachings, obey God the Father in all ways, become conformed to Jesus Christ, and take on God's loving self. God entered his body, so that God's love would spread to all humanity, to the sheep who are cold, wounded in body and soul.
The Word of God today instructs the apostles, as well as all those who want to follow and obey God the Father's commands, to go and do as the Word of God commands and we will be saved; And the soul that believes and accepts God to take control of its life and its soul will be saved by God the Father from temptation, from the imprisonment and bondage of Satan.
God the Father invites everyone: to have faith in the power and strength of God, He is the absolute power, has full authority over all creatures, He always loves people, and there is no love greater than the love of God. He invites souls to trust in Him. He promises and will fulfill that promise to grant salvation to all souls who trust and follow the teachings of God the Father.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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