8 July 08

TUESDAY AFTER TRINITY VII

8 JULY 08

LECTIONARY READINGS

Morning Prayer:  Psalm 77, 1 Samuel 9:1-10; Luke 13:10-21

Evening Prayer:  Psalm 74; Daniel 4:19-20; Acts 23:12-24

REFLECTION

In the Gospel, found in Morning Prayer, the question is ask as to what the Kingdom of God is like.  Our Lord goes on to say that it is like the grain of a mustard seed that is cast out into the field and grows into a great tree, so much so that birds are able to lodge in its branches.  Again, our Lord likens the Kingdom of God to leaven that is put into three measures of meal.  In time, the leaven infiltrates the entire three measures of meal.

The question that has been on my mind about this reading is this: Are we making our way into all the various parts of our society in such a way as to cause it to grow, rise, become a haven of shelter and security, and that which is prepared to become bread for the world?  On the other hand, are we more like those pharisees who are so caught up with our rubrics, rules, legislation, and politics that we hinder the grace and Good News of Jesus Christ from it’s healing and redeeming mission in the world?  How might we change our hearts and minds so that we might become the very mustard seed, or leaven, that truly has an impact on the world around us with the love of Jesus?

Fr. Greg

COLLECT FOR THE SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

Lord of all power and might, who art the author and giver of all good things; Graft in our hearts the love of thy Name, increase in us true religion, nourish us with all goodness, and of thy great mercy keep us in the same, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

SAINT OF THE DAY

St. Elisabeth of Portugal, Queen and Widow (1271-1336)

Elizabeth is usually depicted in royal garb with a dove or an olive branch. At her birth in 1271, her father, Pedro III, future king of Aragon, was reconciled with his father, James, the reigning monarch. This proved to be a portent of things to come. Under the healthful influences surrounding her early years, she quickly learned self-discipline and acquired a taste for spirituality. Thus fortunately prepared, she was able to meet the challenge when, at the age of 12, she was given in marriage to Denis, king of Portugal. She was able to establish for herself a pattern of life conducive to growth in God’s love, not merely through her exercises of piety, including daily Mass, but also through her exercise of charity, by which she was able to befriend and help pilgrims, strangers, the sick, the poor—in a word, all those whose need came to her notice. At the same time she remained devoted to her husband, whose infidelity to her was a scandal to the kingdom.

He too was the object of many of her peace endeavors. She long sought peace for him with God, and was finally rewarded when he gave up his life of sin. She repeatedly sought and effected peace between the king and their rebellious son, Alfonso, who thought that he was passed over to favor the king’s illegitimate children. She acted as peacemaker in the struggle between Ferdinand, king of Aragon, and his cousin James, who claimed the crown. And finally from Coimbra, where she had retired as a Franciscan tertiary to the monastery of the Poor Clares after the death of her husband, she set out and was able to bring about a lasting peace between her son Alfonso, now king of Portugal, and his son-in-law, the king of Castile.

***from http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintOfDay/default.asp?id=1434***

THE COLLECT FOR ST. ELISABETH OF PORTUGAL

Most merciful God, who amongst many excellent gifts didst bestow on the blessed Queen Elisabeth peculiar grace to allay the violence of war : grant, we beseech thee ; that by her intercession we may both obtain in this life that peace for which we humbly pray, and hereafter attain to eternal felicity.  Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.