Thursday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him. Luke 5:11
(Colossians 1:9-14)
To the Team and Candidates of the 115th Men’s Cursillo,
Friends, we do not cease praying for you. Our prayers started before you set foot at the St. Joseph Seminary and will go on through your Fourth Day and until you complete your journey to the Kingdom.
We ask our Father to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you may learn to live in a manner worthy of the Lord. May your piety, study and action result in your being fully pleasing to Him, in every good work bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God.
May you find strength with every power, in accord with God’s glorious might, for all endurance, patience, justice, and temperance. In joy, we give thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light. He delivered you from the power of darkness and transferred you through this weekend into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins and the removal of the obstacles that keep us from His sanctifying grace. Amen.
Studyhttp://www.usccb.org/nab/090607.shtml
As members of our community launch and support another weekend to reach out in friendship to the eleven candidates on the Men’s 115th Cursillo, our readings today spur the team, the brothers candidates (and the sisters supporting them) “to live in a manner worthy of the Lord.”
Isn’t today’s reading from Colossians a Prayer for Every Cursillo Weekend?
Piety: “Strengthened with every power, in accord with his glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light.”
Study: “Filled with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding”
Action: “To live in a manner worthy of the Lord, so as to be fully pleasing, in every good work bearing fruit”
That reading is paired with Luke telling us the story of St. Peter following the instructions from his carpenter-friend to keep fishing even though the results so far have been dismal. Put out into deeper water. Don’t hug the shore. Go further. Work harder. It’s only when you become totally invested in your enterprise that you will get the results that you seek. Those results spurred St. Peter on to his conversion and total commitment to following Jesus even to death by crucifixion.
ActionMaybe Christ is not asking you or I, or this weekend’s team or candidates, to follow Him to the cross, but He has a test for us. That test is how well we can exhibit the same faith, hope and charity that Jesus and the apostles introduced into this world 2000 years ago. How can we show His love to those we know and to those we don’t know?
We can start with out own community and then branch out from the vine. Support the 115th Men’s Weekend with palanca, presence and participation at the closing. See details at http://arlingtoncursillo.org/CursillosSubweb/m115/115th_men.htm.
Then, in two weeks, clear your calendar to participate in “The Many Faces of Our Human Family: A Catholic Perspective on Immigration,” an Arlington Diocese conference is being held on Saturday, September 22 at St. Anthony of Padua Parish,
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