Jesus, open my eyes to your friendship. Help me to listen to you as closely as a student learns from a mentor.
Quench my thirst for justice with your life-giving waters. Speak to me in words that I will understand so that I may turn your words into actions. Amen.
Study
http://www.usccb.org/nab/072706.shtml
I remember the devotion of your youth, how you loved me as a bride, Following me in the desert, in a land unsown. Jeremiah 2:2
Two evils have my people done: they have forsaken me, the source of living waters; They have dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no water. Jeremiah 2:13
“I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.” Matthew 13:13
Water changes everything.
A dry flower thirsts for the rain.
An exhausted runner reaches for the cup of refreshment.
A hard working farmer welcomes the rain on the crops.
Sunday, Jesus invited us to sit beside restful waters so we can get up refreshed and revitalized. Today, he reminds us that He is the source of that living water.
Relationships change, too. Sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. Jesus gives us these living waters to help sustain us for better or worse.
Jeremiah tells us of changing relationships…relationships between the Lord and His people which went from good to bad because the people spurned the living waters and tried to sustain themselves. Matthew tells us of changing relationships from bad to good as Jesus invites us closer to Him in parables that everyone can understand.
Jesus invites us, too, into a close relationship. He gives us what we need to sustain ourselves in that relationship…when we are in the desert feeling dry, he gives us living water. All he asks is that we follow him no matter where He goes. The instruction manual for following Him includes:
Listen with understanding
Observe with intensity
Be changed to emulate Jesus’ way of action
Accept his healing power
Knowledge alone is NOT ENOUGH. The Cursillo tripod of Piety, Study and Action must work together. Knowledge without action is hypocrisy. Action without piety is the fruit of unbelievers. Piety without action follows only half of the commandments – it’s loving God without loving neighbor.
Even though Jeremiah wrote more than 2500 years ago, his observations may hold truth today. How do we forsake the Source of Living Waters today?
Supporting embryonic stem cell research?
Acceptance of a culture of death that brings us everything from abortion to war; from euthanasia to the death penalty; from hand guns to nuclear weapons?
Failing to understand other people whether they are from the District of Columbia or the Federal District of Mexico? Anacostia or Afghanistan?
Focusing too much on building up stores for ourselves in that 401-K or Roth IRA?
Wanting more -- that new CD or DVD, tickets to the sold-out concert or Broadway show, expensive dinner in a fancy restaurant and more?
That can change when we enter into the relationship that Jesus invites us to…Just as the bride and groom vow to love each other for better or worse, richer or poorer, Jesus invites us into that same kind of relationship…he loves us for better or worse, richer or poorer. Do we love Him as much when times are good?
We don’t have to take Him to The Palms or buy him tickets to The Lion King. He loves us if we just love others and accept Him as the source of life.
Action
Voice Your Opposition to Capital Punishment!
STOP THURSDAY’S SCHEDULED EXECUTION Take Action!
As many of you know, Brandon Hedrick's death sentence was carried out last week, with Governor Tim Kaine declining to intervene. With the execution of Michael Lenz scheduled for July 27th, it is critically important to continue expressing your concern to the Governor. As the Governor examines these life-and-death matters that are coming across his desk with alarming frequency, he needs to know just how many of his constituents oppose capital punishment. Please help turn the momentum away from this unnecessary punishment, and toward a culture of life, by consistently and persistently calling for an end to the use of the death penalty in our Commonwealth. Even if you have responded to recent alerts on this topic, please click here http://capwiz.com/vacatholic/utr/1/MGOVGEISWD/NFFLGEITQV/811238131 to reiterate your concern to the Governor prior to what would be the second execution within one week. You are also encouraged to call his office at (804) 786-2211. The Virginia bishops have reiterated their ongoing appeal to end the use of the death penalty.
In a July 17th letter to Governor Kaine urging him to exercise his commutation authority in the Hedrick and Lenz cases, Bishops DiLorenzo and Loverde wrote, “In a state that already imposes the death penalty more frequently than any other except Texas, we wish to offer some observations that we believe are essential in life-and-death considerations. First and foremost, every human life is sacred because every person has been created in God's image and likeness. No person, therefore, should have his life extinguished when non-lethal means are adequate to protect society. We believe that the life-without-parole alternative provides this needed protection and also ensures just punishment for those convicted of heinous crimes. Accordingly, we are convinced that, in our time and place, use of the death penalty is unnecessary and inappropriate, and that death sentences should no longer be imposed or carried out in our Commonwealth.”
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