Something Greater

July 18, 2008

Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Isaiah answered:) "This will be the sign for you from the LORD that he will do what he has promised: See, I will make the shadow cast by the sun on the stairway to the terrace of Ahaz go back the ten steps it has advanced." So the sun came back the ten steps it had advanced. Isaiah 38:7-8

I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice," you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath. Matthew 12: 6-8

Piety

Pray for us, Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/071808.shtml

The Lord will do what he has promised. Isaiah knew that he could count on the Lord. The disciples learned that lesson, too. However, the Pharisees did not realize who was in their midst and they failed to put their trust in Him. Instead, they continued to rely upon the old laws and used these rules to challenge the Lord.

Jesus gently tried many times to get across the point that he was bringing forth a new law based upon mercy and love, not on sacrifices. He used the parable of the brides waiting for the bridegroom. He used the story of the bread in the temple. Yet the more he tried, the more people heard but did not listen; looked but did not see.

Action

Will we keep our promises to the Lord? Will we put our trust in the Lord or the law?

Right now, the Commonwealth of Virginia is putting its trust in the death penalty even though there is a suitable alternative which protects society – life in prison without parole. There is still time to contact Governor Tim Kaine to try to head off the execution of the next inmate scheduled to die. The Catholic Church and Bishop Paul Loverde have taken very strong positions against the death penalty. Please contact our (Catholic) Governor Kaine and ask him to commute the sentence to life in prison.

In addition, on the night of the scheduled execution, (July 24) there will be a prayer vigil from 8:45 until 9:15 p.m. at the Grotto at St. Mary of Sorrows Historic Church in Fairfax. The vigil is being held to pray for Christopher Scott Emmett, who is scheduled to be executed that evening by the commonwealth of Virginia; for John Langley, the victim of the crime for which he is being executed and for their families. In addition to contacting the Governor, consider participating in the vigil.