Presence

Lord, help me to be fully alive to Your holy presence. Enfold me in Your love. Let my heart become one with Yours.

Freedom

I try to let go of concerns and worries
that may be dragging me down at this present moment.
I place any concerns I have in God’s hands
– at least for these few minutes of prayer.

Consciousness

Father, thank You for sending Your Son to earth to be with me in every experience I have. Thank You that He is with me in a special way in this time of prayer and through Your Word.

The Word of God

⁴⁷Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. ⁴⁸So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹For this reason the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ ⁵⁰so that this generation may be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, ⁵¹from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation. ⁵²Woe to you experts in the law! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³When he went outside, the scribes and the Pharisees became hostile to him and began to interrogate him about many things, ⁵⁴lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.

Inspiration

The Scribes are those who have studied the Law and the prophets and they should have passed on this knowledge to the people. Jesus warns them that they are shutting themselves out from God’s kingdom. Do I look for opportunities to grow in my understanding of my faith?

How well do I try to pass this on to my children? How well do I support my parish in its efforts to spread the Good News of the Gospel? May I never hinder others from entering the kingdom of God by my bad example.

Conversation

What word or phrase has caught my attention from today’s Gospel? I ask the Lord what He wants to say to me through this word…

Conclusion

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.

Amen