Tag: matthew7:17

One Minute Reflection – 26 June – Wednesday of the Twelfth week in Ordinary Time, Gospel: Matthew 7:15–20

“Every good tree bears good fruit”...Matthew 7:17

REFLECTION – “In a culture paradoxically suffering from anonymity and at the same time obsessed with the details of other people’s lives, shamelessly given over to morbid curiosity, the Church must look more closely and sympathetically at others whenever necessary.   In our world, ordained ministers and other pastoral workers can make present the fragrance of Christ’s closeness and His personal gaze.   The Church will have to initiate everyone – priests, religious and laity – into this “art of accompaniment” which teaches us to remove our sandals before the sacred ground of the other (cf. Ex 3:5).   The pace of this accompaniment must be steady and reassuring, reflecting our closeness and our compassionate gaze which also heals, liberates and encourages growth in the Christian life…

Today more than ever we need men and women who, on the basis of their experieevangeliigaudium169-171,nce of accompanying others, are familiar with processes which call for prudence, understanding, patience and docility to the Spirit, so that they can protect the sheep from wolves who would scatter the flock.   We need to practice the art of listening, which is more than simply hearing.   Listening, in communication, is an openness of heart which makes possible that closeness without which genuine spiritual encounter cannot occur. Listening helps us to find the right gesture and word which shows that we are more than simply bystanders.   Only through such respectful and compassionate listening, can we enter on the paths of true growth and awaken a yearning for the Christian ideal – the desire to respond fully to God’s love and to bring to fruition what He has sown in our lives.”…Pope Francis – Apostolic Exhortation « Evangelii Gaudium / The Joy of the gospel #169-171

PRAYER – Enable me loving Father, to live a life of purity that will make me live in You. Let me be so united with You that whatever I might ask will be in total accord with Your will for me.   Bl Jacques Ghazir Haddad, your tireless work and preaching for the glory of the Kingdom show us the way to sanctification, please intercede for us all.   May Mary our Mother of Compassion, be our constant companion.   We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen.