THURSDAY OF THE SIXTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, JULY 23, 2020

MASS READINGS:

A Gospel according to Matthew 13:10-17

The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?” He said to them in reply, “Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand. Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:

You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be converted and I heal them.

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

REFLECTION: "Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

How many people did Jesus appear to after the resurrection? Mary Magdalene, Thomas and the rest of the Apostles...

Some times I hear people say how much better the world would be if Jesus will appear to all of us, and show His might and power.

But I disagree..

If Jesus was still among us, we might feel like Heaven is something unattainable. Imagine seeing a person that is over 2000 years old walking in all His power and might among us. At least, I would actually fear Him. This eternal being gives us the impossible task of following Him and His commands.

Instead He has given us the most beautiful present so we can eventually join Him in Heaven: The Priesthood.

The priest, our priests, are the living image of God in this world: They relay His words to us for our consolation. They give us His Holy Body and Blood for our spiritual nourishment, forgive our sins in His name, so we can start anew. They impart all the other Sacraments for our salvation. They help build a civilization of love and His Kingdom on this earth.

Can you imagine how more saintly Moses, Jeremiah, Isaiah, David, and all those prophets and characters of the Old Testament would have been if they had been nourished with the Eucharist or with the consolation of the Sacrament of reconciliation?

How much more blessed are we who can receive Him daily if we want to!

We always start our PAPA Prayer asking God the Father to look upon the Face of His Son and to have mercy on His priests.

Next time you see your priest, imagine him truly being the face of Christ on earth. They carry our burdens and bring them to God in the altar. They gave up their lives so we can literally go to Heaven and be with God.

I'd like to finish this blog with a prayer by St. Therese of Lisieux for the priests. This is a reminder of why we pray for priests: that they never falter in their mission, that they be saints and that they never do anything that is unworthy of their vocation:

"O Jesus, eternal Priest,
keep your priests within the shelter of Your Sacred Heart,
where none may touch them.
Keep unstained their anointed hands,
which daily touch Your Sacred Body.
Keep unsullied their lips,
daily purpled with your Precious Blood.
Keep pure and unearthly their hearts,
sealed with the sublime mark of the priesthood.
Let Your holy love surround them and
shield them from the world’s contagion.
Bless their labors with abundant fruit and
may the souls to whom they minister be their joy and consolation here and in heaven their beautiful and
everlasting crown."

--St. Therese of Lisieux’s Prayer for Priests