Memorial of St. Dominic

Deuteronomy 6:4-13

Psalm 18:2-3a, 3bc-4, 47 and 51

M atthew 17:14-20  And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and kneeling before him said, (15) "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; for often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. (16) And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him." (17) And Jesus answered, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me." (18) And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. (19) Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" (20) He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, `Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will  be impossible to you." 

M editation by Deb Fortina

Deuteronomy 6: 4-13 “…’Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.’....”

Psalm 18: 2-3a, 3bc-4, 47 and 51 “…I love you, Lord, my strength...”

Matthew 17: 14-20 “…‘Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘ Move from here to there,’ and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you.”

M emorial of Saint Dominic. (1170 to 1221)  Founded the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) in 1215.  He was a contemplative who spent his life in active apostolic work.  He sensed a need to restore Church teachings and combat the heresy of Albigensianism, which denied the Incarnation and sacraments because they believed all matter was evil.  St. Dominic was able to connect with the everyday ordinary people by presenting himself in their same socio-economic status.  The ordinary people came to see the problem with the heresy, but to some of the elites, Dominic’s look was too common.

Today’s message in the readings hit home in a particular way.  I felt like Moses pulled me aside and spoke to me in my generation, reminding me to keep God first.  It was remarkable in another way, as I saw how little we change from one generation to the next.  The message could so easily have been written to our generation as we live and move seemingly without stopping so much of the time.  We need the encouragement to teach our children, and keep the thought in front of ourselves, on our wrists, or on our foreheads.   The message was so practical and down to earth; I really felt like I could relate and apply it to my life today as I worry I’m supposed to fix the world I live in by myself.   Another dimension of the message also seemed practical for each generation.  In Deuteronomy, when the LORD delivers the people to the promised land, where everything will be already built and in good shape He tells them not to forget the LORD, or from where they have come.  I think it is human nature to forget when life gets easier.  It is why we have to remind each generation of the tough times, and of how far we can move from our Creator’s Will if we forget to include him in our daily lives, to live in Christ.

In the Gospel reading, Jesus is teaching on the same subject, for how does our Faith really grow, except to let our relationship with God grow.  The disciples are surprised when they can not dislodge the demon from a man’s son, but Jesus does so with no trouble.  So, they ask him why and he tells them, “Because of your little faith.  Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20-21).  We make these same errors in judgment today; and I am grateful for the small reminders, that come in the form of Scripture, or even in the form of trouble.  So, today we are reminded to grow in Faith by loving the LORD God with our whole hearts, with our whole soul and with all our strength; pretty simple.  May we continue to see the little reminders that come our way, when our day, our life doesn’t quite go the way we’d like it to go; for nothing about life is impossible for those who have Faith.  God Bless all of us on the planet.

S upplementary Reading

More Room by Bo Sanchez

… But those who seek the Lord lack for no good thing. – Psalm 34:11

I only had P9,000 left in my savings, tucked away in my desk drawer. Actually, I still had some P700 in my wallet but, even with that, I was probably the poorest chairman of the board in this universe. Then someone called up to say that her daughter was in the hospital. She needed P9,000 pronto! “Why do You always ask for all I have?” I whispered under my breath. Then I told her to pick up her money.

Shortly, another friend barged through our front door, weeping over her family problems and ended with, “Bo, can you give me P500?” I started laughing. “Not P700?” I pulled out my wallet and gave her P500. As I did that, a crumpled paper popped out of my wallet — it was another P500!

Suddenly, I felt God was telling me it was “miracle” time.

I went to my room to count the P9,000 in my drawer for my other needy friend. When I reached P11,000, I stopped, realizing that I had more money than I thought. Finally, when I reached P15,000, I knelt down, cried a little, and prayed, “Lord, You’re something else.”

I felt my Lord speak to my heart, “As you give your all, you will be empty. But in your emptiness, you will have more room for Me.”

R EFLECTION:

What is the Lord asking from you? Are you willing to offer it?

Grant me the grace, Lord, to give You what You ask for. Let me have more room for You.