30Jun
Sun
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
2 Kgs. 4:8-11,14-16a
Ps. 89:2-3,16-17, 18-19,20
Rom. 6:3-4,8-11
Mt. 10:37-42
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"If we have died with Christ, we believe that we are also to live with Him." Paul seems to establish a sequence: we must die with Christ first and only then can we come to believe in the resurrection which is our own personal destiny.

Today's Gospel tells us something of what that dying with Christ could mean. Jesus' call to love Him more than father or mother, son or daughter is always puzzling, especially when our translations use the word "hate" in this context. It is always, then, helpful to try to express in different terms what we consider to be Jesus' meaning. We will never be Christians in the fullest sense if we remain ensconced and comfortable within the confines of our own families and never reach out to the stranger and the lost, the other and the different. That reaching out requires some dying to oneself. A good family is, of course, a blessing, and being such a great blessing it is the perfect base from which to open up to others who are not so blessed. Looking beyond one's immediate family to others will keep one's family alive with a joyous sense of the resurrection.



Lord, grant us the grace to keep an open heart for those who look to us for acceptance and help, understanding and concern.

DAILY OFFERING
Eternal Father, I offer You everything I do this day; my thoughts, words, joys and sufferings. Grant that, vivified by the Holy Spirit and united to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, my life this day may be of service to You and to others. I also pray that all those preparing for marriage discover in Sacrament the source of Christ's grace for living a fithful and fruitful love. Amen.

PRAYING WITH THE CHURCH
INTENTION
That the leaders and members of different religions may co-operate in their search for world peace, based on conversion of hearts and brotherly dialogue.
Elaboration

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P R A Y I N G    W I T H    T H E    C H U R C H    

INTENTION : That the leaders and members of different religions may co-operate in their search for world peace, based on conversion of hearts and brotherly dialogue.

While respecting others' beliefs, all religions are called on to form a spiritual United Nations under the common denominator of belief in God who unites us all. We as believers are asked to place our particular faith at the service of the common human good.

This religious goal of humanism should manifest itself in healthy co-operation and not mere coexistence among all the men and women in the world. The universal criterion for achieving a basic common denominator among all the religions is moving from instinctive and sentimental dimensions to social and spiritual ones. And the influence of religions on millions of people is so deep it can be said that without religious peace there cannot be world peace. "Religion and peace go together: unleashing a war in the name of religion is an obvious contradiction". (John Paul II).

Therefore, we must neutralise our disorderly inclinations: selfishness, pride, ambition, lust for money and power, self-sufficiency, a superiority complex. We cannot be at peace with ourselves if we are not at peace with God.




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