Daily Mass Reading & Meditation for Thursday, 28 August 2014 Catholic Meditations

Daily Mass Reading & Meditation for Thursday, 28 August 2014 Catholic Meditations
Meditation: 1 Corinthians 1:1-2 I, Paul, have been called and sent by Jesus, the Messiah, according to God’s plan, along with my friend Sosthenes. I send this letter to you in God’s church at Corinth, believers cleaned up by Jesus and set apart for a God-filled life. I include in my greeting all who call out to Jesus, wherever they live. He’s their Master as well as ours!
3 May all the gifts and benefits that come from God our Father, and the Master, Jesus Christ, be yours.
4-6 Every time I think of you—and I think of you often!—I thank God for your lives of free and open access to God, given by Jesus. There’s no end to what has happened in you—it’s beyond speech, beyond knowledge. The evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in your lives.
7-9 Just think—you don’t need a thing, you’ve got it all! All God’s gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that.
Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
You are not lacking in any spiritual gift. (1 Corinthians 1:7)
Scientists tell us that DNA is the master plan behind every living organism—including ourselves. This one tiny molecule holds all the data that determines a person’s gender, eye color, height, susceptibility to various diseases, and, according to some researchers, parts of the individual’s personality. In a number of ways, DNA is what makes us—us. It’s all there ready to burst out. We have no control over it, but in God’s perfect plan, it comes out at just the right moment.
Did you know that you also have a spiritual DNA? Scripture tells us that God “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens … before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:3, 4). That’s you! You have every heavenly grace you will ever need. It’s all there, inside of you, ready to burst out at just the right moment. Grace to say no to temptation? It’s already there. Grace to share your faith? That too! What about the grace to love someone who gets on your nerves? Yes, even that!
What’s more, you have the Holy Spirit at work in your heart, cultivating it so that all these spiritual gifts can have the greatest effect possible.
So why don’t we always see this grace active in us? It could be because we’re too busy. It could be because we’re not used to looking for grace. But another key reason may be that we are used to focusing on our failings and weaknesses more than on the grace that is in us. But even when we lose sight of our great potential, God doesn’t! Like any good architect, he knows exactly how he built us, and he longs to see us use every tool he has given us.
Today, make it a point to repeat this statement over and over: “I am loved by God. He has a perfect plan for my life. He has equipped me for every challenge I may face. I am fearfully, wonderfully made!” Never forget that God sees your potential. Never forget that his Son gave up his life so that you can become the you he created you to be!
“Thank you, Father, for all the grace and blessings you have given me. Teach me how to open these mighty gifts and use them for your glory.” Amen!
Psalms 145:2 I’ll bless you every day,
    and keep it up from now to eternity.
3 God is magnificent; he can never be praised enough.
    There are no boundaries to his greatness.
4 Generation after generation stands in awe of your work;
    each one tells stories of your mighty acts.
5 Your beauty and splendor have everyone talking;
    I compose songs on your wonders.
6 Your marvelous doings are headline news;
    I could write a book full of the details of your greatness.
7 The fame of your goodness spreads across the country;
    your righteousness is on everyone’s lips.
Matthew 24:39-44 “The Son of Man’s Arrival will be like that: Two men will be working in the field—one will be taken, one left behind; two women will be grinding at the mill—one will be taken, one left behind. So stay awake, alert. You have no idea what day your Master will show up. But you do know this: You know that if the homeowner had known what time of night the burglar would arrive, he would have been there with his dogs to prevent the break-in. Be vigilant just like that. You have no idea when the Son of Man is going to show up.
45-47 “Who here qualifies for the job of overseeing the kitchen? A person the Master can depend on to feed the workers on time each day. Someone the Master can drop in on unannounced and always find him doing his job. A God-blessed man or woman, I tell you. It won’t be long before the Master will put this person in charge of the whole operation.
48-51 “But if that person only looks out for himself, and the minute the Master is away does what he pleases—abusing the help and throwing drunken parties for his friends—the Master is going to show up when he least expects it and make hash of him. He’ll end up in the dump with the hypocrites, out in the cold shivering, teeth chattering.”
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