"For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.” (Matthew 12: 50).

Tuesday of the 16th week in Ordinary Time is the feast of St Bridget of Sweden (1303 - 1373). St Bridget, a mother of 8 children became a Franciscan tertiary after the death of her husband. She founded a religious order and dedicated her life in contemplation and wrote many ascetical and mystical works.

Our daily bible verse today fits the profile of St Bridget. Through study, prayer and contemplation, she discerned the will of God. She became the sister and mother of Jesus.

Many of us imagine that the will of God is burdensome. Like teenagers, we feel that the will of God constrains our liberty. I thought like this myself until I discovered the intent of God's will through His commandment: "You must keep holy the Lord's Day." I asked myself: 'Why does God give us this commandment?" To punish us? I had worked for decades. Never once did my boss say: "Take off Friday and enjoy yourself. You will receive full pay for the day." This is what Father God does in giving us the 4th Commandment. Every one of the 10 Commandments is to enhance our liberty and enjoyment of life. Satan deceived Adam and Eve about God's intent in asking them not to eat of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden.

"The law of the Lord is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear,
enlightening the eye." (Psalm 19: 8 - 9).

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

"Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”  Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and what he told her." (John 20: 17 - 18).

Monday of the 16th week in Ordinary Time is the Memorial of St Mary Magdalene. St Mary Magdalene is one of the powerful women of the Bible. How did Mary Magdalene earn her place in history?

#1 She knew Jesus personally, touched Him and heard Him.
#2 She provided for Jesus which means she probably cooked His food and washed His clothes and cleaned His sandals.
#3 Mary was one of the few close disciples of Jesus that witnessed the entire passion and death of Jesus from A to Z.
#4 Jesus rewarded her for her loving loyalty by granting her the privilege of being the first to see the Lord after His Resurrection and commissioned her to take the Good News to the Apostles.

My brethren, the love of Christ controlled and compelled the life of Mary Magdalene after this beautiful soul realized what Jesus did for her. (Cf 2 Corinthians 5: 14).
Mary Magdalene must have wondered how she came to love Jesus insanely and then tumbled upon the reason: Jesus the Christ first loved her. (Cf 1 John 4: 19).
Yes, it is true. Jesus first loved us. It the magnetic power of this love that drew us to Jesus. O Mary Magdalene help me to understand the love Jesus has for me.

The Sacred Scriptures proclaim triumphantly: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5: 17). Just as Mary of Magdala becomes a new creation with the embrace of Jesus, so you and I can become the same today.

St Mary Magdalene pray for us.

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

"The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.  There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” (Luke 10: 41 - 42).

Sunday of the 16th week in Ordinary Time. The good news of Jesus today is a word for our time. Go for something that you can always keep.

Martha and Mary are sisters and live in the same house. Their differences in outlook gives Jesus a teaching opportunity to address a problem that harrasses our society today. Our lives are distracted by too many gadgets, information overload and mindless multitasking.

Jesus invites us:
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Matthew 11: 28 - 30).

What if Jesus gives you every morning a list of what to do with the empowerment to accomplish everything on the list with time to spare? This gift can be easily yours if you pray with the Church:
"Help us to know what we should do and give us the courage to do it."
What if you say this prayer every morning?

Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight; I shall place my spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles." (Matthew 12: 18).

Saturday of the 15th week in Ordinary Time. Isaiah tells us that our chosen Scripture verse applies to Jesus the Messiah. Jesus makes a tactical withdrawal from Galilee in order to avoid head on collision with the Pharisees who had decided that Jesus must die. Huge crowd followed Him. He healed all those who were sick. Isaiah affirms the healing ministry of Jesus the Messiah whose mission is to make man whole in body, mind and soul.

Our Responsorial Psalm for today coaches us on how to respond to such a God whose mercy endures forever.

"O give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His love is everlasting!
"He remembered us in our distress.
His love is everlasting!
And he snatched us away from our foes. His love is everlasting!"

"He will not brawl or shout,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. He will not break the crushed reed, nor put out the smouldering wick." (Psalm 136: 11ff).

Although Jesus did not brawl or shout during His public ministry, nor did anyone hear His voice in the street, He was nevertheless tried as a public criminal and suffered the death reserved for the worst criminal. What does this tell us about the plan of our salvation?

Have you not understand that just as the Son of Man must suffer before His victory and triumph, so must we suffer and accept some suffering in our life.
Do you not remember all the miracles performed by Jesus to prove that He is truly God and all His miraculous interventions in our life.

Let us give thanks to God with a shout!

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

"I desire mercy, not sacrifice." (Matthew 12: 7)

Friday of the 15th week in Ordinary Time. The Lord desires mercy and not sacrifice. Jesus Christ is the face of mercy of God the Father.

Jesus appeared to St Maria Faustina, a simple Polish nun in 1931 and declared to her:
"I desire that there be a Feast of Mercy." On April 30th 2000, Maria Faustina was canonized a saint by Pope St John Paul II. John Paul fulfilled the desire of Jesus and proclaimed the Second Sunday in Easter the Solemnity of the Divine Mercy. From that day, Divine Mercy Sunday has been celebrated every 2nd Sunday in Easter.

What is Divine Mercy? Divine Mercy is the mystery of the heart of God who desires mercy for mankind more than any sacrifice or reparation. Jesus commissioned St Maria Faustina to produce the image of Divine Mercy, a sacred image of Himself showing two rays of lights, red and white emanating from His Heart. Jesus wanted these words written at the bottom of the ankle-length priestly robe He was wearing at the time:
JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU!

Today millions of people all over the world celebrate the Divine Mercy Devotions primarily through the Divine Mercy Rosary. The essence of this devotion can be summarized through the ABC OF MERCY:

A. Ask for Mercy.
B. Be Merciful.
C. Completely Trust Jesus for Mercy.

"I desire mercy, not sacrifice." (Matthew 12: 7).

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Matthew 11: 28 - 30).

Thursday of the 15th week in Ordinary Time. The Church commemorates the life of the St Camillus de Lellis, mercenary soldier, homeless down and out, priest, founder of religious order and last but not the least a canonized Saint. It would seem as if the word of life for today was proclaimed solely for the benefit of St Camillus. In fact this word is for all of us.

How many people today find the yoke of marriage unbearable? Or their daily employment? Think about the burden of debt or financial insecurity? Will this century turn out to be the century with the highest suicide rate among the youth? Yet Christ Jesus proclaims in the short Gospel of today: 'Listen to me! O that you will listen to Me! I have a solution to your dilemma. The Good News is that what you call unbearable yoke and burden are tailor-made to fit you alone.'

Four simple steps to turn around your unbearable yoke and transform it into a goldmine:

#1. Embrace God’s gracious will every moment of your life.
#2. Enjoy the Presence of Jesus in the Sacrament of the Present Moment.
#3. Learn to offer continuously a Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving.
#4. Learn the power of Sweet Surrender.

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." (Revelation 3: 20).

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike." (Matthew 11: 25).

Wednesday of the 15th week in Ordinary Time. Who are the childlike that Jesus speaks about in our Scripture verse for today? What has the Father revealed to them?

"I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." (Exodus 3: 6). God reveals to Moses in the burning bush. Then we read from Psalm 103: "He has made known His ways to Moses."

The childlike therefore are people like Moses, David, Elijah, Mary, Paul, Mother Teresa, Sister Angelica whom God makes known His inner life and His ways. God who does not ration His Holy Spirit is pleased to make the same revelation to any of His children.

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com