#the parable of the net

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Pictures of the Kingdom

31 Another parable He put before them. "The Kingdom of the Heavens," He said, "is like a mustard-seed, which a man takes and sows in his ground. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, and yet when full-grown it is larger than any herb and forms a tree, so that the birds come and build in its branches." 33 Another parable He spoke to them. "The Kingdom of the Heavens," He said, "is like yeast which a woman takes and buries in a bushel of flour, for it to work there till the whole mass has risen."

44 "The Kingdom of the Heavens is like treasure buried in the open country, which a man finds, but buries again, and, in his joy about it, goes and sells all he has and buys that piece of ground. 45 "Again the Kingdom of the Heavens is like a jewel merchant who is in quest of choice pearls. 46 He finds one most costly pearl; he goes away; and though it costs all he has, he buys it. 47 "Again the Kingdom of the Heavens is like a draw-net let down into the sea, which encloses fish of all sorts. 48 When full, they haul it up on the beach, and sit down and collect the good fish in baskets, while the worthless they throw away. 49 So will it be at the Close of the Age. The angels will go forth and separate the wicked from among the righteous, 50 and will throw them into the fiery furnace. There will be the weeping aloud and the gnashing of teeth." 51 "Have you understood all this?" He asked. "Yes," they said. 52 "Therefore," He said, "remember that every Scribe well trained for the Kingdom of the Heavens is like a householder who brings out of his storehouse new things and old." — Matthew 13:31-33 and 44-52 | Weymouth New Testament (WNT) The Weymouth New Testament Bible is in the public domain Cross References: Genesis 18:6; Judges 6:19; Job 28:13; Psalm 104:12; Proverbs 2:4; Song of Solomon 7:13; Ezekiel 17:23; Ezekiel 47:10; Daniel 3:6; Matthew 4:18; Matthew 7:6; Matthew 8:12; Matthew 13:24; Matthew 13:53; Matthew 17:20; Matthew 25:32; Revelation 18:12

[eustacedekolta]

/754298677486632960/apparently-not-everyone-feels-that-the-book-of plz explain. i am both horrified and intrigued.

i was going OFF writing a reply to this but i realized i sounded uncategorically insane???? so OKAY. long story short it jus boils down to: elder cunningham wants nabulungi and elder price MAAAAAANNNN I SWEAR HE DOES. and there is literally nothing stopping him from making that a reality for himself. so like. that's just the canon ending to me. not because i like it but because it just makes sense. LKGHJSHKLJDRLHKJDG

[givingchrist]

Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth

One of the problems with describing our existence after death is the limitations of words. Words have meaning because we can relate them to experience. If you have never experienced anything even similar to the glory of Heaven and the New Earth then all you can do is explain what is not there. Similarly, if you have not experienced the depth of sorrow, pain or hopelessness that characterizes…

[friarmusings]

The Net Cast Widely

This coming Sunday is the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind.” The net pictured here is a large dragnet, usually about six feet deep and up to several hundred feet wide, positioned in the lake by boats and requiring several men to operate (hence the plurals of v. 48). The picture is realistic, portraying…

[preacheroftruthblog]

The Parable of the Net

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.  When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad.  So it will be at the close of the age.  The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace.  In that place there will be weeping…

[incorrectstanleyparablequotes]

The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is coming out of the screen and into your hands! Crows Crows Crows have partnered with iam8bit to bring you The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe in physical format. That’s right, we’ve printed out the whole game, photocopied it a bunch of times, and stuffed it into disks, just for you.

Pre-orders will be limited, so make sure you get yours when they go live on THURSDAY 28TH MARCH: 9AM PST.

There are two versions available for preorder: the Retail Edition comes with four art cards of your favourite Stanley Parable locations. The Collector's Edition comes with a Reassurance Bucket creation manual, sticker set and a 5" PVC Stanley figurine as well as exclusive box cover art by Faith Oztürk, and a soundtrack download code.

You’ll also be able to pick up additional items like the 2 disk 12” Soundtrack on vinyl, the CopyConductor 980 TX Instructional Audio Tape, and The Button That Says The Name Of The Player Playing The Game.

20% of net profits will be donated to the non-profit 350.org to help fight climate change.

And here's the link one last time:

[confusedraven1]

i absolutely love that jim is the one to keep the heart of stede’s crew alive while ed did everything he could to destroy it.

one of the first comments ed makes to stede’s crew in season 1 is “everyone’s covered in rope!” so what does jim do? literally covers themself in rope, to remind ed that, as long as they’re alive, that hope and love isn’t going anywhere.

not only that, but, in the bible, rope is a symbolism for trust and security. jim became a secure place for the crew to tie themselves to while just trying to stay alive.

of course, i then had to look into why they have a fishing net around their shoulders as well, and found The Fishing Net Parable from the Book of Matthew (13:47-52):

"Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.”

“This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

jim amputates izzy’s leg, despite having never done it before. they quite literally separate him from the rotten bits to save his life.

jim says, “he was your friend.” they separate ed from who he was before from who he’s allowed himself to become, not to punish him, but to remind him of the consequences of his actions.

jim tells izzy point blank, “you’re in an unhealthy relationship with blackbeard.” they aren’t trying to break them up; they’re just bringing to light whats true so things can (hopefully) get better.

jim shows archie that, just because pirating is normally done a certain way, doesn’t mean it has to—they separate archie from the toxic belief that “that’s just how things are, it’s just life,” and “why save him if he’s a dick?”

jim tries to separate the idea from the crew that ed is fine, because they immediately recognize that things are about to get much worse: “so, do we think he’s better?” “FUCK no!”

jim immediately says, “wasn’t the wedding thing a bit over the line?” they know they’re all pirates and have questionable morals anyway, but knows it was fucked up of them to massacre a wedding, an event that’s supposed to be joyful and full of life and beginnings, not death and destruction. they’re, again, dividing up the way things are vs. how they could (and should) be.

ed tries to pin them all dying on jim cause they wouldn’t kill archie, but they bite back with, “you would’ve done it anyway!” they know exactly where the lies are, and separates them from the truth, and ed can’t deny it.

jim separates themself (and olu) from the bounds of monogamy through their honesty. olu is still their best friend and lover and family even though they found and did things with someone else.

jim holds out their hand for olu to take when they’re escaping the red flag. olu’s interest in zheng yi sao isn’t bad and jim’s not trying to separate them, but is trying to keep together the things that are good: their family.

(later addition, edit) jim is also the one that “kills” ed. they’re the one to make that final choice, to say, “it’s you or us.” jim’s actions and choices entire first two episodes led them to that moment, like it was the “final judgment” of blackbeard.

jim is the rope and net of the crew. they’re trust and security and honesty, everything that stede was trying to get the crew to understand from day 1, everything stede is always trying to embody (and i dare say is starting to succeed at).

[smileyerim]

loving you is easy

i can say that lovin’ you is easy

i don’t need to prove a single thing

somewhere along the way i guess you got under my skin

inspired by easy by mac ayres

pairing: husband!jeong jaehyun x reader

genre: fluff (tooth rotting if you will) !!MDNI!!

length: 600+

warnings: none

net tags: @neowritingsnet @kflixnet

You’ve heard it said, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

The parable never connected with you exactly until this morning— the first morning in your first home. You’re lying in bed, the same mattress you’ve had since college, and staring at the ceiling fan as it spins, gradually slowing on each rotation from where Jaehyun flipped the switch on his was out of the room when you complained you were cold. Soon enough the design of the fan blades will be familiar. Soon enough this room will feel like your bedroom. Soon enough, your boxes will be unpacked and you and your things will call this house your home.

“What’s goin’ on?” Jaehyun says, shocking you out of your reverie. Your eyes had been trailing one fan blade for probably far too long, so he’s a bit blurry from your disoriented perspective. Ignoring the fuzziness behind your eyes as you sit up a little too quickly, you smile at your husband.

He smiles back, of course, and takes your grin as an invitation to climb back into bed with you. Soon enough your head is on his bare chest and you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. Jaehyun always seemed to do that for you, relax you immediately.

His hand that’s stroking on the back of your head stops when he speaks, “I’ll unpack the kitchen today if you can do the master bathroom.” He proposes a compromise, but frankly the only thing you care about is getting him to keep petting your head.

You frown and wrap your fingers around his slim wrist to move it up and down on the back of your hair. He catches on and with a knowing chuckle his hand starts moving independently.

“You’ll fall asleep if I keep doing this, you know.” He sasses and you sigh again, nuzzling your head and squeezing your arm around his neck closer.

“Mm, okay.” You hum, smiling into his chest and landing a kiss just nearly west of his nipple.

He lets out a true laugh this time and squeezes you back a bit tighter.

With a sigh he replies, “I just can’t say no to you, can I?”

You smirk, the hand that was around his neck coming up with your head to look him in the eye and make a whipping movement, mimicking the sound of a whip crashing with your voice to tease him.

He rolls his eye and pulls you down to cuddle into him again, “Shut up.” is all he says with a groan into your hair and the corners of your mouth turn up again.

You don’t say anything for a while, just enjoying the feeling of being held by your husband.

It’s amazing how far you’ve come— and that you’ve done it all together. From being college sweethearts, to the most heart wrenching break up of your life, to getting back together after you realized you needed eachother, all of it led you to here. It is true, the more that things change, the more they stay the same. No matter how many times you move homes, or change jobs, or take a big step in adulthood Jaehyun has stood as the rock through it all. You fall more and more in love with Jaehyun each time he stays by your side through a life change.

“Whatcha thinkin’ about?” He says softly and the fan has finally stopped its rotations.

Instead of fleshing out all of your complicated emotions, you tell him the same truth very simply.

“Loving you is easy.”

He doesn’t respond verbally, just lands a kiss on your forehead and nuzzles his nose into your hair. You smile, he knew exactly what you meant.

“I’m going to go start breakfast. You want watermelon or apples today?”

You smile again, yeah, you think, this is where I’m meant to be.

[morsmortish]

this probably doesn't work with the chinese black family headcanon (and with the magical world in general), but i can't stop thinking about walburga as the daughter of two religious fanatics, speding her afternoons reading the bible in her room as a child and, on halloween, praying to god to save the souls of all the children who stopped at her house asking for sweets...

honestly all my hcs exist in various aus from canon…is canon reg chinese? nope! but i will write extensively about how him being chinese fits into the same series of events as canon, and how he is influenced by this culture and what it means for the story? yep! but it is still an alternate universe where the house of black are not white (because let’s be real. in canon, they are. sadly.)

and this. the house of black alternatively existing as part of an extremist christian faction…that’s the SHIT! thinking something more akin to a cult, like scientology or likewise. not much space for original ideas or individualism or even existing much outside of one’s faith, until who one becomes is intrinsically linked to the values of the church…okay! i see you!

walburga is taught wrong and right more in the sense of sinful or not sinful. she recites psalms and proverbs and parables, but beneath that, she lacks a true sense of identity. perhaps it scares her when she sees her own children start to experiment with self-expression and/or existing outside of the religious values she raises them on. this freedom of deciding one’s identity is something she never had, and watching her children reject what she believes to be the ‘safety net’ of religion is so terrifying to her. for walburga, as long as her faith is strong, she is protected. she’s never know any other way. and all she wants as a mother is to protect her children, but watching them start to form their own paths, away from her, away from religion, away from purity and safety…

[myremnantarmy]

𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥

Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Mt13:47-53

Jesus said to the disciples:

“The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,

which collects fish of every kind.

When it is full they haul it ashore

and sit down to put what is good into buckets.

What is bad they throw away.

Thus it will be at the end of the age.

The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous

and throw them into the fiery furnace,

where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

“Do you understand all these things?”

They answered, “Yes.”

And he replied,

“Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven

is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom

both the new and the old.”

When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.

[2sw]

In tragedy, the twist of the net which brings down the hero may be an accident or hazard of circumstance, but the mesh is woven into the heart of life. Tragedy would have us know that there is in the very fact of human existence a provocation or paradox; it tells us that the purposes of men sometimes run against the grain of inexplicable and destructive forces that lie "outside" yet very close. To ask of the gods why Oedipus should have been chosen for his agony or why Macbeth should have met the Witches on his path, is to ask for reason and justification from the voiceless night. There is no answer. Why should there be? If there was, we would be dealing with just or unjust suffer­ing, as do parables and cautionary tales, not with tragedy. And beyond the tragic, there lies no "happy ending" in some other dimension of place or time. The wounds are not healed and the broken spirit is not mended. In the norm of tragedy, there can be no compensation. The mind, says I. A. Richards, does not shy away from anything, it does not protect itself with any illusion, it stands uncomforted, alone and self reliant. . . . The least touch of any theology which has a compensating Heaven to offer the tragic hero is fatal. The Death of Tragedy by George Steiner

[appldino]

OH MY GOSH FINALLY A LATVIAN TUMBLR USER. I have scoured the net for ages. Seeked for one in the darkest depths of like every slightly weird (/pos) person I meet. AND FINALLY. A FLASH OF LIGHT. A BEACON IN THE DARKNESS.

A LATVIAN MIKU ARTPIECE.

🙏in conclusion your art is good and I also love The Stanley Parable so I'm following :]

This makes me INCREDIBLY happy YES!!!!!

Another Latvian TSP fans Im collecting you guys like pokemon

Also thank you I appreciate that a lot:•)))

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

1st August >> Fr. Martin's Reflections / Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Thursday, Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Matthew 13:47-53): ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea’.

Thursday, Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Except USA) Matthew 13:47-53 The fishermen collect the good fish and throw away those that are no use.

Jesus said to the crowds: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea that brings in a haul of all kinds. When it is full, the fishermen haul it ashore; then, sitting down, they collect the good ones in a basket and throw away those that are no use. This is how it will be at the end of time: the angels will appear and separate the wicked from the just to throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. ‘Have you understood all this?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ And he said to them, ‘Well then, every scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out from his storeroom things both new and old.’ When Jesus had finished these parables he left the district.

Gospel (USA) Matthew 13:47-53 They put what is good into buckets, what is bad they throw away.

Jesus said to the disciples: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” “Do you understand all these things?” They answered, “Yes.” And he replied, “Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.” When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.

Reflections (5)

(i) Thursday, Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

The parable in today’s gospel reading presupposes the practice of the fishermen on the Sea of Galilee dragging a large net between two boats or drawing it towards the land after it has been dropped in the sea. Such a way of fishing would have drawn in a very large variety of fish, some of which could have been sold at the market place and others which could only be thrown away. Jesus is suggesting that his ministry casts a very wide net. He had earlier said in this gospel, in the setting of the Sermon on the Mount, that ‘your Father in heaven… makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends his rain on the righteous and the unrighteous’ (Mt 5:45). This indiscriminate nature of God’s generous providing love is reflecting in the broad, inclusive, ministry of Jesus. Like the sower, Jesus casts the seed of his word with abandon. Jesus reveals a God who seeks to embrace all sorts, without exception. Jesus did not reject what was far from perfect, because he understood that all were on a journey towards God. He was at home with tax collectors and sinners, with the weaknesses and frailties of others, knowing that God’s love at work through him could recreate all who came to him and help them to become all that God was calling them to be. Yet, having been embraced by the Lord’s love, conversion is required of us. We need to allow ourselves to be embraced by the Lord. We need to keep turning towards the one who is always turned towards us in love, so that we can live loving lives in the strength he gives us.

And/Or

(ii) Thursday, Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

The parable of the dragnet cast into the sea suggests that at the end of time there will be a separation out of the good from the wicked. However, this is God’s work and it will happen at the end of time. We often make the mistake of thinking that it is our work and that it should happen in the course of time. We can be prone to deciding who is good and who is bad here and now and behaving in the light of that judgement. Yet, when we make such a judgement, we are prone to getting it wrong. We see the good in ourselves more easily than the good in others and the bad in others more easily than the bad in ourselves. We also fail to appreciate that people can change for the better, with God’s help. The image of God as the potter in this morning’s first reading suggests that God can take what comes out wrong in our lives and reshape it into something good. We are all a work in progress. God may have begun a good work in us but God has yet to bring it to completion. Judgement belongs to God at the end of time, and the judging God is also the creator God who is constantly at work to bring good out of evil and new life out of what has come out wrong. As humans, we should be very slow to take on God’s work of separating the good from the evil. As Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians, ‘Do not pronounce judgement before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness’.

And/Or

(iii) Thursday, Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

Much of Jesus’ ministry was around the shores of the Sea of Galilee. The sight of fishermen casting a large dragnet into the sea would have been an everyday occurrence. All kinds of fish – clean and unclean from a Jewish point of view – would have been caught in such a net. Jesus declares in today’s gospel reading that the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, is like this everyday reality. Because Jesus announced that the kingdom of God was present in his own ministry, he is really saying that his own ministry has something of the quality of the casting of the dragnet. There was nothing selective about Jesus’ ministry. He cast a very wide net which embraced those considered clean and unclean according to the Jewish Law. Jesus revealed and continues to reveal a gracious God who has no favourites. If God present in Jesus has favourites it is those regarded by others as ‘sinners’, just as a doctor favours the sick over the healthy. Jesus is saying that you don’t have to be ‘good’ to be grasped by God’s reign present in his ministry. The parable also declares that just as the fishermen sit down by the shore of the sea, to separate out the good fish from the bad, so at the end of time there will be a separation of the good and the bad. God’s grace embraces us all, but we need to respond to that grace. Jesus reveals a God who loves us before we love God. He assures us that we stand within God’s love; we are God’s beloved. Yet, he also calls on us to keep on receiving that love so that we can love others as God has loved us. We are to allow God’s goodness towards us to make us good or, at least, to keep us on the path towards personal goodness, so that, in the words of Paul, we ‘may be blameless before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints’.

And/Or

(iv) Thursday, Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

The parable in today’s gospel reading is based on one of the standard ways of fishing in the Sea of Galilee at the time of Jesus. Two boats pull a very large dragnet between them. As a result, all sorts of fish are caught. Some of the fish would not be suitable for selling at the local fish market, and, so, when the catch is brought to land, these fish would have to be separated out from the fish that could be sold. In what way is the kingdom of heaven like that everyday reality by the Sea of Galilee? Perhaps Jesus is suggesting that as he goes about his ministry, he casts the net of God’s loving presence very broadly. The gospel is preached to all and sundry; Jesus does not discriminate. Everyone needs to hear the gospel of God’s unconditional love for all. No one is considered unworthy of the gospel. As Jesus says elsewhere in Matthew’s gospel, using a different image, God makes his sun to shine and his rain to fall on good and bad alike. However, Jesus is aware that not everyone will respond to his proclamation of the reign of God’s merciful and faithful love. Just as the fishermen have to separate out fish which can be sold from fish that can’t, so there will come a moment, at the end of time, when God will separate out those who tried to respond to Jesus’ proclamation of God’s loving presence and those who refused to do so. In the meantime, the Lord continues to throw the net of God’s love over our lives and his grace at work within us continues to move us to respond. The Lord does not give up on us, even if our initial response leaves a lot to be desired. He is like the potter in the first reading who keeps shaping our lives, taking even what is wrong in our lives and making something new and good from it. We, of course, are not passive clay in the Lord’s hands. We can help the efforts of the potter by continuing to open ourselves to his loving work in our lives, or we can hinder his work.

And/Or

(v) Thursday, Seventeenth week in Ordinary Time

Day to day human experience often speaks to us about God’s relationship with us and our relationship with God. For the prophet Jeremiah, the potter at his wheel speaks of God’s ability to reshape our lives when they come out wrong. God does not give up on us when our lives do not turn out as God desires for us, just as the potter does not give up on the clay when the vessel he is trying to make comes out wrong. God can work on lives that are out of shape. Whenever we turn out wrong, and we all turn out wrong from time to time, we can be tempted to give up on ourselves, to lose heart. However, at such moments. God’s way of looking upon us is very different. God always sees the potential for good in us. Like the potter, he recognizes that there is material here to work on. We all need to learn to see ourselves and others more as God sees us. Jesus also saw in the daily event of fishermen catching all kinds of fish an image of how God was relating to people in his own ministry. God, through Jesus, was casting his net far and wide without making distinctions. Jesus was drawing all sorts of people into the new community he was gathering about himself. He was revealing the God who makes his sun to shine on the bad and the good alike. He shared table with those considered sinners and those who were regarded as holy. The net of God’s abundant love is always being cast over all, as the fishermen bring in all kinds of fish in their nets. As we are drawn into the net of God’s love we are called to open ourselves to his love and allow ourselves to be shaped by it, as clay is shaped by the potter. There will be a separation at the end, as the parable suggests, but it won’t be based on God’s preferences because God’s love embraces all, but on whether or not, over time, we open ourselves up to God’s loving, renewing, presence in our lives.  

Fr. Martin Hogan.

[the-october-country]

Poem in October

by Dylan Thomas

It was my thirtieth year to heaven Woke to my hearing from harbour and neighbour wood    And the mussel pooled and the heron            Priested shore        The morning beckon With water praying and call of seagull and rook And the knock of sailing boats on the net webbed wall        Myself to set foot            That second In the still sleeping town and set forth.

   My birthday began with the water- Birds and the birds of the winged trees flying my name    Above the farms and the white horses            And I rose        In rainy autumn And walked abroad in a shower of all my days. High tide and the heron dived when I took the road        Over the border            And the gates Of the town closed as the town awoke.

   A springful of larks in a rolling Cloud and the roadside bushes brimming with whistling    Blackbirds and the sun of October            Summery        On the hill's shoulder, Here were fond climates and sweet singers suddenly Come in the morning where I wandered and listened        To the rain wringing            Wind blow cold In the wood faraway under me.

   Pale rain over the dwindling harbour And over the sea wet church the size of a snail    With its horns through mist and the castle            Brown as owls        But all the gardens Of spring and summer were blooming in the tall tales Beyond the border and under the lark full cloud.        There could I marvel            My birthday Away but the weather turned around.

   It turned away from the blithe country And down the other air and the blue altered sky    Streamed again a wonder of summer            With apples        Pears and red currants And I saw in the turning so clearly a child's Forgotten mornings when he walked with his mother        Through the parables            Of sun light And the legends of the green chapels

   And the twice told fields of infancy That his tears burned my cheeks and his heart moved in mine.    These were the woods the river and sea            Where a boy        In the listening Summertime of the dead whispered the truth of his joy To the trees and the stones and the fish in the tide.        And the mystery            Sang alive Still in the water and singingbirds.

   And there could I marvel my birthday Away but the weather turned around. And the true    Joy of the long dead child sang burning            In the sun.        It was my thirtieth Year to heaven stood there then in the summer noon Though the town below lay leaved with October blood.        O may my heart's truth            Still be sung On this high hill in a year's turning.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

1st August >> Mass Readings (USA)

Saint Alphonsus Mary de' Liguori, Bishop, Doctor 

on

Thursday, Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time.

Thursday, Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Colour: White. Year: B(II))

(Readings for the feria (Thursday))

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Thursday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading Jeremiah 18:1-6 Like the clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, house of Israel.

This word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: Rise up, be off to the potter’s house; there I will give you my message. I went down to the potter’s house and there he was, working at the wheel. Whenever the object of clay which he was making turned out badly in his hand, he tried again, making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased. Then the word of the LORD came to me: Can I not do to you, house of Israel, as this potter has done? says the LORD. Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, house of Israel.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 146:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6ab

R/ Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob. or R/ Alleluia.

Praise the LORD, O my soul; I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God while I live.

R/ Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob. or R/ Alleluia.

Put not your trust in princes, in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation. When his spirit departs he returns to his earth; on that day his plans perish.

R/ Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob. or R/ Alleluia.

Blessed he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD, his God. Who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them.

R/ Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob. or R/ Alleluia.

Gospel Acclamation cf. Acts of the Apostles 16:14b

Alleluia, alleluia. Open our hearts, O Lord, to listen to the words of your Son. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Matthew 13:47-53 They put what is good into buckets, what is bad they throw away.

Jesus said to the disciples: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” “Do you understand all these things?” They answered, “Yes.” And he replied, “Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.” When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

-----------------------------

Saint Alphonsus Mary de' Liguori, Bishop, Doctor 

(Liturgical Colour: White. Year: B(II))

(Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Thursday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading Romans 8:1-4 The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.

Brothers and sisters: Now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed you from the law of sin and death. For what the law, weakened by the flesh, was powerless to do, this God has done: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for the sake of sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous decree of the law might be fulfilled in us, who live not according to the flesh but according to the spirit.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 119:9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

R/ Lord, teach me your statutes.

How shall a young man be faultless in his way? By keeping to your words.

R/ Lord, teach me your statutes.

With all my heart I seek you; let me not stray from your commands.

R/ Lord, teach me your statutes.

Within my heart I treasure your promise, that I may not sin against you.

R/ Lord, teach me your statutes.

Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes.

R/ Lord, teach me your statutes.

With my lips I declare all the ordinances of your mouth.

R/ Lord, teach me your statutes.

In the way of your decrees I rejoice, as much as in all riches.

R/ Lord, teach me your statutes.

Gospel Acclamation Matthew 5:16

Alleluia, alleluia. Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Matthew 5:13-19 You are the light of the world.

Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[letialia]

The parable of the fisherman and the businessman

I came across this widely referenced parable quite a while ago, I think I first encountered it in a book by Tim Ferris. I love it and it came to mind when reading through these manifestos.

A young American businessman was on vacation in a small Mexican coastal village.

One day, whilst standing on the pier, he noticed a small boat with a lone fisherman in it, returning to the shore after a short time casting his net over the water. The fisherman docked his little vessel laden with several large fish he had caught.

The businessman inspected the fisherman’s haul and remarked on the quality of the fish he had landed. “How long did it take you to catch them?” he asked. “Only a little while,” the fisherman replied.

Somewhat surprised, the young businessman asked, “Why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?”

The fisherman said, “This is enough to support my family’s immediate needs. I don’t need any more.”

“But what do you do with the rest of your time?,” asked the confused young man.

“Well. I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a walk with my wife, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos; I have a full and busy life, Señor.”

The businessman scoffed. “Let me give you some free advice,” he began.  

“I’m a Harvard graduate with an MBA and know a little bit about business. If you spent more time fishing and with the proceeds bought a bigger boat — and with the proceeds from the bigger boat you bought several boats — eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats.”

“Then, instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you could sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You could control the product, processing and distribution. Of course, you would need to leave this small coastal village and move to Mexico City and, perhaps, eventually to New York, where you could run the headquarters of your growing enterprise.”

The fisherman asked, “How long would this all take?”

The young man replied, “15-20 years, if you work hard.”

“What then?,” asked the fisherman.

“That’s the best part,” the business man chortled. “When the time is right, you would announce an IPO, sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You could make millions.”

“Millions, Señor? Then what?”

“Then, my friend, you could retire, move to a small coastal fishing village where you can sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a walk with your wife, stroll to the village every evening where you can sip wine and play the guitar with your amigos.”