Interesting quote from St. John Vianney. “Private prayer is like straw scattered here and there: If you set it on fire it makes a lot of little flames. But gather these straws into a bundle and light them, and you get a mighty fire, rising like a column into the sky; public prayer is like that.”
It really ties into the gospel reading from yesterday about the loaves and fishes. No one really had a lot left over, but when all the left overs were gathered together it made a huge amount.
Today's gospel can be used to talk about the importance of lay involvement in the church. In talking about "the laborers are few", Jesus could have been talking about the shortage of priests today. We have a strong parish at St. Raphael, partly because of the willingness of lay people to step up, along with the talents that are being used.
The reading from Ezekiel is one that I thought was from the New Testament. If we warn the wicked man (or non believer) and he does not change his ways, then he will surely die. However, if we do not warn the wicked man, not only will he die, but we will be held responsible. This is a verse that is a big part of the reason that some Christians are so serious about evangelizing and spreading the Word. It does give us "an out" in that we don't have to warn the same person day in and day out. The story of the "lost sheep" seems to indicate that we should not forget about them, but Ezekiel is mainly concerned about people not even trying to impact the wicked man in the first place.
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It really ties into the gospel reading from yesterday about the loaves and fishes. No one really had a lot left over, but when all the left overs were gathered together it made a huge amount.
Today's gospel can be used to talk about the importance of lay involvement in the church. In talking about "the laborers are few", Jesus could have been talking about the shortage of priests today. We have a strong parish at St. Raphael, partly because of the willingness of lay people to step up, along with the talents that are being used.
The reading from Ezekiel is one that I thought was from the New Testament. If we warn the wicked man (or non believer) and he does not change his ways, then he will surely die. However, if we do not warn the wicked man, not only will he die, but we will be held responsible. This is a verse that is a big part of the reason that some Christians are so serious about evangelizing and spreading the Word. It does give us "an out" in that we don't have to warn the same person day in and day out. The story of the "lost sheep" seems to indicate that we should not forget about them, but Ezekiel is mainly concerned about people not even trying to impact the wicked man in the first place.