RELIGION AND ART

The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. Image from Google He said to her, "What do you wish?" She answered him, "Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at you left in your Kingdom." Jesus said in reply, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?" They said to him, "We can."  He replied, "My chalice you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left,  this is not mine to give, but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." Mass  Readings Saint James

"Come back, disloyal children - it is the Lord who speaks - for I alone am your Master. I will take one from a town, two from a clan, and bring you to Zion. I will give you shepherds after my own heart, and these shall feed you on knowledge and discretion. And when you have increased and become many in the land, then - it is the Lord who speaks - no one will ever say again: Where is the ark of the covenant of the Lord? There will be no thought of it, no memory of it, no regret for it, no making of another.  When that time comes, Jerusalem  shall be called: The Throne of the Lord; all the nations will gather there in the name of the Lord and will no longer follow the dictates of their own stubborn hearts."  Mass Readings Heavenly Father, we are poor reflection of your Son, Jesus Christ.  Help us Lord and bring us back to you.  Spirit of light, burn in our hearts. Guide our steps help us to follow the steps of your Son instead of following the dictates of ...

"Blessed are your eyes, because they see,  your ears because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear did not hear it."  Mt. 13:10-17 Be amazed at this, O heavens, and shudder with sheer horror, says the Lord. Two evils have my people done: they have forsaken me, the source of living waters; They have dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no water. Heavenly Father, send us your Holy Spirit. May your Spirit touch our hearts that we may know your love.  May your Spirit help us understand Christ teachings. Open our hearts, our ears, and our eyes. Give us a converted heart that we will be healed. You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, least they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understa...

The love of Christ overwhelms us when we reflect that if one man has died for all, then all men should be dead; and the reason he died for all was so that living men should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised to life for them. Saint Mary Magdalene  From now onwards, therefore, we do not judge anyone by the standards of the flesh. Even if we did once know Christ in the flesh, that is not how we know him now. And if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here. d to life for them. Mass Readings 'Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to my Father. But go and find the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' So Mary of Madgala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her. Lord Jesus Christ, I abandon myself to you. Grant me faith and patience that I may persevere...

With shepherd's crook, O Lord, lead your people to pasture, the flock that is your heritage, living confined in forest with meadow land all around. Let them pasture in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old. As in the days when you came out of Egypt grant us to see wonders.  What god can compare with you: taking fault away, pardoning crime, not cherishing anger for ever but delighting in showing mercy? Once more have pity on us , tread down our faults, to the bottom  of sea throw all our sins. Grant Jacob your faithfulness,  and Abraham your mercy, as you swore to our fathers from the   days of long ago.  Mass Readings

What is good has been explained to you, man; this is what the Lord asks of you: only this, to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with your God.  Micah 6:8 Mass Readings Father in heaven, give me the grace to accept the compassion and tenderness of Christ, and not reject his care for me.   Father open my heart to your Spirit, help me feed only in your word, that I may grow in knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord.  Father may I love you with all my heart.

There is no god, other than you, who cares for everything, to whom you might have to prove that you never judged unjustly. Your justice has its source in strength, your sovereignty over all makes you lenient to all.  Mass Readings