Grace to Give (Mk 4:18-19) by Kevin McNicholas

28 Jan Grace to Give (Mk 4:18-19) by Kevin McNicholas

“Those sown among thorns are another sort.  They are the people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit.” ~ Mk 4:18-19 (full readings)
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Kevin’s Reflections:  How did Jesus know that this was just what I needed to hear today?  It is so easy to get caught up in the attraction to have “stuff” that can intrude and distract us from God.  When I lost my job in 2013, I took another job that paid far less, but that I enjoyed far more.  My new job also gave me the opportunity to spend a great deal more time with our children, a blessing that doesn’t have a price tag.  Our family learned how to live on less, reminding me of years spent with my grandparents who lived through the Great Depression.  They talked fondly of simpler times spent with loved ones, and helping one’s neighbors who didn’t have as much.  Why do I waste so much time thinking of what I want, rather than what I actually need?  Father Hembrow, our Parish Priest, often says “100 years from now we will all be dead and it won’t matter.  Nothing matters but the salvation of our souls.”  I have often thought of what I can “get” when I earn more money, or have fewer bills to pay.  Today I am going to pray for the grace to think of what I can “give” instead.
* Kevin is a School Social Worker in Southern Illinois. He and his wife Laura have been blessed with two living miracles: a 2 year old daughter named Elliana (“the Lord Answers”) and a 9 month old son named Jeremiah (“God is Exalted”). They have been blessed during the 8 years of their marriage to travel to Catholic pilgrimage sites worldwide, as well as to serve their Parish and community..

Faith Challenge:  Pray today for a greater detachment from things and a greater attachment to God.  Give up something that you don’t need, specifically something that could benefit someone else.

Counter-Culture News: LifeSiteNews, LifeNews, American Family, Vatican, Project Rachel..
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Our Prayers: Pray LIFE Runners Creed to End Abortion.  Add Prayers. Pray with meals, bedtime, wake up, unceasingly. Consider mid-week Family Rosary (17 min). Let’s pray now.
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Feast Day:  Saint Thomas Aquinas
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Faith Quote:  “Sell your belongings and give alms.  Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.  For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” ~ Luke 12:33-34
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Through Christ our Lord,
Kevin McNicholas
Lk 1:37