Proverbs 7

S: Proverbs 7:17 I have sprinkled my bed with myrrh,with aloes, and with cinnamon.

O: in this chapter again we read about seduction and adultery. This verse the woman tells the young man she has her bed ready. The bed can reference a burial place. Also the spices she mentions were used in funeral feasts. The seductress and the act of adultery here will be the man's death.

A: when I am tempted by any trick of the devil, I must be strong enough to see that it could lead to my spiritual death. Any stray from God's word could not only hurt myself, but my family and friends. I must be true to God and myself.

K: Lord, keep me close. Protect me from the tricks of the evil one. Give me strength to avoid him.

Proverbs 6

S: Proverbs 6:23 For the command is a lamp, and the teaching a light,and a way to life are the reproofs that discipline,

O: God's word is a light for us to use in the world filled with darkness. Just as we use a flashlight, lamp, or fire to lead us to safety in a storm, God's word can lead us to the safety of heaven in a world where evil hides around every corner.

A: I need to trust in God's word and use it as my light. This light can not only guide me to safety, but it can also be used as a beacon to call to others who are lost. I need to use God's word as my light to help others as well as myself. 

K: Lord, I put my faith in you every day, knowing you will not lead me blindly into darkness. You are my guide in this world. I hope and pray that I can also guide others back to you. Amen.

Proverbs 5

S: Proverbs 5:15-16 15 Drink water from your own cistern,running water from your own well.16 Should your water sources be dispersed abroad,streams of water in the streets?

O: The water here could represent a person's affections or desires. We are not to want love and affection from someone outside our marriage. We should only drink in the love of our own marriage.

A: This chapter is beautiful in a way. It reminds us of God's love for us as well as love of a husband and wife. Just as we are married to our husband, we are married to God. If we seek love outside of the realms of our vows, we are also seeking love away from God. 

K: God I thank you for my husband and my family. I thank you for the bond of marriage. I am renewed every day as I wake up next to my husband and know that he is mine. Please keep my heart guarded against those who want me to stray. Amen.

Proverbs 3

S: Proverbs 3:27-28 Do not withhold any goods from the owner when it is in your power to act.28 Say not to your neighbor, “Go, come back tomorrow,and I will give it to you,” when all the while you have it.

O: One way to serve God is by showing kindness to our neighbor. Neighbor can be our actual next door neighbor, the guy down the street, the homeless man, etc. 

A: How often do I withhold goods when I should act? How would I feel if I knew God was withholding from me?

K: God, allow me to have mercy and grace for others as you have shown to me. Allow my heart to be opened so that I may see.

Proverbs 2

S: Proverbs 2:6 For the LORD gives wisdom, from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

O/A: verses 1-4 again say if we ask for God, listen to his word, accept him, we will know God's wisdom. We are only given wisdom through God. I know today, we are so quick to assume every good thing we accomplish is ours alone. Or maybe we just forget to thank God. All our blessings, gifts, talents are from him alone. We could not have gotten where we are without him.

K: Thank you Lord for all the blessings you have bestowed upon my family. We are grateful to you!

Proverbs 1

S: Proverbs 1:32-33 For the straying of the naive kills them,the smugness of fools destroys them.33 But whoever obeys me dwells in security,in peace, without fear of harm.” 

O: here we are told that if we obey we will be secure with God, but those who disregard His word will be lost. 

A: how often do I listen but not hear? I can listen to the message in the homily but am I really hearing what I need to? Just as it is easy to ignore what a person is saying, it is far too easy to ignore what God's word is saying. I know I don't want to be lost and want to feel secure with God. I need to do better about listening to what he is really saying. 

K: Lord, I kneel before you praying to hear what you need me to hear. 

Welcome Katie Mae

Katie Mae LeDoux joined us May 25, 2015 at 1:25 PM (we got to hospital at noon!). She weighed 8lbs 8oz, 21" long, and is so sweet. Labor went so fast that there as no time for the epidural. 

Leviticus 24 & 25

S: Leviticus 24:8 Regularly on each Sabbath day the bread shall be set
out before the LORD on behalf of the Israelites by an everlasting
covenant.

O/A: God commanded on the Sabbath day that we should rest and the
bread should be presented before the Lord as a covenant. Today, every
Sunday, we in the Catholic church set the Eucharist out before the
Lord as we partake in communion, which is our new covenant with God.
He gave us his son, who died for us, and we will forever share in the
covenant with the Eucharist.

It again is amazing how God is foretelling in the Old Testament though
it is not plainly seen.

S: Leviticus 25:23-25 And if you say, “What shall we eat in the
seventh year, if we do not sow or reap our crop?” I will command such
a blessing for you in the sixth year that there will be crop enough
for three years, and when you sow in the eighth year, you will still
be eating from the old crop; even into the ninth year, until the crop
comes in, you will still be eating from the old crop.

O: God will provide. Have no fear, because he will provide for his people.

A: How many times have I questioned God in my life in fear of
something bad happening? How many times have I been just like the
Israelites and fearful of not being taken care of? Instead of just
knowing that God will provide. We do not always know the way, but we
should just know that He will. It is hardest to see this in darkest
times, but our faith in God should prevail and pull us out. No matter
the outcome of a situation, God will provide.

K: Lord, thank you for continuously providing for us. Though we may
not see it, and do not always believe, you are there next to us,
guiding us through life. I pray for a stronger heart and soul so that
I just know you are there. Amen.

Leviticus 23

S: Leviticus 23:15-16, 19 Beginning with the day after the sabbath, the day on which you bring the sheaf for elevation, you shall count seven full weeks; you shall count to the day after the seventh week, fifty days. Then you shall present a new grain offering to the LORD. (19) One male goat shall be sacrificed as a purification offering, and two yearling lambs as a communion sacrifice.

O/A: For the Israelites, this was the Feast of Weeks. It commemorates God giving the Ten Commandments 50 days after the Exodus, 50 days after the Passover. The presentation of the goat as a purification offering and the lambs as a communion offering could be symbols of what was to come, in Jesus being our purification and communion sacrifice. To most modern day Christians, this holy day is the day of Pentecost. It is celebrated 50 days after Easter and the Resurrection of Jesus. It is when the followers of Jesus were given the holy spirit from Heaven. In Acts Chapter 2, it mentions them all being together, and tongues of fire rested on their heads.  

k: Lord,  I again thank you for all that you have done. From releasing the Israelites from Egypt, to having your son die for our sins, you have shown us how much you love us. Although we are not worthy of your love, you continue to give us. I pray that I can be as unconditional in my work here on earth as you are to me. Amen.

Leviticus 22

S: Leviticus 22:15-16 The priests shall not allow the sacred offerings which the Israelites contribute to the LORD to be profaned nor make them incur a penalty when they eat their sacred offerings. For I, the LORD, make them holy.

O/A: Any offerings given to the Lord shall not be made unholy. I see "profane" as "made unholy" or to pollute something. When we give offerings to God today, whether it be a donation or confession of sins, we shouldn't allow the offering to be made unholy by not being pure in our offering. If we confess a sin without the intention of turning away from it, we have made our offering profane. If we donate money to the church with an ill will behind the money, it is no longer a holy offering.  

1 Corinthians 13 "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing."

This verse can be related in the fact that if our offerings are not with love, they are nothing. 

K: Lord, I pray that I always give with unconditional love and my offerings are pure of heart. Amen.