BREAD FOR YOUTH

  25th week Friday in Ordinary Time Year One Hag 2:1-9 Christ will Come! Encouragement in the Face of Discouragement: The older generation remembered Solomon’s temple and felt the new temple paled in comparison. God acknowledges this discouragement but urges them to continue. "Be strong… for I am with you": Repeated three times this is central to God's message. It mirrors encouragements from earlier in Israel’s history (like Joshua 1). God’s Promise of His Presence: God reminds them of the covenant and that His Spirit is still among them a powerful reassurance. Prophetic Vision of Glory and Peace: God promises that the “latter glory” of the temple will surpass the former. This has both immediate and future (messianic) implications. Do we believe that in coming of Christ and the final peace of God's kingdom?         Year Two Eccl 3:1-11 We are Made for Eternity! There is a time to be born and a time to die. There is a time to plan...

  25th week Thursday in Ordinary Time Year One Hag 1:1-8 The Command to Rebuild the Temple!   In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest:   Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house. Then the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai, saying: Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider how you have fared.   You have sown much, and harvested little; you eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and you that earn wages earn wages to put them into a bag with holes. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider how you have fared. 8 Go up to the hill...

  25th week Wednesday in Ordinary Time Year One Ezra 9:5-9 Eza’s Prayer! At the evening sacrifice I got up from my fasting, with my garments and my mantle torn, and fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the Lord my God,   and said, “O my God, I am too ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.   From the days of our ancestors to this day we have been deep in guilt, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been handed over to the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as is now the case.   But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, who has left us a remnant, and given us a stake in his holy place, in order that he may brighten our eyes and grant us a little sustenance in our slavery. For we are slaves; yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has exte...

  25th week Tuesday in Ordinary Time Year One Ezra 6:7-8,12, 14-20 let the work on this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site. Moreover I make a decree regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God: the cost is to be paid to these people, in full and without delay, from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province Beyond the River. May the God who has established his name there overthrow any king or people that shall put forth a hand to alter this, or to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, make a decree; let it be done with all diligence.” So the elders of the Jews built and prospered, through the prophesying of the prophet Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished their building by command of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus, Darius, and King Artaxerxes of Persia;   and this house was finished on the third day ...

  25th week Monday in Ordinary Time Year One Meditation Ezra 1:1-6   In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia so that he sent a herald throughout all his kingdom, and also in a written edict declared:   “Thus says King Cyrus of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah.   Any of those among you who are of his people—may their God be with them!—are now permitted to go up to Jerusalem in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem; and let all survivors, in whatever place they reside, be assisted by the people of their place with silver and gold, with goods and with animals, besides freewill offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem.” The heads of the families of Jud...

  24th week Saturday in Ordinary Time Year One 1 Tim 6:13-16 In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ,   which he will bring about at the right time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. 16 It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honour and eternal dominion. Amen.(1 Tim 6:13-16). Meditation One needs to keep family rules to be happy. One needs to follow community laws to live happily. A Christian has to learn to keep the commandments of God to live happy on earth and enter into heaven. Precepts, rules, laws and commandments are ways to live and love; they are not to curb us or to destroy us. Keep the laws and commandments, and it is very impo...