Genesis 12:1-9,Psalm 33:12-13, 18-20, 22, Matthew 7:1-5

Genesis 12:1-9

1	Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.
2	And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
3	I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves."
4	So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
5	And Abram took Sar'ai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions which they had gathered, and the persons that they had gotten in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan,
6	Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
7	Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
8	Thence he removed to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.
9	And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.

Psalm 33:12-13, 18-20, 22

12	Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!
13	The LORD looks down from heaven, he sees all the sons of men;
18	Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,
19	that he may deliver their soul from death, and keep them alive in famine.
20	Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and shield.
22	Let thy steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in thee. ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matthew 7:1-5

1	"Judge not, that you be not judged.
2	For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.
3	Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
4	Or how can you say to your brother, `Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye?
5	You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. It is a great honor to you who are married that God, in His design to multiply souls who may bless and praise Him for all eternity, causes you to cooperate with Him in so noble a work. -- St. Francis de Sales Read more: http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/inspiration.htm#20#ixzz1PpzIlxak

Todays Mass Readings:2 Samuel 7:4-5, 12-14, 16, Psalm 89:2-5, 27, 29, Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22,Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24

Saturday, March 19, 2011

St. Joseph, Husband of the Virgin Mary (Solemnity)

2 Samuel 7:4-5, 12-14, 16
4 But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan,


5 "Go and tell my servant David, `Thus says the LORD: Would you build me a house to dwell in?

12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.

13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. When he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men;

16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever.'"

Psalm 89:2-5, 27, 29
For thy steadfast love was established for ever, thy faithfulness is firm as the heavens.


3 Thou hast said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant:

4 `I will establish your descendants for ever, and build your throne for all generations.'" [Selah]

5 Let the heavens praise thy wonders, O LORD, thy faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!

27 And I will make him the first-born, the highest of the kings of the earth.

29 I will establish his line for ever and his throne as the days of the heavens.

Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22
13 The promise to Abraham and his descendants, that they should inherit the world, did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.


16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants -- not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, for he is the father of us all,

17 as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations" -- in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations; as he had been told, "So shall your descendants be."

22 That is why his faith was "reckoned to him as righteousness."

Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24 or Luke 2:41-51
16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.


18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit;

19 and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

20 But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit;

21 she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife,


Salvation is shown to faith, it is prepared for hope, but it is given only to charity. Faith points out the way to the land of promise as a pillar of fire, hope feeds us with its manna of sweetness, but charity actually introduces us into the Promised Land.

-- St. Francis De Sales
Read more: http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/inspiration.htm#19#ixzz1H4m1LYuc