Interesting that Jesus saw good fish as fish meant to be eaten and bad fish the ones released back into the sea. I wonder if there's any meaning behind this...
Anyway, in both readings we see that the clay gets molded according to the potter's wishes and the fish gets chosen according to the angels' criteria. Neither the clay nor the fish has nay say in how it's molded or how they're chosen. In other words, God's will trumps all (I assume the criteria with which the angels pick and chose matches God's will for those that are sorted out). Luckily we have a God who is as loving as He is just, who reaches out to us as much as we yearn for Him.
What about the business of "the new and the old"? I believe it means that people who are wise in the ways of God know how to pick and choose between old traditions and new ways, to keep what is good and change what is not so good. Never forget though that God knows best, so always ask Him for the courage to change what must be changed, the serenity to accept what cannot be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference between the two.
Thursday 31 July 2008
Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Today we Catholics celebrate the memory of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Below is a little something on him taken from Wikipedia:
- born in 1491 in the municipality of Azpeitia at the castle of Loyola in today's Basque province of Guipúzcoa, Spain.
- the principal founder and first Superior General of the Society of Jesus
- active in fighting the Protestant Reformation and promoting the subsequent Counter-Reformation
- wrote Spiritual Exercises from 1522-1524, the publication is a simple set of meditations, prayers, and various other mental exercises
- opposed to the anti-Semitic attitudes that were common in Spain in his day
- died in Rome on July 31, 1556 after a long struggle with chronic stomach ailments
- beatified and then canonized to receive the title of Saint on March 12, 1622
- patron saint of Guipúzcoa, Vizcaya (Biscay), as well as of the Society of Jesus
- born in 1491 in the municipality of Azpeitia at the castle of Loyola in today's Basque province of Guipúzcoa, Spain.
- the principal founder and first Superior General of the Society of Jesus
- active in fighting the Protestant Reformation and promoting the subsequent Counter-Reformation
- wrote Spiritual Exercises from 1522-1524, the publication is a simple set of meditations, prayers, and various other mental exercises
- opposed to the anti-Semitic attitudes that were common in Spain in his day
- died in Rome on July 31, 1556 after a long struggle with chronic stomach ailments
- beatified and then canonized to receive the title of Saint on March 12, 1622
- patron saint of Guipúzcoa, Vizcaya (Biscay), as well as of the Society of Jesus
Bible Readings for Today (Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola)
Here are the readings for today Thu 31 July:
Jeremiah 18: 1-6
The Lord said to Jeremiah: “Go down at once to the potter’s house. I will speak to you further there.” So I went down to the potter’s house and found him working at his wheel. Now and then there would be something wrong with the pot he was molding from the clay with his hands. So he would rework the clay into another kind of pot as he saw fit.
Then the Lord said to me, “I, the Lord, say: ‘O nation of Israel, can I not deal with you as this potter deals with the clay? In my hands, you, O nation of Israel, are just like the clay in this potter’s hand.’
Matthew 13: 47-53
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea that caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, they pulled it ashore, sat down, and put the good fish into containers and threw the bad away. It will be this way at the end of the age. Angels will come and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “Have you understood all these things?” They replied, “Yes.” Then he said to them, “Therefore every expert in the law who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure what is new and old.” Now when Jesus finished these parables, he moved on from there.
Jeremiah 18: 1-6
The Lord said to Jeremiah: “Go down at once to the potter’s house. I will speak to you further there.” So I went down to the potter’s house and found him working at his wheel. Now and then there would be something wrong with the pot he was molding from the clay with his hands. So he would rework the clay into another kind of pot as he saw fit.
Then the Lord said to me, “I, the Lord, say: ‘O nation of Israel, can I not deal with you as this potter deals with the clay? In my hands, you, O nation of Israel, are just like the clay in this potter’s hand.’
Matthew 13: 47-53
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea that caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, they pulled it ashore, sat down, and put the good fish into containers and threw the bad away. It will be this way at the end of the age. Angels will come and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “Have you understood all these things?” They replied, “Yes.” Then he said to them, “Therefore every expert in the law who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure what is new and old.” Now when Jesus finished these parables, he moved on from there.
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