{"id":5397,"date":"2017-06-10T23:15:46","date_gmt":"2017-06-11T03:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/?p=5397"},"modified":"2017-06-10T23:15:46","modified_gmt":"2017-06-11T03:15:46","slug":"reflections-on-the-scripture-readings-for-this-weekend-20170611","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/?p=5397","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on the Scripture Readings for this Weekend — 20170611"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"On this weekend of ALL SAINTS, our readings are taken from Paul\u2019s Letter to the Hebrews and Matthew\u2019s Gospel. The opening sentence of the eleventh chapter of Paul\u2019s letter states this: \u201cFaith is confident assurance concerning what we hope for and conviction about things we do not see.\u201d A truly powerful statement on which we do well to reflect. Then in chapter 12 he provides us with this exhortation: \u201clet us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who inspires and perfects our faith\u201d.
\nIn the last section of the Gospel reading, which is taken from chapter 19, Jesus is quoted as saying to Peter: \u201ceveryone who has given up home, brothers or sisters, father or mother, wife or children or property for my sake will receive many times as much and inherit everlasting life.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you have ever wondered what makes a person a saint, I believe that these quotes give you truly a clear idea. A saint is a person who, first and foremost, believes and has faith in the Lord Jesus as the true revelation of God about how to be a human in the manner that God intended when He created humankind. Second, a saint is a person who first seeks the Kingdom of God and then deals with the responsibilities that life presents. And last, a saint is a person who clearly sees that the primary task in life is to \u201cput God first\u201d in all he does. If you make anyone or anything more im-portant than God, then you fail to live up to how God intended you to live this earthly life.<\/p>\n

This, I know, may be difficult for some to understand. We tend to put those we love first in our lives. I truly believe that if we put God first in our lives, we will not fail to support those we love and care about. Why do I say\u00a0this? I say this because when I place God first in my life, I clearly bear witness to others, especially those I love, how to live and achieve the fullness of life. I also say this because when God is first in my life, I will automatically treat all others with unconditional love, kindness and acceptance.<\/p>\n

We are all called to be saints – that is people who live in accord with God\u2019s Spirit which He has poured into us in the process of sharing His divine life with us. You will never hurt the people you love and others when God is at the center of your life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On this weekend of ALL SAINTS, our readings are taken from Paul\u2019s Letter to the Hebrews and Matthew\u2019s Gospel. The opening sentence of the eleventh chapter of Paul\u2019s letter states this: \u201cFaith is confident assurance concerning what we hope for … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-from-the-liturgy-of-the-day"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5397"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5399,"href":"https:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5397\/revisions\/5399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stmichaelarchangel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}