Matthew 21 comes with a warning I cannot get out of my head y’all…”And so I tell you,” added Jesus, “the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce the proper fruits.”  Our faith is a gift and if we do not appreciate it and use it for it’s intended purpose, it can be taken away from us.  Or rather we can lose it through apathy, neglect or sin.

POWERful Bible Journaling: Matthew 21

P –Thank You Lord.  Thank You for this gift of faith, the ability to worship You freely, the priests that serve my family, Your holy Sacraments of grace, Your Son’s death on a cross, Your mercy, forgiveness and patience.

O –This is an emotional chapter.  Our Lord enters on a donkey, even though He seems to have walked everywhere else.  He not only enters riding, but the people are cheering for Him and throwing their cloaks down for him!  And then he goes into the temple, which the people had turned into a den of thieves.  He flips over tables and chases the money-changers out.  Then He heals people, curses a fig tree with no fruit and teaches in parables again.  It’s a roller coaster of emotions from joy and compassion to anger and scorn.

W —vs 13…And he saith to them: It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves.

E –I’ve considered verse 13 from two standpoints.  The first, my body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit.  Is my body a house of prayer…or a den of thieves?  What do I steal?  Time?  Talent?  And who do I steal from?  My God?  Myself?  My family?

The second, is my physical home a house of prayer…or a den of thieves?  Am I living an excellent life, teaching my children and encouraging my husband on towards the Kingdom of Heaven?

R –Lord, I want my home to be a house of prayer.  I want my family to know Your presence in our home.  I want our friends and visitors to recognize You as the King of our home and family.*

*Have you heard about the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus?

The center of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the Enthronement of the image of the Sacred Heart in the home. By the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart, we link the tabernacle of our parish church to our home, inviting our Lord to be our constant and most intimate companion.  The Enthronement is a way of life. It means that Christ is King of our hearts, and we desire Him to be present with us always.  In other words, by the Enthronement we signify our desire to make our hearts and our homes holy, to sanctify our lives in every aspect.
–Archbishop Raymond L. Burke

More information–The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus: How to Practice the Sacred Heart Devotion

Please leave your POWERful reflections in the comments

Resource List:
My large print Bible

The NRSV Notetaker’s Bible

Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament

Haydock Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible

The Great Commentary of Cornelius A’ Lapide

A Practical Commentary On Holy Scripture

We are one week out from having read the entire book of Matthew!  Great job!  We’ve considered the theme of Matthew, “The Kingdom of Heaven,” as we’ve read.  This expression is used more than 30 times throughout the book.  Have you noticed any particular theme in your Bible journaling this month?

Mine seems to be a tiredness.  I get that.  But I also notice a comfortable closeness.  Hopefully God feels the same way.  I have also been aware of little waves of grace washing over me.  Moments where I just feel the urge to say, “I just really love Jesus y’all.”  And I normally do say it because I’m typically in the car, driving someone somewhere and it’s good for our children to hear us love Jesus.

Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch, in the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, when speaking of this “Kingdom of Heaven” theme state,

The Kingdom of heaven is ethical in the sense that it calls for a human response to Jesus.  It summons hearers to repentance (4:17), followed by a lifetime of discipleship, in which seeking the surpassing righteousness of Christ (5:20) is the highest priority (6:33)  The Kingdom is also ecclesial in that its saving power is made present in the world through the Church.

P –My vision is so limited Lord.  I want to see as You do.  Now, yes, that may mean I would like to know how it is all going to turn out as well too; forgive my lack of trust.

O –The further into Matthew I read, the more I feel the impending death of Jesus.  Here in chapter 20 He begins with a story of the laborers and their just wage.  He fortells His death and then the story of James and John’s mother asking our Lord for a special spot next to Him.  Finally He heals two blind men, but first he asks, “What do you want me to do for you?”  And they reply, Lord, let our eyes be opened.”  It says Jesus touched them in pity (compassion, tenderness) and immediately they received their sight and followed Him.  Ending things are being spoken of–payment at the end of the day, our places in heaven and following Jesus as He makes His way towards Jerusalem.

W —vs 34…And Jesus having compassion on them, touched their eyes. And immediately they saw and followed him.

E –I heard something recently that I cannot stop rolling around in my heart and mind.  “Things don’t happen to you, they happen for you.”  So I wonder, if these men had not been blind, would they have needed or wanted Jesus?  I know the hardest times of my life, in hindsight, bore the most fruit.  That is a scary place for me to think of.  I of course appreciate the fruit, but cringe at the memory of that pain.

R –I want to see the events of my day, my life as being for me rather than to me.  The scriptures state “All things work together for good for those who love God.”  Lord open my eyes so I can see this.

Please leave your POWERful reflections in the comments

Matthew 19 in my Bible journaling is very fitting right now as I prepare for our upcoming school year.  This year I will have children in 12th, 10th, 8th, 6th, 4th, 2nd and a three year old…ay yi yi!  Pray for me.  The task seems daunting…physically, emotionally and spiritually.  And here in Matthew 19 I read the call of Jesus to His disciples and the mothers of the little children, “Jesus said, “Let the children come to me and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.””

This command was given for all time.  Parents, and those who represent them, ought to bring their children to Jesus; they ought to take care that they are, first of all, admitted into the Church by holy Baptism; that they learn to know and love Him by means of a Christian education; and that, as soon as they are capable of receiving it, they are united to Him by Holy Communion, and strengthened in virtue by the imposition of hands and anointing of Confirmation.

 

Our Lord’s behavior to the children imposes on those who teach them the imperative duty of always loving the children committed to their charge in an especial manner, as the favorites of our Lord; of trying to be a real blessing to these little ones by word and example; and of never being turned from this duty, either by the weariness of the burden…To lead children to Jesus is the highest ideal of Christian education.
—A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture

POWERful Bible Journaling: Matthew 19

P –I am excited and nervous Lord.  I feel the weight of my vocation to teach my children to know, love and serve You in this life so they can be happy with You forever in the next.

O –It is no coincidence I believe that our Lord’s teaching on divorce precedes His blessing of the children…and then our Lord states, ” And all who have left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children, or farms because of my name will receive one hundred times more and will inherit eternal life.”  But I am not even sure where or how this call to leave even family behind for the Kingdom fits?  

W —vs 22…But when the young man heard this, he went away saddened, because he had many possessions.

E –What do I possess that keeps me from You?  Is it a physical possession?  Something mentally or emotionally I am clinging to?

R –I pray Lord rather than go away saddened, I would have the courage to get rid of whatever keeps me from You.

Please leave your POWERful reflections in the comments

Matthew 18 begins with the question and call for true greatness.  In my POWERful Bible journaling, I pondered the virtue of humility as a part of this call.  From Archbishop Raymond Burke, “If we are to continue to grow in the science of divine love, then we must follow the Little Way of the Gospel, taught to us by St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church, Doctor of the Science of Divine Love. Her Little Way begins with humility, with a childlike recognition of our complete dependence upon God for every breath we draw and for every good we desire to achieve. Humility inspires in us true confidence, confidence which rests not upon ourselves but upon God and the action of His grace within us. Humility before God and confidence in His never failing love lead then to the abandonment of ourselves to Divine Providence. When we practice humility, we turn to Christ daily anew, seeking to follow Him, and trusting that He will bring to fruition our feeble efforts to be His co-workers in the world.”

Emphasis mine.  I found that to be a good explanation and example of humility and very appropriate for  The Littlest Way.

POWERful Bible Journaling: Matthew 18

P –Lord, I want to practice the great virtue of humility, but I don’t want to be humbled.  I want to have complete confidence in You, but I worry.  I want to give my heart entirely to You, but sometimes (lots of times) I want my own way.  And these contradictions are always at war within myself.

O –This whole chapter speaks of humility and being humbled.  The first part is our Lord specifically pointing out the humility of a child.  Next, the Parable of the Lost Sheep.  How often do we try to do it on our own?  Even though we may be lost or just in need of help from the Shepherd or someone inspired to help, we insist on doing it ourselves so as not put anyone out, or be a bother?  Too often we run the risk of remaining lost don’t we?  When we insist on making it on our own, without accepting help, we also deprive someone of the joy of helping.  Hmm…

W —vs 22…Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.”

E –One of the greatest acts of humility is forgiveness.  Many times when we are hurt or offended, it’s our pride; “How dare they…I can’t believe…Don’t they know…But I…”  So the act of forgiving is setting our pride aside.  We humble ourselves in order to forgive.  We forget about getting what we think we deserve and instead focus on giving what we want.  Do you get that?

R –One of the prayers I composed for myself states (you can find them here, Prayer Journal), “Lord make my heart tender, not easily offended yet forgiving when hurt.  Teach me how to imitate Your meek and humble heart.”

Please share your POWERful reflections in the comments.