Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Not enough just to hear the word of the Lord

It is not enough to hear the word of the Lord. Don't be mistaken - hearing the word is a good start. But Jesus is very clear in Matthew 7:21-29 , "Everyone who listens . . . and acts. . . ." We hear, we listen, we pray, and then from that fullness of the word, we act.

Elsewhere in the gospels we learn that what comes out of the mouth of a person shows what His heart is full of. We speak from our hearts, even our idle and simple words. If our hearts are filled with love, then every word brings love to the hearers. If our hearts are filled with venom, then even the most loving words are poisoned by it.

So too, are our actions, which are working words. If our hearts are filled with the word of the Lord and with love for Him, then our actions bloom in that love and make it present to the world around it. But, if our hearts are filled with ourselves, then no matter how many words we hear, we will not act on them because they are not at our center.

Listen to what God speaks to you today in the gospel, at Mass, in prayer. Listen to His words, and then act on them.

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"I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it.

I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor:
the first — by deed, the second — by word, the third — by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this means a soul glorifies and pays reverence to My mercy.

Many souls ... are often worried because they do not have the material means with which to carry out an act of mercy. Yet spiritual mercy, which requires neither permissions nor storehouses, is much more meritorious and is within the grasp of every soul.

If a soul does not exercise mercy somehow or other, it will not obtain My mercy on the day of judgment. Oh, if only souls knew how to gather eternal treasure for themselves, they would not be judged, for they would forestall My judgment with their mercy".