We were able to hold a modified 8th Graduation yesterday afternoon. They really are a great class. Pray for them as they move to high school and continue in their respective vocations. We will be adding the video of that graduation after it is uploaded!
Here are links to our readings for the day:
English: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/072020.cfm
Spanish: http://usccb.org/bible/lecturas/072020.cfm
You Ask Him!!
The sign of Jonah was that Jonah did not want to tell the Ninevite people that in three days God would destroy them if they did not change their hearts. Jonah wanted the Ninevites destroyed, they were viewed as an enemy. But God pursued Jonah when he tried to escape and brought him back by using a large fish. Jonah reminds me of a true story. A young lady in seventh grade had learned in her religion class that when God calls us, we need to respond. Not to run away like Jonah, but to turn to God. The young lady decided to share the story of Jonah with her science teacher. He was an atheist. After she shared the story of Jonah the teacher tried to embarrass the young lady. He said there was no fish big enough to have a throat that could swallow a man whole or let alone keep him alive. The young lady would not be turned away. She was absolutely convinced that the story of Jonah had happened. She told the science teacher that when she gets to heaven, she would confirm the story with Jonah himself. The science teacher sneered: what if Jonah is not in heaven. The young lady said, “Then you ask him.”
Micah is trying to tell the people that God is displeased with them. The people try to figure out how many more sacrifices would it take to make God happy again. That is not what God wants. God wants us to do right, to love goodness, and walk humbly with God. That means accepting God and what God does in your life and asks you to do for others. It also means accepting what God has given us in this life. We will never be like His Mother. We will never be an Apostle. We can be the best we can be and that is what He asks us to do.
We turn in faith to God. Convinced that God’s message will convert hearts. The responsorial phrase is, “If today you hear His voice, harden not your heart.” Open your heart to the call of God.
May the Lord bless you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Fr Ed Anderson
Email: fatheredanderson[at]gmail.com
Phone: 715.817.3736
St. Joseph Church – Rice Lake
Holy Trinity – Haugen
St. John the Evangelist – Birchwood
Our Lady of Lourdes – Dobie
