1-7 “For the kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer going out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. He agreed with them on a wage of a silver coin a day and sent them to work. About nine o’clock he went and saw some others standing about in the market-place with nothing to do. ‘You go to the vineyard too,” he said to them, ‘and I will pay you a fair wage.’ And off they went. At about mid-day and again at about three o’clock in the afternoon he went and did the same thing. Then about five o’clock he went out and found some others standing about. ‘Why are you standing about here all day doing nothing?’ he asked them. ‘Because no one has employed us,’ they replied. ‘You go off into the vineyard as well, then,’ he said.
Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle Reading 1 Eph 2:19-22 Brothers and sisters:You are no longer strangers and sojourners,but you are fellow citizens with the holy onesand members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.Through him the whole structure is held togetherand grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;in him you also are being built togetherinto a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Responsorial Psalm Ps 117:1bc, 2 R.(Mark 16:15) Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.Praise the LORD, all you nations;glorify him, all you peoples!R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.For steadfast is his kindness for us,and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever. R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News. Alleluia Jn 20:29 R. Alleluia, alleluia.You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord;blessed are those who have not seen, but still believe!R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 20:24-29 Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But Thomas …
“All I needed was a clear sign from God.
It was really all I had been praying for. Well, actually to be more specific, I wanted the sign to come in the form of a new job that would pay well enough for me to move into my own place, have good benefits, allow me to work hard but still take time off for family and the holy and handsome man that I also prayed the Lord would provide during that time.
I was asking for a plain and simple sign that was easy for the God of the Universe to do; and yet, when I looked around, it seemed that everyone else was receiving an answered prayer except me.
My best friend, whom I love and appreciate, got a new job and I toasted her accomplishment. Then she moved into a new place and I celebrated her attainment. When she started dating someone, I was still excited for her, but my accolades ceased and my prayer for a sign turned into silent disbelief of God’s generosity in my life.
Like Saint Thomas at the Apostles’ proclamation that they had seen the Lord (John 20:25), I felt that I could not believe in Jesus’ goodness until I experienced it first-hand.
When Thomas needed a “sign” that Jesus really appeared to the Apostles, Jesus offered him a personal encounter that probably exceeded anything that Thomas expected. In Jesus’ generosity, He once again offered His Body and not only exhorted Thomas to “not be unbelieving but to believe,” and Jesus then blessed those who “ha[d] not seen and ha[d] believed” (John 20:27, 29).
I was so caught up in how Jesus was working in the lives of those around me and also in wanting to receive a specific sign from Him that I wasn’t willing to step out in faith and believe. It has taken my own unique personal encounter with Jesus through time, renewed prayer, and frequenting the confessional to redirect my heart and mind to not seek signs but to trust in Jesus. What will it take for you, sisters?
This talk on “Doubting Thomas” shows a whole new side to him and says his example fortifies our faith. Read it here.”
If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more..... [ Read devo thought and prayer for this Bible verse ]
If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more..... [ Read devo thought and prayer for this Bible verse ]
When we give our hearts with our alms, we give well, but we must often plead to a failure in this respect. Not so our Master and our Lord. His favours are always performed with the love of his heart. He does not send to us the cold meat and the broken pieces from the table of his luxury, but he dips our morsel in his own dish, and seasons our provisions with the spices of his fragrant affections. When he puts the golden tokens of his grace into our palms, he accompanies the gift with such a warm pressure of our hand, that the manner of his giving is as precious as the boon itself. He will come into our houses upon his errands of kindness, and he will not act as some austere visitors do in the poor man’s cottage, but he sits by our side, not despising our poverty, nor blaming our weakness. Beloved, with what smiles does he speak! What golden sentences drop from his gracious lips! What embraces of affection does he bestow upon us! If he had but given us farthings, the way of his giving would have gilded them; but as it is, the costly alms are set in a golden basket by his pleasant carriage. It is impossible to doubt the sincerity of his charity, for there is a bleeding heart stamped upon the face of all his benefactions. He giveth liberally and upbraideth not. Not one hint that we are burdensome to him; not one cold look for his poor pensioners; but he rejoices in his mercy, and presses us to his bosom while he is pouring out his life for us. There is a fragrance in his spikenard which nothing but his heart could produce; there is a sweetness in his honey-comb which could not be in it unless the very essence of his soul’s affection had been mingled with it. Oh! the rare communion which such singular heartiness effecteth! May we continually taste and know the blessedness of it!
Daily Bible and Devotional for Women - http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=daily.bible.for.woman
You will 💖 this Womens Study Bible w a cute design and Daily Bible Devotional!
by Alistair Begg | God is wonderfully generous by nature; to give is His delight. His gifts are immeasurably precious and are given as freely as the light of the sun. He gives grace...
