Life Giving Bread

In terms of our church, our soul, our faith, our love of God, and our love of others, are we falling off the mark?  Are we straying from God’s will?

In this week’s readings (Matthew 21:1 – 22:46), we are given many instances to ponder how well we are following God’s will.  These can be tough questions.  We must really allow ourselves to be critical, while also finding ways to improve.  Please post your thoughts on the readings, the following questions, and/or the questions from your study guide on the Week 11 page or on the LGB Facebook page.

CHURCH – Is your church a house of prayer? What would Jesus think of your church if he were to walk in? (see Matthew 21:12-13)

SOUL – Is your soul a house of prayer? (see Matthew 21:12-13)

FAITH – Do you believe that God is always with you?  For with God, anything is possible!  How strong is your faith?  (see Matthew 21:18-22)

LOVE OF GOD and LOVE OF OTHERS – How well do you follow the Great Commandments? 1) “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” 2) “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

One way to show your love for God and your love for others is to share God’s love with others. Heaven is for those who tend the Lord’s vineyard.  We must spread Jesus’ message and help bring knowledge of God to more people.  How can we do this?  How do you do this? (see Matthew 21:33-41)

Additional Questions:

• What verse(s) stood out to you and why?
• “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.”  How does this make you feel? (see Matthew 22:23-30)
• Additional Questions found in your study guide or in the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible – The Gospel of Matthew

Am I making choices that are leading me towards sainthood?

To some, that may seem like a lofty goal.  Mother Theresa, most would agree, even while she was alive, it was evident that she was a saint.  However, for most of us, we are not as giving as she, so we may think that we could never be called a “saint.”  That is NOT true. We ALL CAN be saints.  It all boils down to making a conscious decision to make choices that are in line with God’s will for us.

Okay, okay.  Maybe knowing the “right” choices isn’t SO easy, unless God talks to us directly.  But, asking ourselves “is my choice helping me to become a saint” does help us to evaluate our choices in life.  Step back for a moment, and truly think about the choice you have in front of you, and ask yourself, “Which decision will help me toward becoming a saint?” . . . “Which decision follows what Jesus and the Bible tell me is the way God wants me to live?”  Plus, PRAY and LISTEN.  God does talk to us, but we don’t always listen.  He may not directly speak to us, but He will guide our world (i.e. us, others, the environment) so that His will is shown to us.  Just look for his reply to your prayers.

Being a saint means living a Christ-like life.  We must proclaim and live the Gospel.  This isn’t always easy.  When it is hard, we “bear a cross.”  This is the cross Jesus tells us we must bear to have eternal life (see Matthew 16:24-28).  For example, passing up going to the movies or a particular bar with your friends may be hard, but that may be the choice you have to make if it means keeping you from becoming “defiled” (see Matthew 15:10-20).  Sometimes, the question is “will this choice defile me?”  If so, DON’T DO IT!

By taking one step-at-a-time, one choice-at-a-time, we can become SAINTS!

For this week, read Matthew 15:1 – 16:28, the study questions in your study guide, and the questions on the Week 8 page (which are also shown below).  Plus, please share your thoughts on the Life Giving Bread Week 8 page or on the group’s Facebook page.

Questions:

• What verse(s) stood out to you and why?
• How do you keep your heart pure?  Do you watch, look at, or listen to things that could lead you to sin or that give you sinful thoughts?  Do you say or do things that could lead others to sin? (Matthew 15:17-20)
• What signs have you seen that remind you of our wondrous God?  Please share! (Matthew 16:1-4)
• “To take up one’s cross does not refer to enduring whatever suffering comes to life; rather , it refers specifically to the willingness to suffer the consequences for proclaiming and living the Gospel?” (New Collegeville Bible Commentary – The Gospel According to Matthew by Barbara E. Reid)  What crosses do you bear?  How has being a Christian, proclaiming the Gospel, and living a Christ-like life caused you to suffer? (Matthew 16:24-28)
• Additional Questions found in your study guide or in the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible – The Gospel of Matthew

Who doesn’t like a good story?  Even better, who doesn’t LOVE a story that touches our hearts, one that speaks to us?  This is why I am drawn to the parables given by Jesus.  I think we all can find something in them that resonates.

Parables are a great way to teach.  For instance, they provide guidance, wisdom, and warning in a format that makes the messages much easier to remember.  Furthermore, the messages are timeless.  No matter how people change over time, they will be able to read the parables and still receive Jesus’ messages.

This week, please read Matthew 13:1-14:36.

Questions:

• What verse(s) stood out to you and why?
• What would you write if you were to write a parable using imagery relevant to today?
• Which, if any, of the parables in this week’s readings speak to you?  Why?
• What traits should a king have?  Compare Herod Antipas to Jesus.  (Matthew 14:1-21)
• Has your faith ever faltered doing something God wanted you to do? (Matthew 14:30-31)
• Additional Questions found in your study guide or in the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible – The Gospel of Matthew

Please provide your thoughts regarding these questions or this week’s readings on the LGB Week 7 page or on the LGB Facebook Page.  Thank you!

I remember a cartoon when I was a child in which the main characters, children, were able to travel back in time to when Jesus was alive.  They witnessed his miracles and heard him speak.  They smelled the smells and spoke to the people.  They were truly THERE.

This story line has stuck with me over the years.  Often, I think how wonderful it would be to be able to do what those characters did.  How much greater would my faith be if I could actually witness Jesus healing people?!   I yearn to see his face and to hear his voice!

Then again, how difficult would it be to hear and see how people reacted to Jesus negatively?  Would I be able to just stand there and watch?  When Jesus is condemned to be crucified, would I grieve even though I know how his death saves me?

The truth is, I can’t go back in time.  I am stuck in the present with only the information given to me in the Holy Bible and the information given to me from people who have made it their life’s work to decipher the Bible and understand the time period in which it was written.

Is that all?  Is there anything else that helps bring the past into the present besides the Holy Bible and the studies?  I say there is.  It is the Holy Spirit within me!  The Holy Spirit is in each one of us who have been baptized.  We may not see It, but can’t you feel  It?   It is in the daily blessings we receive.  It is in the miracles, big and small, that we witness.  It is in the joy we feel knowing that God is with us.   It is the little voice within us that keeps us on the right path.  Therefore, don’t forget to praise God for the Holy Spirit . . . for this gift that allows us to be with Him in the present until we are united with Jesus and God in the Kingdom of Heaven, for it is then that we WILL see His face and hear His voice!

We are now to Week 6 of our study of the Gospel of Matthew.  Please read Matthew 11:2-12:50 and share your thoughts regarding these versus, the study questions in your study guide, and/or the questions shown below.  You can post your thoughts either on the LGB Facebook page or on the Week 6 page.

Questions:

• What verse(s) stood out to you and why?
• Was Jesus frustrated by the people who heard him and saw the miracles he performed?
• How greater is our responsibility to follow Christ when we know Christ?  What fate awaits us if we commit mortal sin? (see Matthew 11:20-24)
• What “fruit” do you produce?  Is it good?  Bad?  (see Matthew 12:33-37)
• What can we learn about Jesus from his interactions with the Pharisees in Chapter 12?
• Additional Questions found in your study guide or in the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible – The Gospel of Matthew

Every one of us has faults.  However, it is much easier to see the faults in others than to see them in ourselves.  This week, we read about Jesus’ teachings on judging others and how we should focus on living our lives as he has shown us to live.   We must trust in God, even when others try to interfere, and we must work on building and maintaining  a strong relationship with God.  Our commitment to follow God is more important than anything else.  We will go through rough patches in our lives, but we need to stay focused on the power of Jesus who is greater than any evil.

This week, please read Matthew 7:1-7:29 and 8:1-8:34.  Below is some information as well as some study questions for you to ponder.  Please feel free to share your thoughts or any additional information you find.  You can make comments on the Week 4 page or on the group’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/lifegivingbread).

Information:

“Every major discourse in Matthew’s Gospel ends with a warning to put Jesus’ teaching into practice.” (New Collegeville Bible Commentary: The Gospel According to Matthew by Barbara E. Reid)

Questions:

• What verse(s) stood out to you and why?
• What faults within yourself do you need to work on? (Matthew 7:1-5)
• What relationship do you have with God?  Do you work hard at maintaining a relationship with Him?  Will He know you on the Day of Judgement? (Matthew 7:13-23)
• Is your house (your soul) upon a great foundation?   Do you hear Jesus and put his words into practice? (Matthew 7:24-27)
• How we live our lives and what we tell people influences others.  Are you a “Leper”and spreading sin?  (Matthew 8:1-4)
• What types of “storms” have you endured?  When they occurred, did you call upon Jesus? (Matthew 8:23-27)
• Why do you think the townspeople of Gadara begged Jesus to leave? (Matthew 8:28-34
• Additional Questions found in your study guide or in the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible – The Gospel of Matthew (page 76)

No one said it was going to be easy.  Being a Christian can be tough!  We are supposed to be examples of Christ’s love towards one another.  We are supposed to turn the other cheek and love our enemies.  We are not supposed to commit adultery or divorce, so that means we must work hard at our marriages to keep them strong and support others with their marriages.  We are to be the light of the world!

Thankfully, before going over all these rules to live by, Jesus gives us the wonderful Beatitudes.  The Beatitudes remind us that being a Christian can be tough.  We may suffer. However, whatever sufferings we endure in this life, we must look past them.  We need to focus on the end goal . . . Heaven.  We will eventually be eternally blessed with God in His Kingdom.

For this week, please read Matthew 5:1-6:34.  I’ve included a little bit of additional information that I have found, which is shown below and on the Week 3 page.  Once you have read the verses for this week, the corresponding bible notations in your study guide, and the information I’ve included, please answer the questions below (also shown on the Week 3 page) and share your thoughts with the group either on our Facebook page or on the LGB Week 3 page.

Information: Verse 5:39b: “But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” When a person would slap another person, they would use their right hand. Since the verse states that the right check is struck, this means that the person is given a backhanded slap.  This is an insult and an act of humiliation.   Therefore, if you turn your cheek, you don’t show humiliation.  As a result, you rob the other person of the ability to humiliate you in this manner, shaming them instead.  This should cause the violence to end, which will allow the aggressor a chance at repentance, leading toward a healing of the relationship.  (New Collegeville Bible Commentary: The Gospel According to Matthew by Barbara E. Reid)

Questions:

• What verse(s) stood out to you and why?
• While reading the beginning of Chapter 5, I feel like I am at a pep rally.  I expect to hear a roar of applause and cheers while each Beatitude is read.  What comes to your mind when reading them?  Do they offer comfort to you or do they bother you?   Are they inline with our society’s values? (Matthew 5:1-11)
• As shown above in the information section, to “turn the other cheek” means to stop the cycle of retaliation and to help bring along repentance.  Look at your relationships.  Are any of them ones in which you always seem to end up fighting?  If so, how have you contributed to the cycle?  What are some ways you can help end the cycle of retaliation? (Matthew 5:38-41)
• When you do the Lord’s work or pray to Him, are you doing it to praise the Lord or to gather acclaim? (Matthew 6:1-18)
• Where does your treasure lie?  How much value do you place on money and material goods? (Matthew 6:19-21)
• Additional Questions found in your study guide or in the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible – The Gospel of Matthew (page 75)