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Friday, July 1, 2022

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St. Junipero Serra


Amos 8:4-6, 9-12
Psalm 119:2, 10, 20, 30, 40, 131
Matthew 9:9-13

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yearn to know god

“I gasp with open mouth in my yearning for Your commands.” —Psalm 119:131

During Mass, are we concentrating on the next sale at work or the ballgame that evening? (see Am 8:5) Amos urges us to listen intently to the Word of God, for a time is coming when there will be a famine for hearing the Word of God (Am 8:11). Those who live in countries where they are persecuted for their faith in God understand all too well the spiritual starvation in such a famine.

We must work at listening to God. Listening to the Lord sacrificially is a good thing. Still, God wants more from us than sacrifices (Mt 9:9, 13; 1 Sm 15:22). We are His beloved. He wants a more intimate relationship with us. For if we sacrifice for God, yet have not love, we gain nothing (1 Cor 13:3).

God wants us to yearn for His Word (Ps 119:131) with a yearning far deeper than that of a beloved longing to hear from a separated lover. The Lord wants us to listen to His Word and “long for” it (Ps 119:40), so we may not just know what is good, but also listen so as to know Him (Phil 3:8-10) and to love Him with our all (Lk 10:27). Our sacrificial service to Him and others will then flow out of a response to His amazing love. With the psalmist, tell God: “My soul is consumed with longing for Your ordinances at all times” (Ps 119:20). Yearn for His commands (Ps 119:131).

Prayer:  “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening” (1 Sm 3:9).

Promise:  “I have come to call, not the self-righteous, but sinners.” —Mt 9:13

Praise:  St. Junipero spent thirty-four years building up the Church in California.

Reference:  (This teaching was submitted by a member of our editorial team.)
(For a related teaching on Hearing God, view, download or order our leaflet or listen to, download or order our CD 45-1 or DVD 45 on our website.)

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The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.