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Saturday, July 23, 2011

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St. Bridget


Exodus 24:3-8
Psalm 50:1-2, 5-6, 14-15
Matthew 13:24-30

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forever free

"His slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go out and pull them up?' " —Matthew 13:28

In His kingdom, God lets the wheat and weeds grow together. He doesn't pull weeds until they die or He comes again (Mt 13:30, 40). He delays in pulling weeds so that they might change and become wheat. However, it's possible that, while waiting for the weeds to turn into wheat, the wheat may turn into weeds.

Therefore, "be solicitous to make your call and election permanent" (2 Pt 1:10). "After beginning in the Spirit, are you now to end in the flesh?" (Gal 3:3) "It was for liberty that Christ freed us. So stand firm, and do not take on yourselves the yoke of slavery a second time!" (Gal 5:1) We must not become lukewarm (Rv 3:16) and turn away from our first love (Rv 2:4). "Let anyone who thinks he is standing upright watch out lest he fall!" (1 Cor 10:12) "When men have fled a polluted world by recognizing the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and then are caught up and overcome in pollution once more, their last condition is worse than their first. It would have been better for them not to have recognized the road to holiness than to have turned their backs on the holy law" (2 Pt 2:20-21).

The Lord graces us to become free and stay free through His "holy law" (2 Pt 2:21), that is, His Word. The truth of God's Word frees us (see Jn 8:32). "The law of the Spirit, the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, has freed you from the law of sin and death" (Rm 8:2). Look "into freedom's ideal law and [abide] by it" (Jas 1:25). Abide in God's law, Word, and truth (see Jn 8:31-32). Stay free.

Prayer:  Father, make me free always and forever.

Promise:  "We will do everything that the Lord has told us." —Ex 24:3

Praise:  St. Bridget sought to practice charity rather than dwell on her spiritual favors. She endured her last illness with heroic patience and resignation.

Rescript:  †Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 1, 2011

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