[media presentation below] GospelThink Thursday, August 3 MATTHEW 13:47-53 I tell you the story of the net thrown into the sea. Prayerthoughts a. Jesus continues his parables, using a story that fishermen can easily understand. What is my profession right now? Am I doing my best to make the Lord part of it, that is, to do everything that I do with the Lord’s directives in mind, primarily, love? b. The conclusion to the Lord’s story about the net is that at the final judgment, the evil will be punished. What evils influence me the most, and have I completely resisted them? c. Do I completely understand what the Lord wants for me? Formulate a directive that I would like to follow for the rest of my life. d. What are the three or four most practical Christian directives that Jesus has given to me? (This is the task of the meditation.) e. My prayerthoughts… Today, I will carry out letter d. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  HOW GOD WORKS IN OUR LIVES  + Jesus’ parable of the dragnet is very similar to the parable of the weeds           – its main point is at the end of the world, there will be wicked and just, the worthwhile and the useless                      – God will separate the two and there will be punishment and reward  + In the reading from Exodus, God is directing everything that happens           – Moses set up the Dwelling as God directed him                      – it is a foreshadowing of what the Temple was to be                      – then God worked out of that dwelling                                – directing every action of the Israelite people as they made their way into the promised land  + God is always directing our thoughts no matter what our situation in life           – one of the marks of a good disciple in Matthew’s Gospel for Matthew the teacher                      – is that he/she truly understands what God is doing in our lives           Do you understand all these things? — Yes           – then the final parable sums up the whole thought of parables here in this special section of Matthew’s Gospel:           Every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven…                         – …will recognize that good behavior is directed by both the old and the new, that is, the Old Testament and what Jesus is teaching  + Studying the stories and parables of Jesus and the stories of the Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament as well is the way we grow in the spiritual life           – with each story, we automatically place ourselves into the situation                      – trying to see where we fit, how we act, etc.                                – and as Matthew’s good disciple, we continually try to understand how God is acting in our lives. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back — Shawn Mendes LOVE HOLDS NOTHING BACK The Gospel JOHN 17:20-23 Jesus said: “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you love them, even as you loved me.”

Gospelthink: I pray for you that you and my Father and I may be unified in love. Do I show the love toward God and others that I should?

“I wanna follow where she goes; I think about her and she knows it. I wanna let her take control ‘cause every time that she gets close, she pulls me in enough to keep me guessing. I’ve been shaking; I love it when you go crazy. You take all my inhibitions: there’s nothing holdin’ me back.”

Reading St. John’s Gospel, there is no doubt that Jesus loves us with a divine love. “I pray for those who will believe in me through their word,” he tells his Father, “and I have given them the glory you gave me.” Jesus’ and therefore God’s love for us is a love that will never fail, and because of that, there is nothing that will be able to hold us back from God’s love. It is one of the most consoling parts of our Christian faith: we believe in the Lord because of the word of his disciples, and now we are one with God. Shawn Mendes’ song “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back” is a love song, of course, the statement of a man in the relationship who is making a permanent commitment to the other in that relationship. Listening to his words, there is no doubt that he loves her. It is a fitting comparison to God’s love for us. What does such a promise mean for you and me? It first of all should move us to be thankful to our God for the love that our Creator has for us. Not only do we have ourselves and our world as gifts from a good God, but we also have the promise of God’s everlasting love–no strings attached. It should also move us to action. Anyone who is loved so freely by another will want to return the love in some way. Perhaps, it will mean that we should love the others whom God has created with the same love that God shows us. Perhaps, it will mean that we adopt an attitude of gratitude about life. God loves us completely. As a true lover, God will not allow anything to hold us back from that love. It is a perfect pattern for romantic love, and indeed for all love.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, Your Son has assured us of God’s love for all of us. Thank you for that love, and allow this love to be an incentive for us to love all of God’s creation in return. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: If there is true love in a relationship, there will be nothing that prevents one from loving the other.     DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. Why do you think praying that we all be one or unity is so important to Jesus? 2. Even though the song seems to allow the lady in the relationship to determine what he will do, why do most counselors feel that it is wrong to allow one person in the relationship to make such a decision? 3. Analysis: what holds us back most from making a love permanent with someone we love? 4. What does it mean to you that you are “one with God.” 5. Before a couple makes a permanent commitment to marry, what are the absolute prerequisites that must be present in the relationship? 6. What is the best way to express our thanks to God? 7. Define the “attitude of gratitude”.  8. What does the song “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back” teach young people?