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Monday 9am - 4pm Tuesday 9am - 4pm Wednesday 9am - 4pm Thursday 9am - 4pm Friday 9am - 4pm Sunday 11:15am - 12:15pm

St. Lawrence Catholic Church

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Monett, MO
St. Lawrence Catholic Church

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405 Seventh Street
Monett, MO 65708

417-235-3286

Mass Schedule
Saturday 5:30 PM English Mass
Sunday: 10:00 AM English Mass
12:30 PM Spanish Mass

Weekdays:
Tuesday - Thursday 8:00 AM

First Friday
10:00 AM

Confessions
Saturday 4:30 PM

10/30/2026

Contemplating today's Gospel: Friday 30 October 2026: Friday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time: 1st Reading (Phil 1:1-11): Responsorial Psalm: 110: R/. How great are the works of the Lord ! Gospel text (Lk 14:1-6): “Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?”: What Is Lawful on the Sabbath? No, healing on the Sabbath is not unlawful under God's law, though it was considered a violation of strict, man-made traditions by the Pharisees in the Bible. The original fourth commandment in the Torah (Exodus 20:8–11) forbids "work" (melachah), but it does not define healing or acts of mercy as forbidden work. Religious leaders and Pharisees added extra-biblical oral traditions and rigid restrictions that treated routine medical care or healing as unlawful work, unless a life was in immediate, acute danger. Jesus repeatedly challenged these legalistic additions by asking whether it is lawful to do good or save life on the Sabbath (such as in Matthew 12:10–12, Mark 3:4, and Luke 14:3). He pointed out that people would rescue a trapped sheep or water an animal on the Sabbath, meaning human mercy and healing take precedence over rigid ritualism. Today the Gospel shows us Jesus: firm as an ox, gentle as a donkey. He is at the house of an important Pharisee; it is a Sabbath. “They were observing him carefully” (Lk 14:1). In this atmosphere of judgment, Jesus looks at a man suffering from dropsy before him, and his question is direct: “Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?” (Lk 14:3). A question that challenges the rigidity of the law in favor of compassion, also of the heart. The law of the Sabbath, like our Sunday, was intended for rest and sanctification, and it had become a burden. Jesus, by comparing if the “son or the ox falls into a cistern,” shows us the inconsistency of those who, concerned about their possessions, would rescue them without hesitation, while postponing (on the Sabbath) the healing of a person. One who was rescued from a well is Saul of Tarsus. Let us imagine what he would say in his thanksgiving, echoing the words of Pope Leo XIV: “As we thank the Lord for the calling that changed his life… let us ask the Lord for the grace to cultivate and spread his charity, and to become true neighbors to one another.” Saint Bede interprets the ox and the donkey as “the Jewish and Gentile peoples, called to be freed from the well of concupiscence.” Jesus rescues everyone, regardless of our condition and the day. Being the “Son,” he would remember that night in Bethlehem, with the tender gaze of Mary and Joseph, where an ox and a donkey contemplated him; that child who came to pull us out of the well of sin, all of us and forever. Today, he encourages us with eyes of mercy to contemplate people before things, to prioritize life, every day. Today's healing, and the words of Jesus, challenge us: do our rules, traditions, or comforts prevent us from seeing the needs of others? The table—a symbol and sacrament of community and Eucharistic life—to which we are all invited, reflects a profound truth: our lives have incalculable value. At this table, Jesus washes our feet and gives himself to us as food, and He commands: "Do this in memory of me" (Luke 22:19).

10/29/2026

Contemplating today's Gospel: Thursday 29 October 2026: Thursday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time: 1st Reading (Eph 6:10-20): Responsorial Psalm: 143: R/. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock! Gospel text (Lk 13:31-35: Jesus trumpets in today’s Gospel: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how many times I yearned to gather your children together, but you were unwilling!” Jesus uses the metaphor of a mother hen protecting her chicks to show His deep, caring desire to shelter and save the people. The phrase "you were unwilling" highlights human free will and the rejection of God's messengers and prophets over time. In both passages, Jesus warns that the city and its temple will face abandonment or desolation because they refused His call. Saint Luke begins the public life of Jesus with this prophecy: "He sent me (...) to announce to the blind that they will regain their sight. "(Lk 4, 18) And people ask themselves: "Isn't this the son of Joseph? "(Lk 4, 22) Here we are now in chapter 13 of the same Gospel where Jesus performs miracles in abundance. And yet people are always blind and do not realize who is speaking to them; Herod, who wants to kill him, as a mere man, a troublemaker. The Pharisees also who advise him to flee like a simple man. What does Jesus answer then? That he is a prophet and that the plans of men are nothing compared to the mission of the prophet. By addressing the crowds, his chosen people, darling, Jesus goes further. It is not enough to be a prophet for them. He speaks as God, a loving creator ignored, abandoned by his creatures. It is the infinitely merciful heart of the Father who speaks in Jesus to the crowds. And these crowds don't recognize it. Even when they will acclaim him on Palm Day, saying: "Blessed be he who comes in the name of the Lord. They will follow him as a prophet, will kill him like many prophets before him, but will not believe in him as God. How much do I have of my faith? Like Herod: Jesus - and the Christian life he offers me - is only one man among others. Prayer, one activity among many others, mass one of my many commitments, faith one option among others. Like the crowds: Jesus is certainly a prophet who disturbs and attracts both. Sometimes I am, sometimes I deny it. But always from my perspective, my initiative. I am the one who directs my life and Christ is one of the inspirations I use. I then let myself be touched by these words of Christ: "How many times have I wanted to gather your children as the hen gathers its chicks under its wings, and you did not want to! (Mt 23, 37) God is the only criterion, the starting point of my life, the meaning of my decisions. Dialogue with Christ: Lord Jesus, I hear your words echoing in me. I feel how far I am from recognizing you as my God. And yet you keep calling me, without getting tired, without giving up on making me come back to you. I want so much to live from you, to live for you, to recognize you as my God and Lord. Grant me this grace of a vision of faith. Resolution: Today I will seek Christ in every decision, even the most practical and concrete, saying to myself: "What is God's vision of my decision? ”

10/28/2026

Contemplating today's Gospel: Wednesday 28 October 2026: October 28th: Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles: 1st Reading (Eph 2:19-22): Responsorial Psalm: 18: R/. Their message goes out through all the earth. Gospel text (Lk 6:12-19): The greatest and most striking things, in the advancement of the Kingdom of God, are often done in the most discreet and simplest way. That day when the twelve apostles were instituted and, thereby, the columns of the Church were laid, everything happened in the silence and solitude of a night of prayer on the mountain. Jesus is alone in front of his Father in the communion of the Spirit. The sequence, still heterogeneous, of the first disciples rests down somewhere on the slopes of the mountain. We think of Jacob, alone, in the Yabok torrent and spending all night struggling with the angel of the Lord, while his own rest beyond the river. Jacob will become, that night, Israel and will be the father of the twelve sons who will give birth to the twelve tribes of the people of the covenant. Jesus, that night, is like the new Jacob who comes to fulfill the promises made to our fathers and seal the covenant established by God forever with all the men of the earth. Not only the first Israel in biblical history, but also the New Israel of God who represents the Church of Nations. And that is why, on the threshold of this night of prayer, at the dawn of the new day, Jesus still designates twelve apostles who will be as many envoys in charge of bringing the Gospel to the ends of the earth (Ac 1:8). In the silent freshness of this clear morning of Galilee, without noise, without warning, but with the irresistible power of the Spirit that rests entirely on Christ, the Church was born. So here it is already the long procession that descends from the mountain, following the Master who has just constituted it; the long procession of the witnesses of the Kingdom of God whose march has never been interrupted for almost twenty centuries and which will last as announced, until the end of time and will gradually extend to all the peoples of the earth. We can thank the Lord for being so faithful in his promises; and to do forever, by the sole power of his grace, all new things. It is that what happened that morning, with no witnesses other than those who were then called by the Lord, still concerns us directly today. As the apostle Paul reminded us beautifully earlier: We are no longer strangers or passing people. We are fellow citizens of the saints, members of the family of God, and integrated into the construction that has the apostles and prophets as foundations (Ep 2:19-20). Of this construction, Christ himself is the cornerstone And we become by the Holy Spirit the home of God (2,22)! It is not nothing that each of us can say to ourselves: I am, by the grace of Christ, a living stone of the Church of God! Among these twelve apostles, we celebrate more especially today: Saint Simon and Saint Jude. What audacity on the part of Jesus in the choice of Simon the Zealot to make him an apostle alongside the publican Matthew. A revolutionary with a collaborator, we could say! Thus is the Church of God; of God who does not accept people and wants to gather us all in unity, despite the diversity of our races, languages, peoples and nations (Rev 7:9). Of our cultural schemes and our political opinions. For God really wants all men to be saved (1 Tm 2,4). And what a beautiful answer is the question of Jude asking Jesus: Lord, what is there that you have to manifest yourself to us and not to the world? Jesus reveals to him in fact: If someone loves me he will remain faithful to my word, my Father will love him! We will come to his house and we will make our home in his home (Jn 14:23). On the one hand, the call of a fierce activist to make him a messenger of the Gospel. On the other hand, the revelation of divine inhabitation in the soul of the faithful and praying believer. There are really many dwellings in the Father's House (Jn 14:3)! And it is to all people of good will that the Church of Christ will open the doors of the Kingdom of God!

10/27/2026

Contemplating today's Gospel: Tuesday 27 October 2026: Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time: 1st Reading (Eph 5:21-33): Responsorial Psalm: 18: R/. Blessed are those who fear the Lord. Gospel text (Lk 13:18-21): Jesus is a master in the art of using the scenes or images of everyday life to express the mysteries of the Kingdom. In today's gospel, Jesus uses two to reveal to us the essence of the kingdom of God. The comparison he makes of the latter to a mustard seed expresses at the same time burial, death but also the life force whose effects are immeasurable compared to what one might expect. Who could imagine, in fact, that a small seed of barely a millimeter could bloom into a shrub almost three meters high! In the same sense, the image of the sourdough is also very suggestive. A small handful, mixed in the evening with three measures of flour (about 36 liters), will give bread in the morning for a whole family. Without anyone paying attention, the dough will have risen all night under the effect of this tiny amount of sourdough. Through these two parables, we find the whole life of Christ. For the kingdom of God is first of all Christ. Does Jesus, by designating himself, not say to his apostles: "the kingdom of God is in the midst of you"? Kingdom of God with modest beginnings, word of life sown in the hearts of a small group of apostles, illustrious unknowns in the eyes of the greats of the world of that time. Word called to die during the test of passion. Word buried three days in the tomb, but which in the night of this burial will gradually rise to let his life force burst in broad daylight. Resurrection called to deploy its power in the hearts of all those who will allow themselves to be irrigated by the dew of the Spirit of Pentecost. This is how the tree of the Church, the body of Christ, has sprouted, which unites heaven and earth and allows every man to discover that his true home is in the heart of the Father. The tree of the kingdom of God has deployed its branches to the ends of the earth offering every man to find refuge in the shadow of divine mercy. This tree of the Church will always have to remember its insignificant beginnings so as not to be proud and believe that it has built itself. His branches that extend to join every man on this earth should never make him lose sight of the fact that such a deployment only results from the fact that his roots are immersed in the very heart of the Trinity. This act of memory will then make him strong against the storm winds which, if they do not fail to make him falter, will never be able to bring him down. What is true of the Church is also true of every Christian. May this Eucharist allow us to take root more and more deeply in God. We will then be sure that we will bear a fruit of eternal life.

10/26/2026

Contemplating today's Gospel: Monday 26 October 2026: Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time: 1st Reading (Eph 4:32—5:8): Responsorial Psalm: 1: R/. Behave like God as his very dear children. Gospel text (Lk 13:10-17): It may seem surprising that a possessed woman is admitted to a place of prayer. But the place reserved for women in the synagogue is a little away. Moreover, nothing in the behavior of this infirm woman foreshadows the cause of her illness, which the evangelist immediately reveals to the reader, anticipating the explanation that Jesus will give at the end of the story. The number "eighteen" is mentioned twice, at the beginning and at the end of the pericope, on both sides of the number "six": the woman has been bound for "eighteen years" - that is to say three times "six" years - and the head of the synagogue reproaches the crowd for coming to be healed on the day of the Sabbath rather than one of the "six" days reserved for work. Now the Sabbath is the seventh day, that of the rest of God, and even more that of the rest of the whole creation in God. Clearly: the evil spirit that has bound the woman to the earth for three times six years, prevents her from reaching the seventh day. Such is the sad state of our poor humanity, which has lost the meaning of its existence since it cut itself off from God by its sin. No matter how much we multiply our efforts throughout the three ages of our life, we remain prisoners of incompleteness ("six"), we do not reach our purpose in God ("seven"). It is on the horizon of this failure that Our Lord emerges as a victorious warrior. Taking authority over the evil spirit, he delivers the woman, anticipating in her the fruit of his Passover; then imposing his hands on her, he communicates the Spirit to her. In doing so, he restores her to her filial dignity, he restores her to "the image of God". It is in these terms that we usually translate the Hebrew expression that appears in Gn 1,27, and which literally means "God created man standing, in an upright position", that is to say the position in which the woman is restored after the intervention of Jesus. The evangelist specifies: "and she gave glory to God". This is precisely the activity reserved for the Sabbath. The indignation of the head of the synagogue is therefore all the more unwelcome, since far from transgressing the precept, the healing accomplished by Jesus makes it possible to observe him. But instead of judging the fruit tree and entering with the woman into thanksgiving for the miracle accomplished, this man reduces the intervention of Our Lord to a "work" of a thaumaturge. This is why Jesus rectifies his remark by specifying that it is a liberation, that is, an action that only God can perform: would he therefore have the claim to reproach God for acting on a Sabbath day? The interpellation "false minds" - in the plural - indicates that the head of the synagogue is only the interpreter of the general disapproval expressed by the Pharisees present at the event. Our Lord reproaches them for their duplicity: as religious men, versed in the Scriptures, they know very well that the Law allows them to "detach his ox or donkey from the feeder on the Sabbath day to lead him to drink". Jesus continues the argument "a fortiori" that he particularly fonds: "all the more so it was necessary to untie this daughter of Abraham from the ties to which Satan had subjected her, to lead her to the living sources of the Spirit, so that she could quench her thirst for divine life! ” Lord, since sin prevailed over us, like this woman, we were turned to the earth, absolutely unable to straighten up and look up to heaven. But you loved us and you gave yourself for us by offering God the sacrifice that could please him. Do not allow us to resume our old slavery, but now that in you we have become light, give us to live like threads of light.

10/24/2026

Sunday, October 25, 2026; 30th Sunday In Ordinary Time! Exodus 22: 20-26; 1 Thessalonians 1: 5c-10; Matthew 22: 34-40: More than one believe that today’s Gospel can be considered to be one of the most important teachings of Jesus. The message is very clear calling us to love God and love our neighbors which are the two most important commandments in the eyes of the Lord. And who is your neighbor? Everyone! Everything else taught in the scriptures and by the prophets is connected to these two commandments. All people are your brothers and sisters—including, of course, people who are different from you or disagree with you. Heavenly Father wants His children to love each other. When you serve His children, you are serving Him. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, you can lead out in treating people of all races, religions, and any other groups with love and respect—especially those who are sometimes victims of hurtful words and actions. Reach out to those who may feel lonely, isolated, or helpless. Help them feel Heavenly Father’s love through you. Share with them the blessings He has given you, and invite them to follow Jesus Christ. Folks, Make sure your language reflects your love of God and others—whether you’re communicating in person or virtually. Say things that uplift—nothing that might be divisive, hurtful, or offensive, even as a joke. Your words can be powerful. Let them be powerful for good. Show love to your family. Loving all of God’s children starts at home. Do your part to make your home a place where everyone can feel the Savior’s love. Your relationship with God will deepen as you express your love by obeying His commandments and keeping your covenants with Him. Your relationship with others will deepen as you express your love through Christlike service. You will find joy in making the world a more loving place. Pope Francis writes, Love impels us towards universal communion. No one can mature or find fulfillment by withdrawing from others. By its very nature, love calls for growth in openness and the ability to accept others as part of a continuing adventure that makes every periphery converge in a greater sense of belonging. As Jesus told us: You are all brothers (and sisters) (Mt 23:8). For God’s Holy people, these words are an echo of our spirituality. The Precious Blood of Jesus was shed for all people without distinction. And that love poured out proclaims all people precious in the eyes and heart of God. To be drenched in the love and the Precious Blood of Christ is be filled with the grace to recognize and welcome all people as brothers and sisters.

10/24/2026

Contemplating today's Gospel: Saturday 24 October 2026: Memorial of Saint Anthony Mary Claret: Saturday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time: 1st Reading (Eph 4:7-16): Responsorial Psalm: 121: R/. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord. Gospel text (Lk 13:1-9): “If you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!”: People told Jesus about Galileans whose blood Pontius Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus also mentioned eighteen people who died when a tower in Siloam fell on them. At the time, many believed that sudden suffering or death was a direct punishment from God for a person's specific sins. Jesus stated that those victims were not worse sinners than anyone else. Instead of focusing on the fate of others, He used the events to warn the living to examine their own hearts. Jesus taught that physical death can happen suddenly and unexpectedly to anyone. He urged listeners to repent (turn away from sin and return to God) so they do not face a spiritual death or final judgment. Pilate had just put to death the Galileans who had revolted against the Roman occupation. Eighteen people had also died in the fall of the Siloe Tower. These tragic events had deeply marked the spirits and many wondered if they were not a punishment from God for the sins of these victims. We often think about the conversion of the heart of our neighbor. We would like them to change their way of being, thinking, living and we quickly come to judge them. Even when we feel that we are objectively right, the Lord makes us understand that the call to conversion is addressed to each of us and that we must never forget that we ourselves are the first concerned. Changing the other is often beyond our possibilities but, with the help of God's grace, we can always work on our own conversion. There may be things in my neighbor that we will never be able to change. Let us ask the Lord for the courage and serenity to accept him as well as the confidence to put in his hands the conversion of those who are dear to us. Let us also ask him to transform our own heart. By turning more to the Lord, we may be able to give those around us the desire to do the same. In the parable of the sterile fig tree, the Lord invites us to patience and perseverance in our path of conversion. We can often be discouraged when we see the little fruit or progress on our path of faith. We sometimes look like the master of the vine who would like to cut everything. This attitude does not come from the Lord but can arise from our wounded pride, from unhealthy weariness, or even from the demon who wants to divert us from our path of faith. Jesus' attitude towards us is similar to that of the winemaker. He looks at us full of mercy, hope and trust. The conversion of the heart is a work that is accomplished throughout life. The Lord is always ready to renew his forgiveness and to grant us his grace to allow us a new beginning. Do I give the Lord the opportunity to spread in my soul the sweet scent of his forgiveness and mercy by regularly participating in the sacrament of reconciliation? Do I feed my soul with his Word and his presence in prayer and the Eucharist? As St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Philippians: "I can do everything in the one who gives me strength. (Ph 4, 13)

10/23/2026

Contemplating today's Gospel: Friday 23 October 2026: Saint Ignatius of Constantinople, bishop: Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time: 1st Reading (Eph 4:1-6): Responsorial Psalm: 23: R/. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face. Gospel text (Lk 12:54-59): "Why do you not know how to interpret the present time? Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?": Jesus criticizes the people because they can easily predict the weather by looking at the sky and wind (such as rain from a western cloud or heat from a southern wind), yet they fail to recognize the spiritual reality and critical moment unfolding right in front of them with His ministry. By asking, "Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?", He challenges them to use their own moral and spiritual discernment instead of blindly ignoring the truth. He follows this with a warning about legal disputes before a magistrate, urging people to settle their differences and make things right immediately before facing serious consequences. With that being said, The wisdom of the peasants of Galileo (and probably of all the peasants on the planet!) Is legendary. The slightest signs of nature are for them carriers of messages. The direction of the wind, the brightness of the sky: nothing is silent, everything speaks to those who want to take the trouble to listen to the voice of nature. It is precisely this excellence that angers Jesus: would there be fewer signs of the advent of the Kingdom than of the next meteorological change? Would the book of Revelation therefore be more obscure than that of creation? No, of course! The coming of the Messiah was clearly announced by the prophets and Jesus fulfills the signs that make it possible to recognize him. How is it that the men of yesterday as well as those of today refuse to hear or see? Why don't they "know how to judge the time we are"? Could it be because inspecting the earth of our heart, evaluating our docility with the breath of the Spirit, presents risks? The risk of realizing that it is urgent to convert ourselves; the risk of discovering that we must take control of our lives, overcome our inertia and set off in the footsteps of Jesus... "Fake spirits," exclaims Jesus; you stifle the voice of your conscience so that you can live as you please; you elucidate pseudo-wiseness to justify your immoral behavior; you think you are rich, and you "do not know that you are unhappy, pitiful, blind and naked" (Rev 3, 17) Today is the time of conversion and mercy. Tomorrow it may be too late: we do not know the distance that separates us from the righteous Judge. Let us therefore recognize the time when God visits us, and hurry us to welcome the grace of reconciliation that he offers us, to avoid appearing before him loaded with an insolvent debt! Lord, grant us not to let the time of your grace pass, but to convert ourselves, so that we may hear your voice, that we may open the door for you and that you may enter our house to take your meal with us (cf. Ap 3, 20).

10/22/2026

Contemplating today's Gospel: Thursday 22 October 2026: Memorial of Saint John Paul II, pope: Thursday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time: 1st Reading (Eph 3:14-21): Responsorial Psalm: 32: R/. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. Gospel text (Lk 12:49-53): «I have come to set the earth on fire»: Many Christian interpretations view the fire as the purifying presence of God and the coming of the Holy Spirit, which cleanses, transforms, and refines the hearts of believers. In the immediate verses following (Luke 12:51–53), Jesus clarifies that His mission is not to bring superficial peace, but division. Accepting or rejecting His truth creates lines of separation, even within close family households (father against son, mother against daughter). Verse 50 links this fire to a "baptism" Jesus must undergo—referring to His coming suffering and death on the cross, which He anticipates with intense distress and zeal before redemption can be finished. With that being said, At this time of year when the sun is slow to rise and mornings are increasingly cool, fire spontaneously evokes the bealient light and heat. But it is not certain that this is the right interpretation of the image used by Jesus in this passage! It is enough to read more to realize that it is rather a purifying fire, and thus destructive, at least slags and other impurities. This mysterious fire that Our Lord "came to bring to earth" and which he would like "to be already lit", will indeed introduce division to the heart of the families. These are composed of Jesus' description of five people: the father, the mother, the son, the daughter and the mother-in-law. "From now on, five people from the same family will be divided: three against two and two against three": the rest suggests that the son and daughter - that is, the new generation - will be in opposition to the parents and the mother-in-law, the latter representing previous generations. It is likely that this image suggests the break introduced by the Word of Jesus between the two Covenants: the one contracted between God and Israel in ancient times, and the one that the Lord comes to propose "in the last times, in these days when we are" (He 1:2) in order to constitute a new people, a new humanity. The image of fire that arouses division, recalls the episode where God seals the first Covenant with his servant Abraham. On the order of the Lord, the patriarch divided in two the animals planned for the holocaust, and "placed each half in front of the other. After sunset, a smoking fire and a flaming torch passed between the animal quarters. On that day, the Lord made a covenant with Abraham" (Gen 15, 9-18). The ritual of allegiance provided that the suzerain and the vassal both pass between the dismembered animals, pronouncing imprecations condemning the one who betrayed the alliance, to suffer the fate of the victims offered. However, in the story of Genesis, God alone - symbolized by "the flaming torch" - fulfills the rite, passing in his own name and that of Abraham - "the smoking fire". Fire therefore represents the faithfulness of God who is committed to making up for man's failures, so that the Covenant is saved despite all our betrayals. Perhaps the image proposed by Jesus alludes to this prefigurative rite, which finds its fulfillment in him. Is not Our Lord both the priest, the altar and the victim of the new and eternal Covenant, which will be consumed on the wood of the Cross in the Fire of the Spirit of Love? Is it not he who seals the Covenant in the name of God and in the name of men? Is it not of him that the Precursor spoke when he prophesied: "I baptize you with water; but he comes, the one who is more powerful than me. I am not worthy of undoing the belt of his sandals. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in the fire" (Lk 3, 16). But to be able to baptize us in the Fire of divine life, Jesus will first pass himself through the great waters of death: "I must receive a baptism, and how it costs me to wait for it to be accomplished! Our Lord is eager to take on himself the wages of our sin: death, so that he can offer us in return the free gift of God: eternal life. Such is the deep desire of the Savior; but he is well aware that not all will welcome this admirable exchange: by a strange obstinacy, we resist the action of grace; we refuse to be freed from the sin that has nevertheless enslaved us. So that we feel internally divided between the call of the Spirit, inviting us to put ourselves at the service of the justice that leads to holiness, and the own will of the old man, who wants to remain in impurity and disorder. This fight rages in us and around us: it divides families, societies, nations. Let us think of the violence of certain remarks made against evangelical morality, not only accused of cheesy, but denounced as a deadly doctrine. Let us also think of the debates around the reference to the Christian roots of Europe in the Preamble of its Constitutions. "Blessed" is he for whom Jesus is not a cause of scandal; who accepts to be freed from sin, and who joyfully chooses to become a slave of God: "He is like a tree planted by a stream, who bears fruit in his time, and his foliage never dies; everything he undertakes will succeed" (Ps 1).

Address

405 7th Street
Monett, MO
65708

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 4pm
Tuesday	9am - 4pm
Wednesday	9am - 4pm
Thursday	9am - 4pm
Friday	9am - 4pm
Sunday	11:15am - 12:15pm

Website

https://stlawrencemonett.com/

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