So, I'm trying a few new things this week. First, I'm going all catholic all over the dates in the title, cause I'm tired of looking at the dates just repeat themselves at the top of the page. Second, I'm providing the readings as links, at the request of my husband. I prefer to read them all together on one page, but he has encouraged me to try links to save space. I am linking you to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops page, just so you know that is where I've been cutting and pasting all of the readings from. By the way, you can always click on the title for every day's blog for all of the readings on one page.

So, here goes:

2 Kings 17:5-8, 13-15a, 18

I have to warn you, if you clicked on the link, you read above and beyond. You read all of the little in between verses that are not in the normal reading, which means that I have to read them. My hub is looking more and more wrong. But what about the reading?

I wonder if this is the story where they tell about how all of the tribes of Israel were whittled down to just the tribe of Judah. (I assume this is how they got the name "Jews", right?)

Now if you were reading between the verses like I was, you saw a mention of "sacred poles". Again with the poles! We saw them last week, and I wondered what they were, I was imaging European may poles. I looked them up on our handy dandy United States Conference of Catholic Bishops page, and it says "Sacred poles: "Ashera" was the name of a Canaanite goddess. In her honor wooden poles (asherot) were erected, just as stone pillars (massebot) were erected in honor of the god Baal. " So, they were still worshipping old gods from back in their beating-up-Canaan days, huh? No wonder God is ticked. He asked them to do a simple thing, and they just ignore him, and keep on partying with their idols and poles and pillars. So he wiped them out. Ouch.

The gospel reading for the day:

Mt 7:1-5

I have to come right out and say it: Christianity is hard. I am SO doomed if the way that I judge others is how I'm gonna be judged. I know that this is a downer, but it's my first response. It's probably the first response for a lot of people, so maybe we should just think of this as something to work on and shoot for. How great would the world be if everyone did this? I know that I sound all sunshine and butterflies right now, but seriously. Come on. If everybody judged our mistakes at work and home as lightly as they want to be judged by God, we could sail through this life, and stop arguing with each other.

Okay. Enough of the lovey hippie talk. Everyone be good, have a nice day, and go easy on your family and friends. See? Maybe God wants you to.

I'm trying to include a bit of a news link in every post, so here is today: Catholic Radio receives boost from Pope Benedict