I will nourish you with the heritage of Jacob, your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

I didn’t realize this until I pasted my opening quote from our first reading this morning…Jacob was my father!  As I reflected on the first reading, I was drawn back to my childhood.  My father, Jacob – better call him Jack though – worked hard while I was young.  I know I’ve written about this before, but its worth repeating.  My father worked a couple of jobs for a number of years while I was young.  He would put in his time as a counselor the the Catholic Cemeteries during the day and then work nights and Saturday’s for the Bank of America.  He fed us breakfast in the morning (another story or stories could be told about that meal growing up) and many times would work late and we wouldn’t see him the rest of the day.  He would work morning on Saturday and try to get to at least one of our soccer games later in the day.  Come Sunday, he would always go to 7 AM Mass, sit in the front pew then head home and fix the best breakfast of the week for the family.  He would then do some household chores – cut the grass, mow our hair, clean up his workbench until it was time to sit down in front of the TV for some much anticipated sports on a Sunday afternoon – baseball, basketball, football and Golf.  He wouldn’t be 30 seconds into his chair and watching TV before passing out and taking a much deserved nap.  He would nap until someone had the audacity to change the channel (usually Jeff) when he would wake up long enough to declare to all ” put that  back on the channel, I was watching that!”.  Taken from Genesis with a few modifications…

On the seventh day my Dad completed the work he had been doing; he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken.^b 3 My Dad blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation.^c

If you hold back your foot on the sabbath
from following your own pursuits on my holy day;
If you call the sabbath a delight,
and the LORD’s holy day honorable;
If you honor it by not following your ways,
seeking your own interests, or speaking with malice
Then you shall delight in the LORD,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
I will nourish you with the heritage of Jacob, your father,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Do something great for our Lord today – honor the Sabbath; take that ride on the heights of the earth.

God’s will, not mine, be done.

Be not afraid; just have faith.

Jesus, I trust in You.

He must increase; I must decrease.