Only a Cup of Cold Water

Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

~~~ Isaiah 1: 10-17 ~~~ Psalm 50 ~~~ Matthew 10: 34-11: 1~~~

What care I for the number of your sacrifices?
says the LORD.

Hear the word of the LORD...
Listen to the instruction of our God..."

Isaiah, the prophet, is warning Sodom and Gomorrah to mend their ways.

It is not enough to cover yourself with ash and clothe yourself in sack cloth

if what is inside your heart remains unchanged.

Making sacrifices should result in a change of attitude or conduct; if not

then you have wasted your efforts.

God wants more than the outward appearances of sacrifice.

"...He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God."

We are here to know, love, and serve the Lord.

God gives us the written instructions of how to go the right way.

The words of scripture have given us countless examples 

pointing to the 'right' way.

But we are weak and while we may hear and have good intentions

our selfishness and our ego causes us to trip.

I do believe our ego gets in the way.

We care too much about what other people think about us.

We care too much about other people seeing what we are doing.

Have you ever done something simply because

you thought it was expected

of you by others?

"...And whoever gives only a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones to drink
because he is a disciple?
Amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward."


Giving even a cup of cold water to someone in need is valuable to the Lord.

A cup is only eight ounces...eight ounces is a small amount of water.

Jesus calls himself the living water.

Giving of yourself as one of his disciples is more acceptable to the Lord

than hours and days of meaningless sacrifices.

When you give even in a small way it can be as refreshing as a cold cup of water.

Nothing can live without water.

Water is essential for our physical health.

Thinking more of others and less of yourself is really what God is encouraging.

For many people in our world today having only a cup of cold water

would be a cause for celebration.

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, protect us!