The kingdom of God is close at hand:
repent and believe the Good News. MK 1:15
1 KINGS 2:1-4,10-12
My Soul's Beloved,
David was a very poor foreshadowing of You, our Lord, God, and King. You are the Son of David to whom all the prophecies referred, and You are so much more than that. You are, in fact, the Son of the Living God, the Eternal Word of the Father, the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings, the Savior and Redeemer. You are the visible and tangible Love of the Father revealed to us most powerfully on the crucifix and even more powerfully through Your abiding Presence in all the Holy Eucharist in all the tabernacles of the world.
As David's life was ending, he called his son Solomon and advised him how to live his life if he was to enjoy to the fullest all the promises that God had made concerning Solomon, his son. “If your sons are careful how they behave, and walk loyally before me with all their heart and soul, you shall never lack for a man on the throne of Israel.” Sadly, although Solomon began well he ended very, very badly because he lost sight of the fact that all blessing come to us from God and when we sin, sin gravely, sin continuously adding mortal sin upon mortal sin we alone are responsible for actively blocking God's infinite love, mercy, gifts, and blessings to flow into our lives and transform them.
As David's life was ending, he called his son Solomon and advised him how to live his life if he was to enjoy to the fullest all the promises that God had made concerning Solomon, his son. “If your sons are careful how they behave, and walk loyally before me with all their heart and soul, you shall never lack for a man on the throne of Israel.” Sadly, although Solomon began well he ended very, very badly because he lost sight of the fact that all blessing come to us from God and when we sin, sin gravely, sin continuously adding mortal sin upon mortal sin we alone are responsible for actively blocking God's infinite love, mercy, gifts, and blessings to flow into our lives and transform them.
If only we paid heed to the good advice given to us, we would save ourselves so much heartache, heartbreak, and grief. Sadly, we choose to follow the world. We do not wish to stand out or be made to feel ridiculous because we live our faith openly among those we call friends. We are prepared to imperil our souls eternally because we refuse to take Your commandments, which are given to us for our good, seriously. How foolish and stupid we are, Lord, and how it must break Your Heart that we have eyes but do not see, ears but do not hear, and a heart that refuses to believe.
As David’s life drew to its close he laid this charge on his son Solomon, ‘I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong and show yourself a man. Observe the injunctions of the Lord your God, following his ways and keeping his laws, his commandments, his customs and his decrees, as it stands written in the Law of Moses, that so you may be successful in all you do and undertake, so that the Lord may fulfil the promise he made me, “If your sons are careful how they behave, and walk loyally before me with all their heart and soul, you shall never lack for a man on the throne of Israel.”’
So David slept with his ancestors and was buried in the Citadel of David. David’s reign over Israel lasted forty years: he reigned in Hebron for seven years, and in Jerusalem for thirty-three.
Solomon was seated upon the throne of David, and his sovereignty was securely established.
PSALM- 1 CHRONICLES 29:10-12
You, Lord, are the ruler of all.
May you be blessed, O Lord,
the God of Israel, our father,
for ever, for ages unending!
Yours, Lord, are greatness and power,
and splendour, triumph, and glory.
All is yours, in heaven and on earth.
Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;
you are supreme above all.
Both honour and riches come from you.
You are the ruler of all,
from your hand come strength and power;
from your hand come greatness and might.
You, Lord, are the ruler of all.
MARK 6:7-13
My Soul's Beloved,
the God of Israel, our father,
for ever, for ages unending!
Yours, Lord, are greatness and power,
and splendour, triumph, and glory.
All is yours, in heaven and on earth.
Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;
you are supreme above all.
Both honour and riches come from you.
You are the ruler of all,
from your hand come strength and power;
from your hand come greatness and might.
You, Lord, are the ruler of all.
MARK 6:7-13
My Soul's Beloved,
Whenever we make a journey, we make our travel cumbersome by carrying far more than we could ever need on the off-chance that we might. How foolish is that? We lug around and tire ourselves with this needless baggage when we could travel easily, lightly, and freely without it. Sadly, we refuse to believe that You are Jehovah Jirah. We refuse to trust in Your providence. We refuse to take You at Your Word, the power of which, when uttered by the Creator, brought all things into being.
The Apostles witnessed the power of Your Word, which effected what You commanded. What You said came to be, no matter what it was that You declared Your Word over - the body, the soul, the spirit, mind, the elements of nature. You fed the five thousand with 3 loaves and 5 fish. You commanded the storm, and the waves subsided, and the winds became a gentle breeze. You turned six stone water jars filled with water at the wedding in Cana into approximately 20 to 30 gallons of delicious wine. Your Word provides all who believe with all we need in superabundance. Your Word, O Lord, is truth, and each of us who is baptized and grafted to Your Body is sanctified by this Truth. When we claim the power of Your Word in faith, we too receive the power of this Word to change our lives from ordinary to extraordinary, just like the Twelve.
Thank You, my Lord and my God, for all You have done for Your Church and for all who belong to her. Grant, O Lord, that all Christians come to her, find their home in her, and Your prayer for unity, which the Father has already heard and answered, become visible here and now rather than later.
Jesus made a tour round the villages, teaching. Then he summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs giving them authority over the unclean spirits. And he instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses. They were to wear sandals but, he added, ‘Do not take a spare tunic.’ And he said to them, ‘If you enter a house anywhere, stay there until you leave the district. And if any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you, as you walk away shake off the dust from under your feet as a sign to them.’ So they set off to preach repentance; and they cast out many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.
