Jeremiah:18-20, Psalm 31:5-6, 14-16, Matthew:17-28

Daily Holy Mass Readings:  Jeremiah:18-20, Psalm 31:5-6, 14-16,                

                                                          Matthew:17-28

Jeremiah:18-20

My Beloved, it is in the nature of evil to plot and scheme against the good.  To stand up boldly for You and for the cause of all that is good, is an irritant to the conscience of those of who would rather pretend that You either do not exist of that You are an option that they can choose either to acknowledge or ignore completely.  They have convinced themselves that they have no need for You and yet, if it was not for Your benevolence they would be dead for we depend on You to draw breath.

Forgive the foolishness of the ignorant my Lord and through grace open their eyes that they might see.  Open their ears that they might hear and open their hearts that they might receive Your love and live.

Psalm 31:5-6, 14-16

My Beloved, everything that men put You through in Your life, passion, and death were all prophesied clearly years before You became incarnate of the Virgin Mother.  To this day, people continue to plot and devise evil schemes to destroy those who choose to follow You.  Thank You for the wonderful example You have left us when faced with the enemy.  Thank You for showing us that God is in control and no one can harm a hair of our head if God did not permit it for a greater good.  If we die in You then we will rise to glory in, with and through You.

Beloved, please call all who are lying in the grave of indifference, unbelief and sin and save them for the sake of Your passion.

Matthew:17-28

Beloved, in these verses, You reveal clearly what we can expect as Your disciples if we wish to follow closely.  Those who choose to walk with You on the Way to the Kingdom and the Father's House will be treated in the same manner in which You were treated and this should not come as a surprise to us.

You came to bring division and to cast a fire on the earth, You came to separate the wheat from the chaff.  But even Your own can have the desire for power and influence.  If we drink from the same cup from which You drank, we do so not in order to be rewarded but because we know that the servant is not greater than the Master.  Those who are true disciples must serve, must nurture, must love to the point of death if need be, but first and foremost death to self.

Grant me Your help Beloved and to all who want to follow You closely.