Isaiah 49:1-6, Acts 13:22-26, Psalm 139:1b-3, 13-15, Luke 1:57-66, 80

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS:  Isaiah 49:1-6, Acts 13:22-26, 

                                                                   Psalm 139:1b-3, 13-15, 

                                                                  Luke 1:57-66, 80

Isaiah 49:1-6

These verses from the prophet Isaiah apply to You my Beloved and to everyone who accepts Your invitation and mission to go out into the world and make disciples of all nations.  From St. John the Baptist, whose birthday the Church celebrates to day to the Apostles, disciples, martyrs, saints known and unknown, to the least in Your Kingdom who shine Your light in the world, this is our call from God who called us by name while we lay hidden in our mother's womb.  The work God has entrusted to each is unique and requires a response.  The work for each is different and is tailored to each ones vocation in life.  But no matter what that vocation may be, we are all called to spend our strength and our life in laboring for His Kingdom.

Grant O Lord that I do not squander the opportunities You provide me each day to labor in Your vineyard and for Your glory.

Acts 13:22-26

My Beloved, we see how God removes Saul whom he had appointed as king when he abandoned the ways of God and He let His favor rest on David a young, ruddy faced boy who tended his father's sheep on the hills.  Men would not have given him a second glance and would have laughed to scorn if God had consulted them before selecting and appointing David as King.  Thankfully God does not seek nor need our advice nor are His ways our ways.  God empowers those He has called and chosen; giving us all that is required to carry out the work that He has entrusted to us.  Throughout salvation history we see how God works through man to establish His Kingdom on earth.

Pride must never overshadow us in our work.  In all things it is Christ alone who must be preached and glorified as the only Lord and Savior of the world.

Psalm 139:1b-3, 13-15

 

My Father, my Abba, I thank You for creating me.  It was love alone that fashioned and formed me and made me the person I am.  From the moment of my conception Your mighty hand and watchful eye were on me.  There is not a part of me that is unknown or hidden to You and I rejoice in Your intimate knowledge of me.  I love You and I am glad that I am Yours.

Luke 1:57-66, 80

My Beloved, there is a divinely appointed time for everything.  There is no such thing as chance or coincidence in the work of God and in His choosing and appointing of those who are given His mission.

When we obey God, His mighty power is unleashed in us .  His Word becomes active and alive just as Zechariah's tongue was loosened once he obeyed God's will.  He was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and he sang a hymn of praise and prophecy for what God had done and for the mission that God had in store for his son John.

The hand of God is always protecting those who respond to His invitation to work in establishing His Kingdom and in the spreading of the Good News.  God is always present to those who are His own in the world.  As we cooperate with Him, slowly but surely His Kingdom becomes a reality as men and women are formed in Your image and likeness.