1 Corinthians 8:1b-7, 11-13, Psalm 139:1b-3, 13-14, 23-34, Luke 6:27-38

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS: 

1 Corinthians 8:1b-7, 11-13, Psalm 139:1b-3, 13-14, 23-34, Luke 6:27-38

1 Corinthians 8:1b-7, 11-13

Loving God is all the knowledge one needs because God is the Giver of every good and perfect gift and He will lead us into the fullness of Truth.  To acquire knowledge for knowledge sake alone leads to pride and there is nothing God detests more than pride.  He did not tolerate it in the fallen angels and He most certainly will not tolerate it in man.

To love is to know Him because when we begin to know Him He will reveal Himself to us and we will grow in our love for Him more and more each day. 

We live in a world which serves a multiplicity of gods each made in the image of the flavor of the season.  There is only only one God - the Father in whom all things have their origin because He caused every created thing to come into being through the expression of His Word that was with Him and in Him before all ages.  The Eternal Word upholds and sustains everything created by the Father through the power of His Holy Spirit - the Spirit of Love that binds Father to Son and Son to Father.

We Christians are called to witness to all our brothers and sisters in the family of God, the same love that we have received.   We are called to strengthen them when they are weak and we must ensure that we do nothing that may be seen as scandalous in their eyes.  If our faith is strong let us praise and glorify God but we must also support our weaker brethren and do nothing that could cause them to falter or stumble

Psalm 139:1b-3, 13-14, 23-34

My Beloved, no one knows me a completely and as intimately as You do I was created in love and I am sustained by Your love me.  Nothing I do even if it is done in secret is hidden from Your sight.  Your gaze has been on me from the moment I was conceived.  You watched me grow in my mother's womb.  Continue to watch over me.  Help me to grow in love each day and preserve, guard and keep me from evil.

Luke 6:27-38

Verse 38 For the measure you give will be the measure you receive back.

Beloved, in yesterday's Gospel reading You told us who would inherit the Kingdom of God, today You tell us how how we can be the ones who inherit it.    It isn't easy at all and without Your help and grace it is impossible to resist the temptations of the world and the flesh.

You have shown us how to respond when we are faced with trials and temptations in the course of our lives.  You call us to imitate, image and reflect You in all our thoughts, words and deeds.  

Verse 31 Do unto others as you would have them do to you.

If all our responses were guided by this principle then all our actions would be compassionate.  To strive to be a saint is no easy task.  It requires our cooperation with the grace we receive through the sacraments and especially when we recevie the Holy Eucharist often.  It takes humility and love.  Love for God is abstract but becomes visible as it takes shape and form when it is seen in action as we love and serve our brothers and sisters.