Micah 6:1-4, 6-8, Psalm 50:5-6, 8-9, 16-17, 21 & 23, Matthew 12:38-42

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Micah 6:1-4, 6-8, Psalm 50:5-6, 8-9, 16-17, 21 & 23, Matthew 12:38-42

Christ our Light that shines in the dark: 
Light that darkness could not overcome.

Micah 6:1-4, 6-8

My Beloved, there is no love as compelling as the love of the Father for His wayward children, no love as strong, as faithful as satisfying.  You taught us to call the God of Love, Abba.  You revealed to us that He created us only so He could pour His love upon us.  What return have we made in exchange for such bounty?  We gave sin and disobedience.  Did He abandon us as we deserved?  Did He destroy us?

To His pleading in verses 3 & 4 what is our reply?  Pondering on verses 6 &8 I am made aware of what my response ought to be.  What shall I bring when I come before the Lord and prostrate before my God?  Shall I bring Him the miserable works of my life?  What sacrifice will He find pleasing so He will be moved to forgive my iniquity and cleanse me from all my sins?  What sacrifice will He find acceptable?  I will offer Him His Firstborn Son, His Beloved Son, as the Lamb without Blemish, the spotless Lamb who will take away my sins and the sins of the whole world.

My Beloved, send Your Holy Spirit on me and fill me and guide me so I can walk in justice, act with love and mercy and walk in humility with You my Lord and my God all the days of my life.

Psalm 50:5-6, 8-9, 16-17, 21 & 23

My Beloved, no sacrifice is pleasing to You if our hearts are far from You.  You despise hypocrites and liars, those who say one thing but act without honor.  Who make an outward show of piety but whose hearts are filled with corruption.  Because You are merciful, patient and kind with the sinner, Your goodness is mistaken for weakness or even worse You turn a blind eye to sin.  Nothing is further from the truth.  You came to call sinners to repentance. The Father desires that all humans be saved because the price paid for our salvation was the life of His Son and it cannot have been given up in vain for anyone.

Teach me to walk in Your ways my Lord.  Give me a heart filled with praise and thanksgiving for all God has done for me.  May I walk in Your shadow all the days of my life.

Matthew 12:38-42

My Beloved, the tragedy of any life is when through deliberate ignorance we refuse to understand the signs that are given to us and not recognizing the time of Your visitation.

We want to make of You a god in our image and after our likeness. We ask for signs like Herod in order to be entertained, not because such a sign will bring us to our knees in adoration and worship. We desire to do the spectacular in order to titillate us and in order that You may become the next subject of entertainment of which we require a constant feed we are not bored out of our tiny minds. We keep demanding something more outrageous than the next until our emotions and our senses are blunted and insensate.

To us who are bloated with iniquity You say that the only sign we will receive is the sign of Jonah. Sin attempts to swallow God and believes that the ensuing darkness has overcome the light only to discover on the third day how wrong evil was when You rose again in glory on the third day.

King Solomon was granted such wisdom that the Queen of Sheba came from a distant land to see for herself if the reports of his wisdom were true whereas Wisdom was born into the world when You became Incarnate of the Virgin Mother and were shown only coldness and indifference.

Be merciful to us O Lord for our own stupidity condemns us.  Open our eyes so we can see, our ears that we may hear, our hearts that we may love, our minds that we may understand, our senses that they may be imbued with the sweetness of Your fragrance  and the Light of Your Presence so we may repent and turn to You and follow You always.