Isaiah 22:19-23, Romans 11:33-36, Psalm 138:1-3, 6 & 8, Matthew 16:13-20

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Isaiah 22:19-23, Romans 11:33-36, Psalm 138:1-3, 6 & 8, Matthew 16:13-20

Isaiah 22:19-23

My Beloved, once again we see the new hidden in the old.  Those who were chosen by God, called by Him out of exile and slavery into freedom rejected You.  There will now be a new beginning, a New Covenant.  Those who rejected You freely will find the Good News preached to pagans, gentiles and foreigners.  You will command the apostles, Your disciples and all who are baptized to spread the joy of salvation to the ends of the earth.

Those whom You call You strengthen and You equip.  You chose Peter as Eliakim was chosen.  To Peter the Rock You gave authority as father of the Church You established.  we call his successor Papa, Pope - just as Eliakim was father to the people of Jerusalem.  Peter has been given the Key to the Kingdom of Heaven and the authority to bind and to loose, to open and to shut and heaven will stand by what Peter decrees.

Thank You for the authority You have given to Peter and his successors to lead Your Church and guide it safely to harbor.

Romans 11:33-36

God is a mystery, if He were not, He would not be God.  The Triune God is but one God - Three in One, One in Three and always but one God - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

God however desires that we know Him in as much as it is possible for creatures to know the Creator for He is infinite in all His attributes.  We exist because God is the Great I am, if we have a hope and a future it is because this is what He desires for us.  Thanks be to God that someday when our journey in this valley of tears , in this place of exile has ended, we will return to the God of love and be united with Him eternally.  To Him be the glory forever! Amen.

Psalm 138:1-3, 6 & 8

In these verses my Beloved the psalmist my song, a hymn of Your tender and loving care
for me who is nothing yet how You care for me and love me.  Thank You.

I thank you, O Lord, with all my heart,

for you have heard the word of my lips.

I sing your praise in the presence of the gods.

 I bow down towards your holy temple

and give thanks to your name,

for your love and faithfulness,

for your word which exceeds everything.

You answered me when I called;

you restored my soul and made me strong.

From above, the Lord watches over the lowly;

from afar, he marks down the haughty.

How the Lord cares for me!

Your kindness, O Lord, endures forever.

Forsake not the work of your hands.

Matthew 16:13-20

My Beloved, You have been with the disciples for a couple of years, they along with the crowds of people have witnessed the many signs and miracles You performed wherever You went.  The crowds of people who pressed around You clamored to be healed, touched and set free from possession of evils spirits and You did.  Now You ask them this questions, "Who do people say I am?" They give several responses.  From the general You now move to the particular, "But you, who do you say I am?" This is interesting.  Of all who gathered before You it is Peter who was inspired to speak, "You are the Messiah; the Son of the living God."  You knew that it was God who revealed this marvelous truth to Peter and through Peter to the world.

You then gave Peter the 'Keys of the Kingdom' whereby he and successors would be given all authority and power in heaven and on earth on the Church You established on the Rock, that is Peter.  Power to bind and loose which would subsequently be honored in heaven. We have Your guarantee that You will abide by Your Church and that she will be preserved from ever teaching error.  Thank You Beloved, we can, like children, put our trust wholly in Mother Church.  She will take us home.