1 Samuel 17:32-33,37,40-51, Psalm 144:1,2,9,10 , Mark 3:1-6

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS
1 Samuel 17:32-33,37,40-51, Psalm 144:1,2,9,10  , Mark 3:1-6
1 Samuel 17:32-33,37,40-51

My Beloved, we see from these verses that all we need is faith that God is always with us. No matter how great the problem may be the power of the Lord will deliver us from every evil. David was a young lad who believed that it was the hand of God that protected him from the wild beasts as he cared for his sheep. All our problems when viewed without faith look insurmountable like Goliath until we discover that nothing is impossible with You. We do not need to clutter our faith and impede our walk with God with the things of the world which will only slow us down. Armed with faith, hope and trust in the Lord no enemy can or will prevail. God works mightily on behalf of those who believe that You are the Son of God sent into the world to reveal the Face of God our Father. When the Holy Spirit unleashes the power of God we receive all the graces we need to combat evil.

You my Beloved are the God who saves. The great I AM who is with us always.

Psalm 144:1,2,9,10

My Beloved, with  one single stone from his sling and aimed at the forehead of Goliath, David was able to knock the mighty enemy to the ground and with the enemy’s own sword David beheaded him. You are the Rock of salvation. We need only the power of the Holy Spirit to unleash the mighty power of Your Word and we will be able to disarm and destroy the enemy. No power is greater than the power of God who fights our battles for us. You are our Rock, our Fortress, our Deliverer and our shield. You keep us safe from evil and we exult in Your great love for us. Thank You for Your abiding Presence in us and for making our heart your home.

Mark 3:1-6

My Beloved why is it that good stirs up such hatred in the hearts of evil men? The synagogue is a place where men gather to pray and on this particular Sabbath there is a man with a withered hand. A useless hand that prevented him from working up to his full potential. What caused it we do not know. Was he born that way or did he have an accident that rendered his hand useless the passage does not say. We only know that You were the only one present who could cure him – the Pharisees knew this as well but they were more concerned with catching  You break the Sabbath  law. It was their ah ha moment to condemn You before those who were present. They had absolutely no concern about the man who needed help. What an irony – they knew that You had power to heal and such power could only come from God and yet their sole concern was to accuse You of breaking the law.

You were unafraid – You challenged the Pharisees with the question, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” Their silence condemned them for there was no defense against their evil intent. You grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man was healed. Instead of rejoicing the Pharisees plotted to kill You. Before we rush to judge them let us pause for a moment and see how we too like the Pharisees prefer self-righteousness to compassion. We would rather cut off our nose to spite our face than admit that we are wrong and that we are sinners. We are also like the man with the withered hand which has become useless because we do not stretch it out in service. If we do not use the gifts that God has given us they will atrophy and we too will become spiritually withered.