Isaiah 50:4-7, Philippians 2:6-11, Psalm 22:8-9, 17-20, 23-24, Luke 22:14, 25-36

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

PASSION SUNDAY

Isaiah 50:4-7, Philippians 2:6-11, Psalm 22:8-9, 17-20, 23-24, Luke 22:14, 25-36

Isaiah 50:4-7

My Beloved, You remain with those who are your disciples. Those who take the mission entrusted to them seriously You anoint. You give them an abundance of Your Holy Spirit to empower them to speak of the things of heaven and of eternal things. They remain docile under Your rule, they are led by You, and even when they walk through the deep dark valley they fear no evil. Your mighty hand of protection is over those who take You at Your word.

Suffering will come for You, our Master, was not spared. In fact the prophet Isaiah foretells all that the Messiah would have to suffer at the hands of evil men but He would not be vanquished. You are victorious and we share in Your victory even if we are persecuted.

Philippians 2:6-11

My Beloved, You give us a beautiful example of obedience and humility. You are God and yet because You love the Father You embraced His will as Your own despite the cost both to Him and to You. I wilt at the slightest whiff of difficulty; I lose heart and often times it is because I have sinned and fallen short.

Grant me the grace to learn from You. To be ready to lay down my life so others may live. To do what I am called to do without counting the cost. Teach me to be generous in spending myself for others for in the end I will be judged on love and my failure to love as I ought.

Psalm 22:8-9, 17-20, 23-24

The psalmist like the prophet Isaiah speaks off the suffering and torment that You will face at the  hands of evil. You were goodness incarnate and You went about doing good and yet they arrested You and bound You and the crowds that once eagerly followed You  now egged on by the  Pharisees and the religious leaders bayed for Your life and for Your Blood. You did not flinch from the blows, You did not turn Your Sacred Face from their spittle. You bore it all for love of me grant me the grace to bear the little difficulties that come my way with courage and fortitude for Your sake. Amen

Luke 22:14, 25-36

My Beloved as member of Your Body and heir to the Kingdom of God You have taught by example what is required of me and how I am expected to live in the world. The Gospel values are different from the values of the world, You are Lord and Master, King of Kings and Ruler of the heavens and earth and You came to serve. I too am called to put on an apron, get down on my knees and be a servant. God has seated You on the throne at His right hand and yet You came to us to lay down Your life as a ransom for many,

To those who remain faithful, to those who walk in Your footsteps and do the will of God no matter what the cost to themselves, will be invited to sit at Your table and will rule with You. You predicted Peter’s denial but You prayed for him. Beloved it is only when we fall short we realize how weak we are and how much we need Your strength every moment of our lives. Peter was all bluster and bombast until he denied You as You said he would and then he realized that he is truly nothing without the grace that flows from you. Once Peter learnt his lesson in humility he had a servant’s heart. Grant me a servant’s heart as well Lord and give me the wisdom to use all the resources available to me to overcome evil and do good in my own little way.