2 Thessalonians 2:1-3a, 14-17, Psalm 96:10-13, Matthew 23-26

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

 

The word of God is living and effective,
able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. Heb. 4:12

 

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3a, 14-17, Psalm 96:10-13, Matthew 23-26

 

 

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3a, 14-17

 

My soul's beloved, St. Paul encourages to assemble together in order to hear the Truth about You, to listen to all You taught so we will not be deceived by those who claim to come from You are sent by You to preach a Gospel other than the one preached by Your Apostles - the Twelve that You sent into the world to spread the Good News to the whole world.

 

It is through this rich deposit of faith which the Church has guarded  and kept safe for two thousand years, together with the Scriptures that we receive all that You taught them and all that they heard You speak and all that they witnessed You do. The great signs and miracles that were proof that You indeed came by God and that You were the fulfillment of all prophecy revealed in Scripture throughout Salvation history.

 

My soul's beloved, keep us safe in Your Church, the only place where the fullness of Life and Truth are found when we eat Your Body and drink Your Blood and receive all we need to stay firm in our faith. It is here, in Your fold, with the Rock that is Peter and all those You have been appointed after him where we are encouraged and strengthened to fight the good fight and to stay the course until we reach the end of our race and the goal which is eternal life with You, the Father and the Holy Spirit.

 

Psalm 96:10-13

 

My soul's beloved, we exult and are rejoice with all that lives in the seas, in the sky and on earth that You who redeemed the world and all human beings will come again to judge both the living and the dead. We need not be fear of judgment from the only righteous Judge who lay down His life to save us from eternal death. You will judge with fairness not as the world does for the world is swayed by money, influence and power and the poor, the weak, and the helpless are pushed aside even to the fringes of society and many are made invisible for the sake of the few.

 

When You come again You will establish Your rule and all who were faithful will be judged fairly and will receive the great reward - eternity with You.

 

Matthew 23-26

 

My soul's beloved, You are scathing in Your condemnation of hypocrites. You warn us often that it is not enough for us to go by the letter of the law but it more important to abide by its spirit. The spirit of love must guide all our actions. If we perform our good works and our pious spiritual practices in order to be seen by the world and praised by it, we have already received our reward.

 

In God is found loving mercy and kindness. You are slow to anger and rich in goodness, faithfulness, compassion and tenderness. You love the sinner though You hate the sin. We are called to obey the Word of God and to fulfill the commandments of love which is made visible in service to those less fortunate than we are. We are called to fulfill our duties to God and to the Church but not so scrupulously that we forget those who are in need of our compassion and our love.

 

It is easy to fold our hands in church, say long winded prayers, and look pious before people and have a reputation for being 'good' in public whereas in our private lives we are sinners. You warn us to make sure that our public practice of our faith is in keeping with the way we live it when no one but You are watching us and we will be judged accordingly.