Jeremiah 28:1-17, Psalm 119:29, 43, 79, 80, 95, 102, Matthew 14:13-21

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that come forth from the mouth of God. Mt 4:4

Jeremiah 28:1-17, Psalm 119:29, 43, 79-80, 95, 102, Matthew 14:13-21

Jeremiah 28:1-17

My soul's beloved, we see how grave an injustice we do when we do not speak the truth unpalatable though it may be an dinstead say what our hearers desire to hear. No conversion can take place if we refuse to call sin but is proper name and point out that God hates sin. It is an affront to His holiness and His love. The prophet Hananiah lulled the kind and the people to a false sense of security making them believe that their days of exile and servitude were coming to an end.

Jeremiah on the other hand spoke as God desired - unless we face our sins and our shortcomings boldly and acknowledge them we cannot take that first step towards repentance and conversion. To those in authority, those who are called to preach and teach and that includes every baptized Christian, we are called to give sin its proper name and not deceive ourselves and others by denying personal culpability and instead blaming our sins on our genes. Give us the wisdom and courage to speak gently but firmly so that we may not perish but find forgiveness and mercy in You who always forgives.

Psalm 119:29, 43, 79-80, 95, 102

My soul's beloved, the devil is the father of lies and when we call evil good and good evil we become children of the father of lies. So we pray along with the psalmist today as we ask You to teach us to walk in the way of truth for in it we find life, light and hope.

Lord, teach me your statutes.

Remove from me the way of falsehood,

and favor me with your law.

Take not the word of truth from my mouth,

for in your ordinances is my hope.

Let those turn to me who fear you

and acknowledge your decrees.

Let my heart be perfect in your statutes,

that I be not put to shame.

Sinners wait to destroy me,

but I pay heed to your decrees.

From your ordinances I turn not away,

for you have instructed me.

Matthew 14:12-21

My soul's beloved, the death of John the Baptist would remind You that the same fate awaited You except that Your own death at the hands of the enemies of truth would be more horrific. You withdrew from the crowds but they sought You ought and instead of hiding from them You made Yourself available for You are selfless. You saw their need, their hunger for the truth given to them boldly. You made them aware of sin and how to overcome it. You revealed the Face of God as a compassionate Father who desires that all His children be saved from the jaws of eternal death brought about by  sin.

You satisfied their hunger for God's Word by preaching and teaching and when physical hunger came upon them You provided actual bread to feed them - miraculously multiplying five loaves and two fish to feed a multitude of 5000 not including women and children. You continue to feed us in the Holy Eucharist. You give us Your Body to eat and Your Blood to drink so we can be nourished by You, become one with You and experience the joy of perfect intimacy with You in this life - the same intimacy and union that will be ours in eternity.

Thank You for this awesome Gift of Yourself in every worthy reception of the Holy Eucharist my Lord and my God.