2 Kings 5:14-17, Psalm 98:1-4, 2 Timothy 2:8-13, Luke 17:11-19

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

In all circumstances, give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thes 5:18

2 Kings 5:14-17, Psalm 98:1-4, 2 Timothy 2:8-13, Luke 17:11-19


2 Kings 5:14-17

You my soul's beloved, are the Living Word of the Father and at Your Word as the Son of God, we plunge ourselves in the waters of baptism and immediately, in an instant, we are cleansed of the first sin, called original sin inherited from Adam and Eve. Like Naaman the leper who at the word of the prophet Elisha washed himself in the waters of the Jordan and was cleansed of the leprosy and whose skin was made whole and smooth again so too are we cleansed, made whole, and  restored to the family of God. 

Naaman desired to pay Elisha with rich gifts but the servant of God refused for he knew that it was God who healed Naaman through him  he was just the instrument. However, we are healed by the power of Your Word not only at baptism but each time we encounter You in the Confessional in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. What gifts do I give You Lord for healing me, cleaning me, restoring me, and granting me infinite graces to help me to overcome temptation? May I never cease to give You praise, worship, glory, adoration, thanksgiving and worship and above all my love always for restoring me to new life always.

Psalm 98:1-4

My soul's beloved, we are privileged to live in this day and age 2000 years after You have come into the world and saved and redeemed it. Through the years Your Church has held the rich, incomparable treasures of our faith, guarding it from false teaching, preventing error and heresy from polluting it, suffering constantly in her efforts to not only preserve it but allowing the mustard seed of faith that You deposited with the Apostles to grow and flourish into a great big mulberry bush through the Wisdom granted by  the Holy Spirit  to holy and saintly men and women. They, with the help of the Spirit have prayerfully discerned all that You said, taught, preached, and through the miracles You performed interpreted the Good News of our salvation according to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  

The Church has Your guarantee that the Holy Spirit will preserve her from teaching and preaching error and she also has Your guarantee that You will remain with her always until the end of time. This is why my soul's beloved every baptized person must remain under the shelter of her wings for she shelters under Yours.

2 Timothy 2:8-13

My soul's beloved, St. Paul is a perfect example of one who was called by You in extraordinary and unbelievable circumstances to give up the faith for which he was a zealot and was made an Apostle to the gentiles. To him was given the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to preach and teach the Good News with wisdom and power that were divine Gifts. He understood his mission, he was excited by the power of the Gospel to save, to heal, to restore from death to life and this is why he was prepared to undergo any hardship, he gladly suffered persecution, imprisonment, lashes and more to go and preach the Good News of Your Kingdom wherever the Holy Spirit led him.

Beloved:
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David:
such is my gospel, for which I am suffering,
even to the point of chains, like a criminal.
But the word of God is not chained.
Therefore, I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen,
so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus,
together with eternal glory.
This saying is trustworthy:
If we have died with him
we shall also live with him;
if we persevere
we shall also reign with him.
But if we deny him
he will deny us.
If we are unfaithful
he remains faithful,
for he cannot deny himself.

We thank You my soul's beloved for the men and women who though the centuries since Your Ascension into heaven have worked tirelessly so that we may hear the Gospel, believe in it and be saved.

Luke 17:11-19

My soul's beloved, today in the Gospel of Luke we read about the ten lepers who cried out to You in agony to have pity on them and save them. They knew that You had the power to do as they asked because they had heard of You and perhaps they knew You would be passing their way that day. They were separated from all they knew and loved and the loneliness of their isolation was worse than the dreaded leprosy that had struck them and disfigured them. The heart of God is always moved with mercy, pity, tenderness, love and compassion and You heard their piteous cry, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” And when You saw them, You said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” We are told that as they were going they were cleansed. 

In the awesome Sacrament of Reconciliation we are healed and cleansed from the leprosy of sin. We approach the priest who represents You and we confess our sins and we hear the consoling words, "Go in peace, your sins are forgiven." 

Let us not take the Sacraments for granted by return like that lone leper to give thanks for all the rich blessing You make available to us that help us to journey from this life to the next.

Thank You and praise You my Beloved.