Isaiah 49:1-6, Psalm 71:1-6, 15 & 17, John 13:21-33, 36-38

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS


Hail to you, our King, obedient to the Father;
you were led to your crucifixion like a gentle lamb to the slaughter.


Isaiah 49:1-6, Psalm 71:1-6, 15 & 17, John 13:21-33, 36-38

Isaiah 49:1-6

My soul's beloved, if the Father had not sent You all the prophecies in the Old Testament would have remained unfulfilled but now as we read all that was said concerning the One who was to come, we see how perfectly all finds meaning and completion in You. The Light of the world throws such a marvelous and powerful light on each prophecy and we see the Son of God and the Son of Man emerge from the shadows of the Old Testament to shine brilliantly in the New  for You are the final, ultimate Covenant that God makes with us, a Covenant sealed in Your precious Blood.

The angel revealed to a young virgin that she was to conceive and bear a Son, she was told the Name by which You were to be called. You are the double, sharp-edged sword, the Word of God that can cut through bone and marrow making a home in our heart. 

You were delivered into the hands of the wicked who treated You whom angels adore and worship, as one of no account, the hatred of the world, consumed by evil who had its hour, viciously tore into You with malice unimaginable against One who was Innocence. And while it may have been thought that they had won, in truth, they had accomplished what God willed in ensuring that the crown of His glory be restored to Him. You had to take upon Yourself a punishment that was ours, You had to enter into our death in order to destroy its power forever and You opened the way back to Heart of God and the Kingdom of God. Glorious in the sight of God You are now the Light of the nations and Your salvation reaches the ends of the earth,

Psalm 71:1-6, 15 & 17

My soul's beloved, thank You for making a place for me in You who are my refuge, my Rock, my Strength. In the cleft of Your side, under the shadow of Your wings I make my home. You have rescued me from the jaws of death and have freed me from the snares that are set for me constantly. You are my joy, my hope and the reason I am alive. Thank You for saving me and for the place that I shall someday have in Your Kingdom forever.

John 13:21-33, 36-38

How many times will I deny You my soul's beloved, before the cock crows and I return to my senses, repent in sorrow, and return to You whom I have betrayed and sinned against repeatedly since I was born? You foretold Judas' betrayal and Peter's denial and yet they each went ahead and did the dastardly deed. How easy it is for me to point fingers although I too sin repeatedly.  

I pray my Lord that I too have the privilege to lay down my life for You perhaps not as Peter and the others did but in dying to myself and accepting Your will in all the circumstances of my life.