DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS
Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart;
for I am gracious and merciful. Jl 2:12-13
Daniel 3:25, 34-43, Psalm 25:4-9, Matthew 18:21-35
Daniel 3:25, 34-43
Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,
I make this beautiful prayer of Azariah my own this day. In Your great kindness, Your great, mercy, Your great compassion, and above all the tenderness of Your love do not give me up O Lord but continue to watch over me because I have been marked by the Holy Spirit and sealed in Your Blood. The stamp on my soul claiming me as Yours forever is indelible. Beloved, we both know I am a sinner. I know I am weak and You know better than I how readily I can stumble and fall. Keep Your hands ever outstretched toward me so You can prevent me from falling. Keep me from serious sin, and not only serious sins but even the little, near occasions of sin to which I am prone.
I claim all the promises You have ever made since the dawn of creation for myself and those nearest and dearest to me. Keep us safe Beloved hidden in Yourself now and always.
Psalm 25:4-9
Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,
Were it not for Your Holy Spirit I would have fallen by the wayside long ago and I would have been trampled upon, eaten by birds, choked by the world, and destroyed. But You have watched over Me. You have cared for Me. You have kept me safe. You have been more compassionate, more kind, more forgiving than I deserved for I know Beloved that I have often chosen very deliberately, of my own accord, to sin. But You have not abandoned me but very patiently and gently You have wooed me back to Yourself.
Continue to keep watch over me lest I fall and having fallen lack the will to pick myself up. Stay with me Lord for I have no one bu You on whom I can rely to take me home in safety.
Matthew 18:21-35
Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,
Peter believed he was being really magnanimous when he posed this question to You,
"Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?"
You knocked the wind out of his sails when You answered him,
"I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times."
Then You go on to tell them a parable that brings out the nature of the heart of the King. He is just, he wanted the debt to be repaid and was prepared to take the matter to court to ensure that he got what was due to him. The matter was long overdue and it was time that the servant honored the debt he owed. But when the servant pleaded and begged for mercy saying,
'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.'
The king who was magnanimous in his kindness and largeness of spirit was moved with compassion and let the servant of the hook, forgiving the entire debt he owed. One would imagine that having narrowly escaping spending a lifetime in jail along with his family, he would be filled with joy and magnanimity himself. However, we see how mean spirited he really was in dealing with a fellow servant who owed him a negligible amount. You say in the parable that,
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
'Pay back what you owe.'
And despite the servant falling on his knees and begging,
'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
The parable tells us very bluntly that he refused.
We see in what follows what will happen to us if we refuse to forgive our brothers and sisters their slight offences against us neglecting all the while to see how often and how quickly God has forgiven us for our transgressions towards Him both great and small. There is a real danger of us being sent away from God's presence for a long, long, time if we fail to forgive and quickly and as completely as You have forgiven us.
Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart;
for I am gracious and merciful. Jl 2:12-13
Daniel 3:25, 34-43, Psalm 25:4-9, Matthew 18:21-35
Daniel 3:25, 34-43
Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,
I make this beautiful prayer of Azariah my own this day. In Your great kindness, Your great, mercy, Your great compassion, and above all the tenderness of Your love do not give me up O Lord but continue to watch over me because I have been marked by the Holy Spirit and sealed in Your Blood. The stamp on my soul claiming me as Yours forever is indelible. Beloved, we both know I am a sinner. I know I am weak and You know better than I how readily I can stumble and fall. Keep Your hands ever outstretched toward me so You can prevent me from falling. Keep me from serious sin, and not only serious sins but even the little, near occasions of sin to which I am prone.
I claim all the promises You have ever made since the dawn of creation for myself and those nearest and dearest to me. Keep us safe Beloved hidden in Yourself now and always.
Psalm 25:4-9
Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,
Were it not for Your Holy Spirit I would have fallen by the wayside long ago and I would have been trampled upon, eaten by birds, choked by the world, and destroyed. But You have watched over Me. You have cared for Me. You have kept me safe. You have been more compassionate, more kind, more forgiving than I deserved for I know Beloved that I have often chosen very deliberately, of my own accord, to sin. But You have not abandoned me but very patiently and gently You have wooed me back to Yourself.
Continue to keep watch over me lest I fall and having fallen lack the will to pick myself up. Stay with me Lord for I have no one bu You on whom I can rely to take me home in safety.
Matthew 18:21-35
Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,
Peter believed he was being really magnanimous when he posed this question to You,
"Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?"
You knocked the wind out of his sails when You answered him,
"I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times."
Then You go on to tell them a parable that brings out the nature of the heart of the King. He is just, he wanted the debt to be repaid and was prepared to take the matter to court to ensure that he got what was due to him. The matter was long overdue and it was time that the servant honored the debt he owed. But when the servant pleaded and begged for mercy saying,
'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.'
The king who was magnanimous in his kindness and largeness of spirit was moved with compassion and let the servant of the hook, forgiving the entire debt he owed. One would imagine that having narrowly escaping spending a lifetime in jail along with his family, he would be filled with joy and magnanimity himself. However, we see how mean spirited he really was in dealing with a fellow servant who owed him a negligible amount. You say in the parable that,
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
'Pay back what you owe.'
And despite the servant falling on his knees and begging,
'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
The parable tells us very bluntly that he refused.
We see in what follows what will happen to us if we refuse to forgive our brothers and sisters their slight offences against us neglecting all the while to see how often and how quickly God has forgiven us for our transgressions towards Him both great and small. There is a real danger of us being sent away from God's presence for a long, long, time if we fail to forgive and quickly and as completely as You have forgiven us.
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