DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS
You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord; blessed are those who have not seen, but still believe!
Jn 20:29
Acts 5:27-33, Psalm 34:2 & 9, 17-20, John 3:31-36
Acts 5:27-33
Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,
These verses in the Gospel of today's Liturgy are as true today as they were at the time when this took place. Your Apostles are brought before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the High Priest. They are threatened and warned not to teach in Your Name. The High Priest complains that by their preaching they are making them responsible for the shedding of Your Blood. They have forgotten the cries of the crowd on that ignominious day who upon the instigation of the Pharisees and the Jewish authorities shouted, "His blood be upon us and on our children." Peter and the Apostles stand up boldly and proclaim that it God that they must obey and not men. Peter also proclaims Your Resurrection from the dead. He accuses them of murdering You and hanging You on the Cross of shame, a death reserved for the dregs of humanity because of the horror of the suffering in such a death. They are the witnesses of all that had occurred as is God's Holy Spirit Himself who has been poured upon them and has commanded them to preach salvation in Your Name.
Once again the authorities are seething with the same murderous rage they had for You and sought to kill the Apostles as well.
Today, our governments wish to remove the Cross from all public places. They will not allow You to be preached nor do they want to hear Your Name. There is a systematic agenda to do exactly what the Sanhedrin attempted to do 2000 years ago. The enemies of the Church failed then and they will continue to fail for the Holy Spirit dwells in fullness not only in the Church but also in those who believe. He will give the courage and boldness that is required for us to live out our faith in public and shine Your Light in the world that no power on earth can put out.
Psalm 34:2 & 9, 17-20
Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,
This is the song of praise and the prayer of all those who are baptized and who take their mission seriously. You are with us. Your Holy Spirit inspires us to pray and to intercede for those who continue to work tirelessly to wipe out Your Name memory and to deny that salvation is impossible apart from You. The state can pretend to be God but all they can achieve is poverty, destruction, death, and annihilation.
As long as time shall last there will be those who will boldly proclaim the truth at the cost of their very lives. And this shedding of blood for Your Sake and that of the Gospel will be the means by which many will come to believe and be saved. The Holy Spirit will supply all that is necessary to those who are prepared to preach the Gospel and live the faith openly and with courage no matter what the cost to themselves.
John 3:31-36
Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,
You came into the world, sent by the Father, in order to reveal to a fallen world that God who created us in love has never stopped loving us. Even though our first parents sinned and caused an abyss separating us from God, He found a way to forgive, to heal, and to restore all that was lost.
You came from heaven in order to teach us about the Kingdom of God, that place that could be ours again if we believed in the One He sent into the world.
You came to testify to the love of the Father and You showed through many powerful signs that You came from God and were God.
The world rejected You and raised You on the Cross between heaven and earth. But love is stronger than death. Love found a way through the very instrument of torture and shame to bring about communion once again between God and us through You. The Cross is the bridge that now is the Way by which we are able to enter the Kingdom of God.
We can either believe and be saved. Or we can choose to turn our back to the Truth and choose temporal pleasures ending with eternal damnation or we can believe in You, accept a life of sacrifice, and be received into the Kingdom where we will live joyfully with You forever.
You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord; blessed are those who have not seen, but still believe!
Jn 20:29
Acts 5:27-33, Psalm 34:2 & 9, 17-20, John 3:31-36
Acts 5:27-33
Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,
These verses in the Gospel of today's Liturgy are as true today as they were at the time when this took place. Your Apostles are brought before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the High Priest. They are threatened and warned not to teach in Your Name. The High Priest complains that by their preaching they are making them responsible for the shedding of Your Blood. They have forgotten the cries of the crowd on that ignominious day who upon the instigation of the Pharisees and the Jewish authorities shouted, "His blood be upon us and on our children." Peter and the Apostles stand up boldly and proclaim that it God that they must obey and not men. Peter also proclaims Your Resurrection from the dead. He accuses them of murdering You and hanging You on the Cross of shame, a death reserved for the dregs of humanity because of the horror of the suffering in such a death. They are the witnesses of all that had occurred as is God's Holy Spirit Himself who has been poured upon them and has commanded them to preach salvation in Your Name.
Once again the authorities are seething with the same murderous rage they had for You and sought to kill the Apostles as well.
Today, our governments wish to remove the Cross from all public places. They will not allow You to be preached nor do they want to hear Your Name. There is a systematic agenda to do exactly what the Sanhedrin attempted to do 2000 years ago. The enemies of the Church failed then and they will continue to fail for the Holy Spirit dwells in fullness not only in the Church but also in those who believe. He will give the courage and boldness that is required for us to live out our faith in public and shine Your Light in the world that no power on earth can put out.
Psalm 34:2 & 9, 17-20
Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,
This is the song of praise and the prayer of all those who are baptized and who take their mission seriously. You are with us. Your Holy Spirit inspires us to pray and to intercede for those who continue to work tirelessly to wipe out Your Name memory and to deny that salvation is impossible apart from You. The state can pretend to be God but all they can achieve is poverty, destruction, death, and annihilation.
As long as time shall last there will be those who will boldly proclaim the truth at the cost of their very lives. And this shedding of blood for Your Sake and that of the Gospel will be the means by which many will come to believe and be saved. The Holy Spirit will supply all that is necessary to those who are prepared to preach the Gospel and live the faith openly and with courage no matter what the cost to themselves.
John 3:31-36
Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,
You came into the world, sent by the Father, in order to reveal to a fallen world that God who created us in love has never stopped loving us. Even though our first parents sinned and caused an abyss separating us from God, He found a way to forgive, to heal, and to restore all that was lost.
You came from heaven in order to teach us about the Kingdom of God, that place that could be ours again if we believed in the One He sent into the world.
You came to testify to the love of the Father and You showed through many powerful signs that You came from God and were God.
The world rejected You and raised You on the Cross between heaven and earth. But love is stronger than death. Love found a way through the very instrument of torture and shame to bring about communion once again between God and us through You. The Cross is the bridge that now is the Way by which we are able to enter the Kingdom of God.
We can either believe and be saved. Or we can choose to turn our back to the Truth and choose temporal pleasures ending with eternal damnation or we can believe in You, accept a life of sacrifice, and be received into the Kingdom where we will live joyfully with You forever.
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