Saturday, June 16, 2018

1 Kings 19:19-21, Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-10, Matthew 5:33-37

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Incline my heart, O God, to your decrees;
and favor me with your law. Ps 119:36A, 29B


1 Kings 19:19-21, Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-10, 
Matthew 5:33-37


1 Kings 19:19-21

Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,

When God gives us a clear mission we are called to respond promptly. We must be prepared to give up everything for the sake of the Gospel and as far as possible, we must destroy anything that could possibly tempt us to give up and return. We cannot serve unreservedly when we have not given up all, surrendered all, yielded completely to the will of the Father.

Here we have the prophet Elijah, who in obedience to God's will, approaches Elisha to make known to him that God is calling him to be a prophet. Elisha is busy plowing the field when Elijah throws his cloak over him. Elisha understands what has just happened, he knows what God wants of him, so he runs after the prophet and begs to go back and kiss both his parents goodbye. It is a reasonable request one would think. But not so in the eyes of God. The will of God and the mission of God for us supersedes all. No love can be greater than that of doing the will of the Father.

Elijah tells Elisha to go back. God has no use for us if we are unable to cut the cords to our past. We will not be able to serve wholeheartedly if anything or anyone holds us back from serving as we ought. This is why the Church requires her priests and her religious to take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.  Elisha understands and does what the call demands. He destroys the plowing equipment and slaughters the oxen giving it as food to his people and follows Elijah.

We are called to respond to God's call as Elisha did.

Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-10

Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,

The Father loves us so much that He wanted us to know You His Son. He wanted us to be loved by You as He is loved by You. He gave You to those who believe in Him and the One that He sent, His Son, as our inheritance.  He desires that we are grafted to You as members of Your Body. He desires us to have Your Life coursing in us and keep us alive in Your Holy Spirit. He wants to give us food and drink that sustains us in this dark valley of tears and so He desired You to institute the Holy Eucharist. We now eat Your Flesh and drink Your Blood at every celebration of the Holy Mass, the one and only Sacrifice offered on Calvary pleasing and acceptable to the Father.

Your pierced side makes a way for us to find refuge in Your Sacred Heart, to be washed by the channels of grace that flows from Your merciful Heart, and keeps safe the inheritance You share with us.

The Father knows that to know You is to have life and to experience peace and joy no matter what our circumstances may be. He desires that the Holy Spirit makes His home in our heart so we can be one in love with You and the Father. 

The Father desires that we remain One in You Beloved for You will help to keep us safe until the end and we will share Your incorruptible nature when You come again to raise us up and take us to Yourself.

Matthew 5:33-37

Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,

Today You remind all who desire to be Your disciples that we are not to live by the standards of the world. We are called to the standard that You have set for us in the Beatitudes which You lived to perfection.

We ought never to forget who we truly are even though God has raised us up from our nothingness to the place where You are. This is love - not that we love God but that He loved us first. It is because we are loved by You that we have worth. Without You, we are nothing, with You we are everything.

Aware of this truth Beloved let us live as we ought - as children of the Father, dependent on Him for every breath we breathe. Giving praise, worship, adoration and above all, all our love to You, the Father, and the Holy Spirit, One God, who alone are worthy of our love.

Give us a childlike spirit like Mary's and all the saints, a spirit with no guile. Amen.

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