2 Corinthians 9:6-10, Psalm 112:1-2, 5-9, John 12:24-26

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness
but will have the light of life, says the Lord. Jn 8:12-BC

FEAST OF ST. LAWRENCE, DEACON & MARTYR


2 Corinthians 9:6-10, Psalm 112:1-2, 5-9, 
John 12:24-26


2 Corinthians 9:6-10

My Love, Beloved of my soul,

St. Paul elaborates that which You have said to Your disciples. The Seed is the Word of God. I am the sower. The bounty or the scarcity of the harvest is dependent on me. You provide richly all that is needed however, I can be close-fisted. I have miserly disposition keeping for myself that which You intended me to give. 

One of the contradictions of the Kingdom of God is that I must give in order to receive. Like the manna that would not keep but had to to be consumed as it would spoil the next day.  Each day You give me graces and blessings out of the treasury of Your goodness and I am called to spend it freely on others. You love a cheerful giver. I must give cheerfully, eagerly, promptly, completely and in turn Beloved, You will stream Your blessings on me and they will overflow from me to all whose lives I touch and whose lives touch mine.  All the graces and the riches are Yours, I am only the channel of those blessings.

Psalm 112:1-2, 5-9

My Love, Beloved of my soul,

I am called to give of my time, my resources, my talents, more than giving material things, I am called to give of myself in self-sacrificial love as You did.

Your Law of Love must be the command that rules my life. All those I encounter in the course of my waking hours must encounter You in Me and be blessed by Your through me.

Those who give will never find themselves in want for they give not what is theirs but what You have entrusted to them as stewards. May I never forget it Beloved.
John 12:24-26

My Love, Beloved of my souls,

Everything in nature is a parable and speaks to us about eternal truths. This is how You saw everything around You and You spoke of these divine truths with wisdom, simplicity and great clarity. We cannot miss the timeless messages.

In today's parable, You take the simple fact of a grain of wheat having to be buried and dying to what it was in order to become something entirely different. Only in this complete metamorphosis does it increase and give greater meaning and purpose to what it was originally.

You walked the talk. You demonstrated perfectly this parable in Your own life when You lay down for the life of the world. I am called to imitate You closely. This is not possible on my own this is why You gave the Church the Sacraments so that, with divine grace streaming constantly into our souls, it will be possible. The Apostles who were martyred, and all those who were slain because of the Gospel, the Good News they preached, are powerful witnesses to this truth.  

The most compelling revelation to all of us is this

"Whoever loves his life loses it,
and whoever hates his life in this world
will preserve it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, there also will my servant be.
The Father will honor whoever serves me."

We live in an age when self-idolatry is rampant; this is why we have given ourselves over to every kind of depravity, licentiousness, and evil. However, You are God and You are love and we are redeemed. You have triumphed. Victory is Yours for Satan has fallen like lightning from the sky and is vanquished. We are saved.