Friday, August 3, 2018

Jeremiah 26:1-9, Psalm 69:5, 8-10, 14, Matthew 13:54-58

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The word of the Lord remains forever;
this is the word that has been proclaimed to you. 1 Pet:1:25



Jeremiah 26:1-9, Psalm 69:5, 8-10, 14, 
Matthew 13:54-58

Jeremiah 26:1-9

My Love, Beloved of my soul,

From the beginning, since You created men and women they have sinned and rebelled against God. Having been given life and the great gift of free will we have chosen to use that gift to willfully choose evil over good. So it goes on in every age, in every century, wicked continues to flourish and God's prophets are persecuted, scorned, threatened, tortured, and even put to death. The wicked believe that if they can silence the prophet they can sin without compunction. 

They reckon without taking into account that part of our inner being where conscience is alive. You have given all human beings no matter what faith they ascribe to, the ability to know right from wrong, good for evil. 

We dared to kill the Son of God but we were not able to put the Word to death. You are triumphant. Your Word is alive. Your Word is Life. And all who believe and live by Your Word will triumph and share in Your victory and Your glory forever.

Psalm 69:5, 8-10, 14


My Love, Beloved of my soul,

You explained to the disciples on the road to Emmaus that it was necessary for You to die. Your death made it possible for us to have a glorious share in Your resurrection. Without You entering into our death we would not have been able to partake of Your Life. 

The psalmist today cries out to God pleading for an answer and expecting to be heard because he is certain that God is Love. Yes, Beloved, those who follow You closely in this world will be persecuted - You have said that we are not greater than the Master. What they did to You they will do to us also. Let us not be scandalized having discovered that the Enemy has penetrated the very highest places in the Church. He has gained a foothold in the persons of those who have taken vows to protect and defend her. Her very foundations have been shaken but we have Your promise that she will not be overcome despite the best efforts of those who hate her.

Those outnumber the hairs of my head
who hate me without cause.
Too many for my strength
are they who wrongfully are my enemies.
Must I restore what I did not steal?

Since for your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers,
a stranger to my mother’s sons,
Because zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.

But I pray to you, O LORD,
for the time of your favor, O God!
In your great kindness answer me
with your constant help.


Matthew 13:54-58

My Love, Beloved of my soul,

We have this awful tendency to judge people, to make pre-suppositions, to categorize people and place them within the confined spaces of our prejudice.

This was the case with You as well. When You came to Nazareth, Your hometown and taught in the synagogue the people were taken aback at Your wisdom, the authority of Your teaching, the beauty of Your words, the power of Your delivery of the message and instead of being transformed by it they belittled it because they knew where You came from, they knew Your parents, Your family members. They identified You as the son of Joseph the carpenter and for these reasons they rejected You. They rejected the Son of God because He did not fit into the mold of their pre-conceived notions.

We are often guilty of this terrible error in judgment when we reject the message because we reject the messenger's antecedents. What follows is our own terrible loss just as it was in Your hometown.

But Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and in his own house.”
And he did not work many mighty deeds there
because of their lack of faith.





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