1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Psalm 118:1B-2, 16AB-17, 28 Luke 7:36-50

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord. Mt 11:28
Memorial of Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gon, Priest, and Paul Chong Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs

1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Psalm 118:1B-2, 16AB-17, 28
Luke 7:36-50


1 Corinthians 15:1-11

My Love, Beloved of my soul,

We believe in the Good News, the Good News that has the power to save. It does not matter who preaches, it does not matter how the one who preaches received the gift of faith, what does matter is that we who received it hand it down just as faithfully as we received it.

What is this Gospel that we believe Beloved, St. Paul tell us in the following verses:

For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.

We believe that You rose from the dead and that there were over 500 witnesses to this fact beginning with Peter and ending the Paul who became one of the greatest evangelists of all time.

I too am called to preach the Good News in season and out of season and not only in word but in deed help me Beloved to speak boldly and courageously of the Word that gives life and saves.

Psalm 118:1B-2, 16AB-17, 28

My Love, Beloved of my soul,

May I never fail to give You thanks my Lord and my God for Your many kindnesses to me. For saving me. For pursuing me even when I was fleeing from You. For catching up with me and for loving me tenderly. Thank You for never giving up on me and above all thank You for the eternal Covenant of Love that You have made with me and those I love.

Truly, You are a God of great mercy and compassion if not, Beloved, I would have died in my sins and I would have been damned eternally.

Thank You for being my Rock, my Refuge and my Deliverer. With You at my side Beloved, I shall always be safe.

Luke 7:36-50

My Love, Beloved of my soul,

Although you called out the self-righteous Pharisees for their hypocrisies You nevertheless were gracious and visited them when they invited You into their home. You never lost an opportunity of bringing the sinner to repentance and conversion.

Today, we have the most beautiful passage written by the evangelist Luke who has a very tender heart for those who are poor both spiritually and temporally. He narrates this incident eloquently and we can picture the entire scene as he so movingly expresses the gestures made by the public sinner, the tenderness with which You received her and accepted her gestures of contrition and repentance, and the hardness of heart of Simon the Pharisee and one-time Leper. He too was a beneficiary of Your healing power but had no room in his heart for compassion.

The 'sinful woman in the city' whom all the men reclining at table knew (one wonders how, whether only by reputation or by personal experience). She had eyes for no one but You. Having gained entrance into the Pharisee's house she walked straight up to You and then she made the most beautiful sacramental expression of her contrite, sorrowful heart, her repentance, her desire to turn away from her sinful life, and Your loving acceptance of her expression of repentance and Your divine absolution of all her sins, cleansing her soul of all her past sins and giving her an wonderful opportunity to begin again.

This is a beautiful demonstration of what happens to every contrite soul in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Every sinner gets to hear Your beautiful, healing words from the mouth of the priest:

"Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you; go in peace."