Isaiah 48:17-19, Psalm 1:1-4, 6, Matthew 11:16-19

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

.

Memorial of St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church

The Lord will come; go out to meet him!
He is the prince of peace.

Isaiah 48:17-19, Psalm 1:1-4, 6, Matthew 11:16-19

Isaiah 48:17-19

My Love, Beloved of my soul,

Grant me the grace to accept all that comes from You with joy for it comes from the hand of God. You are my Master, my Teacher, my Brother, my Spouse, and my Friend. Your will is perfect may I acquiesce to it in humility always no matter how difficult it may seem. Keep me faithful to Your law of love - may it rule my love, may it guide every thought, every word, and every action. May I do all prompted by love for You above all else.

Keep me faithful to Your Word all the days of my life. Keep me as the apple of Your eye. Keep me safe in the hollow of Your hand. Amen.

Psalm 1:1-4, 6

My Love, Beloved of my soul,

Grant that I and those I love follow You faithfully all the days of our lives. Then will our lives be fruitful, then will we bear fruit in all season, then will we be a blessing to all. 

Planted in You, grafted into Your Body, we are the branches of the Vine and as long as we are attached to You we will have Your life in us. With You, all things are possible, apart from You we are only fit to be cut off and thrown into the fire that never goes out. Grant O Lord that we never do anything that will cast us out of You. Keep us faithful to the end. Amen.

Matthew 11:16-19

My Love, Beloved of my soul,

You said, "By their fruits, you will know them." Good trees bear good fruit and bad trees bad fruit. It is that simple. Yet, the world is deliberately obtuse. It prefers to be blind to the truth because it prefers sin to goodness, purity, holiness, and beauty. Were they to concur with the Truth then everything that their flesh craves for will have to be rooted out and their whole lives will have to change radically. The world believes that it is better to live enslaved to their individual ideas of right and wrong rather than live according to the divine will, plan, and purposes of God.

People will criticize and denigrate rather than praise and emulate those who are good. John the Baptist was criticized for being too ascetic and You were criticized for eating, drinking and fraternizing with sinners. Those who sit on the fence will always have something negative to say because they refuse to take a stand one way or the other. Time, however, reveals the truth about all things.