Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower;
all who come to him will live forever.
NEHEMIAH 21:4-9
PSALM 102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21
JOHN 8:21-30

NEHEMIAH 21:4-9

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

We are no better than the children of Israel whom God brought out of slavery with so many signs and wonders. We are bitter by our broken lives and we seek to put them together by ourselves. We have forgotten the price paid for our salvation. We have allowed sin to kill our soul and we wander around in barren deserts, wastelands where there is no comfort, no shade, no water to slake our thirst or bread to satisfy our hunger. 

We have deliberately and willfully turned away from the life You offered, for we believed that it was impossible to discipline our flesh and our senses and now we are dying.  We have sinned O Lord, against You alone have we sinned. What is evil in Your sight we have done. We repent as the people of Israel repented of their evil murmuring against God. There is no life apart from You. There is no nourishment apart from the Eucharist. Only the Living Water that pours out of You can satisfy our thirst. We lift up our eyes to the Cross and we beg You to forgive us, heal us, and fill us once again with the joy of our salvation that we received from You.

Psalm102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

Hear the cry of Your people who are afflicted and have no one but You to help us. We have turned away from You but now we return with contrite hearts and repentant spirits. We have sinned and we have done what is abhorrent to You. We have grieved the Holy Spirit deeply and have offended the Father. We have spurned and rejected Your invitation to follow You and now that the gates of hell are open we are afraid.

Spare us O Lord. Pour Your healing grace pour upon us wash away our iniquity and cleanse us of our sins. May we never again forget the price that was paid for our salvation but make it known to everyone so all can praise, worship, and glorify You for laying down Your life that we may live. Look down upon Your poor unfortunate creatures and let us live once and we will be Your light in the world.


JOHN 8:21-30

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

The season of Lent is drawing to a close. When it began little did we know how dramatically our lives would change before Easter was upon us. We now know how fragile life is and how easily all that we once took for granted can be taken from us. This is a time for reflection, for purification, for giving up the things we have clung to and refused to give up for so long. Our selfishness, our pettiness, our bitterness, our lack of forgiveness, our inability to be generous and magnanimous in the face of narrow-minded bigotry. We ourselves have been guilty of bringing dishonor to You. We lost sight of You in the busyness of our daily affairs. We became so engrossed in the things of the world that we forgot the things that are eternal. You invited us to come and live where You live but we preferred the life that is below, a life of carnality, and earthly gain. Selfish and greedy we turned a blind eye to those in need. There is much that can be said to our condemnation but You did not come to condemn us but to save us.

We deserve to be abandoned. We deserve our present chastisement. Let it not be in vain but let this be the time of reawakening to the Truth that saves. The Father has lifted You up - may we raise our eyes and receive the saving grace that overflows from Your wounds. May we, like You, always do what is pleasing to the Father.

Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord,
but rather in his conversion, that he may live. EZ 33:11

DANIEL 13:41C-62
PSALM 23:1-3AB, 4-6
JOHN 8:1-11

DANIEL 13:41C-62

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

It is always, always true that evil finds all that is pure, holy, good, beautiful, noble, and true contemptible and will not rest until they have either marred or destroyed it. It takes courage to stand erect, and look Satan in the eye unflinchingly. Faith can and will help us to do just that.

The story of Susanna in Scripture illustrates this powerful truth beautifully. The wicked judges represent all that is evil in the world no matter where that evil manifests itself - whether in the hierarchy of the Church, its clergy, among government officials, among the rich and the powerful, the influential, and even among the poor. Evil does not discriminate, it makes its home anywhere it is invited. 

What can we do when we find ourselves like Susanna condemned by the perjury on the part of those who are appointed to use their power for good not evil? Both Susanna and Daniel are good examples of what we can do. Like Susanna we must pray and trust in You even though the wicked threaten us; and we must be like Daniel who when confronted with evil refuse to tolerate it. Too often we are timid, afraid of what we could lose if we spoke up in defense of the voiceless, the marginalized, the outcast. As people of God made in His image and likeness, filled with His Holy Spirit, we must cry out in the face of wickedness. We must call that which is evil, evil. Too often we condemn ourselves with our silence and then we are no better than those evil judges and we deserve the same punishment that they received.

When we stand up to evil God is glorified and those around us are encouraged to trust in God as well. 
  
Innocent blood was spared that day blessed because Daniel, inspired by the Holy Spirit stood up boldly to defend Susanna. Innocent Blood was lost on the Day the world remained silent when those in power colluded with evil to put You to death. 

PSALM 23:1-3AB, 4-6


My Beloved, Soul of my Soul,

I have found this psalm to be most consoling in the darkest periods of my life. These verses reveal God's tender and compassionate love for His flock, the sheep of His fold. 

Beloved, in the midst of the darkest, most dreary, most fearful days of our lives that the world is facing right now we know that You are walking with us. Did You not say to Saul, "Why are you persecuting me?" You are with us. You feel our pain and suffering. You know we are filled with distress - mothers for their young children, fathers for their wives and families, older people who are vulnerable, the young whose lives are disrupted in a way they could never imagine. The poor, the sick, the lonely, the people of the world are walking in the dark valley but You assure us that You are right here with us, leading us, guiding us, to that place where You desire us to be. This is a time for pruning, for reflection, for ridding ourselves of all that has kept us from following You more closely and loving You more sincerely.

Thank You for this time of uncertainty and Your assurance that You are at our side. 


JOHN 8:1-11

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

There are many wonderful incidents of Your encounter with sinners, narrated in the Gospels which radiate the love and mercy of God but my favorite is this one narrated by John, the disciple of love. He paints such a vivid picture of the whole scene that one can place yourself in it every time and experience the spine-tingling, exhilarating drama of the whole event.

...........................

While His enemies were plotting,
And scheming for His life,
Our Lord went out to Olivet,
To pray all through the night.

Returning to the temple,
After a night of prayer,
He found a group of people,
Already gathered there.
.............THE ADULTERESS - JOHN 8:1-11

Fifth Sunday of Lent

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will never die.
JN 11:25A, 26



EZEKIEL 37:12-14
PSALM 130:1-8
ROMANS 8:8-11
JOHN 11:1-45


EZEKIEL 37:12-14


My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

You love us too much to permit us to die in our sins. We were created by God to love Him and to be loved in return. We were created for love. This is why we suffer so much when we choose to sin and deliberately and willfully turn away from Your love.


You will only let us go so far before Your pity and mercy bring us back from the graves we have made for ourselves. Thank You, Beloved, for never giving up on us but for Your constant invitation to return to You. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit who enables us to begin anew. Thank You, for forgiving our sins and restoring our relationship with God when we return with humble and contrite hearts. 


PSALM 130:1-8

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

In these dark days, our cries for help rise up to the highest heavens and I know that You hear our voice and that You are reaching down to us to save us. We know we have sinned. We confess that we have willfully turned away from all that was true, good, noble, and beautiful, and we have wallowed in the miry depths of ugliness, impurity, debauchery, and evil.

If You made a note of our sins Lord every one of us would be condemned to eternal death. But You are a God of love. Full of mercy, tenderness, compassion, and kindness. Thank You for Your eagerness to forgive the sinner and to restore Your friendship with us.

We are awake Beloved. We know we have sinned and we also know that the chastisement sent upon us is well-deserved. We are sorry. We ask You to forgive us. Send us Your Holy Spirit once again and with Your help, we promise to sin no more.



ROMANS 8:8-11

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

You have brought home to us most vividly in these days that we cannot be creatures of the flesh alone. We are body and spirit and we are created by God for a purpose. We are given life here on earth to prepare us for a life of glory with You in eternity. Even before God laid the foundations of the world He loved us. He brought us out of nothing to live in Your glorious light.

When the time of our passing comes from this life to the next the same Spirit of God that raised You to life and which is also given to us, will raise us too. Thank You for saving us. Thank You, Father, for sending Your Son Jesus to redeem us, thank You, Beloved, for Your life-giving Spirit for if we did not have Him we could do nothing that was pleasing to God. Truly, it is the Spirit that gives life the flesh alone brings only death and decay.

JOHN 11:1-45

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

Your message to Martha and her sister, Mary on hearing their brother was ill was, "This illness is not to end in death but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it." It is one of great consolation to us too. For while Lazarus whom You raised to life after being in the grave for over three days died surely died again later You are given the power to give us eternal life because You share the glory of Your Resurrection with those who are members of Your Body.


During the years granted to us here on earth, we are pilgrims who are invited to be yoked to You. We are invited to walk in the light through the grace granted to us in the Sacraments. The hour of death will come eventually to each one of us and then will come judgment.

SATURDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance. LK 8:15

JEREMIAH 11:18-20
PSALM7:2-3,9BC-12
JOHN 7:40-53

JEREMIAH 11:18-20

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

Once again, we see in the life of the prophet Jeremiah a fulfillment of prophecy in You. Your enemies came from within, they were Your people, Your friends, those who knew You and heard Your teachings and witnessed marvelous miracles. They all knew You were innocent even Pilate, and yet he washed his hands of the great treachery believing it absolved him for his part in it. 

Like the prophet Isaiah, Jeremiah presents us with an image of You as the gentle lamb led to the slaughter. It is an invitation to us to imitate You when we are persecuted for our faith in You. The world has always hated that which is good, and those who held a mirror to its depravity and its sins. It is so today as well. The Church holds up the mirror of truth to the world today. She is hated viciously for her uncompromising stand against those who call good evil and evil good. The world has always sought to erase You and Your Name and they have not succeeded in 21 centuries yet it does not stop the Enemy from seeking new ways to do so in every age. 

You have taught us that the only vengeance acceptable against those who hate the Church is love. We are called to love as You did. Only through this weapon will be world be evangelized.

PSALM 7:2-3, 9BC-12

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

We thank You for being our refuge. We thank You for saving us. We thank You that we can run and hide in You when the Tempter pursues us like a rabid dog in order to tear us apart. If we are innocent, we need never be afraid in the face of evil for we have You for our Friend, our Protector, and our God. Keep us safe in Your love until the end.


JOHN 7:40-53

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

All those who seek the truth, all who pursue it relentlessly, will find it for You are the Truth and You long to reveal Yourself to all who seek You with sincerity of heart. The people of Your time were confused. They knew the prophecy that the Christ would be a descendant of David and would come from Bethlehem, the city of David but this knowledge did not lead them to pursue the truth in seeking answers to their questions about You. They wondered. The talked about it and argued about it but that’s all they did they did not seek to know if all that people said about You was true. They denied You because they refused to seek the truth for themselves but were content in accepting as true what others said about You. 

Each one of us is called to make our own personal journey in the pursuit of truth with an open mind and a sincere heart and when we do, we will say as so many have done, “No one ever spoke like You.” The Pharisees were blind with murderous rage because they saw You as a threat to the comfortable lives they had made for themselves preying on the fear of the poor. They refused to listen to the voice of reason and scorned Nicodemus. Complacent in their collective ignorance they went home undisturbed in their conscience. So is the world today and there are many ‘good Christians’ who are quite happy with what they have rather than risking everything to delve deeper in order to encounter the fullness of Truth.

FRIDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

One does not live on bread alone, 
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. 
MT 4:48

WISDOM 2:1A, 12-22
PSALM 34:17-21 & 23
JOHN 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

WISDOM 2:1A, 12-22

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

In every age, the wicked have sought to kill the innocent because they are a torment to the conscience of those who choose to do evil and live evil lives. The Word of God is alive. The Word of God in today’s Liturgy from the Book of Wisdom prophesies clearly what wicked people will do the Son of God. The world hated You from the beginning and they continue to hate those who follow You especially us who belong to the Church You established because she refuses to conform to it. God’s Laws are to be obeyed because they are good and holy and we thrive when we live according to His law.

Everything that the writer in the Book of Wisdom was inspired to write foretells what You will suffer at the hands of the Pharisees, the Scribes, and the Chief Priests. You were not afraid to call out sin no matter where You found it. You were unafraid to call out those in authority for being hypocrites and they hated You with a murderous hatred and they found no rest until they vicious hate brought about Your horrific death on the Cross. They did not know that by putting You to death they would inadvertently give the world and all who believe its greatest gift, eternal life through You passion, death, and glorious resurrection.

PSALM 34:17-21 & 23

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

In the responsorial psalm, we see clearly why God made You a Victim for sinners. We would have been without consolation, without hope, if we had to live without hope of redemption or justice for the innocent. We would have been pitiable creatures, especially the poor, the outcast, the broken, the forsaken, the suffering if this life was all we had. It would be a terrible injustice if the rich, the powerful, the influential, who were evil and lived off the poor, lording over them until their death without any consequences; then it would have been better off had they never lived.  

The psalmist assures us that this is not so. God is alive and God is close to the weary and the broken-hearted. He hears every sigh even though the world does not hear it. Those who are crushed by the hand of the wicked have God on their side. We are redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb and all who wish to be saved can take refuge in You.

JOHN 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

Isn’t it strange my Lord, that our Christian brothers delight in saying, “Aha here is a verse that denies Mary’s perpetual virginity,” because there are many references to Your brothers in this chapter? Wonder why it bothers them so much to give Your Mother from whom You took Flesh the honor and the reverence that is due to her. They are so viscerally antagonistic that they refuse to even ponder rationally why the Church reveres her so much and raises her up for our veneration. Their loss.

In verses 25-30 we see that despite the fact that the authorities were plotting to kill You and the time of Your deliverance into their hands was fast approaching, You still went to the temple because there was more that You needed to reveal before Your hour would come. The words You had to say would be recorded in the Gospel so we could know that You came from God and believing we would be saved.

SOLEMNITY OF THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS


The Word of God became flesh and made his dwelling among us and we saw his glory JN1:14ab

ISAIAH 7:10-14; 8:10
PSALM 40:7-8A, 8B-11
HEBREWS 10:4-10
LUKE 1:26-38

ISAIAH 7:10-14; 8:10

Beloved, Soul of my soul,

Oft’ times like Ahaz we act like sanctimonious prigs and say that we will not ask for a sign and put God to the test even though we are invited to do so. The prophet is asking Ahaz to ask for a sign but Ahaz would rather preserve the status quo than risk asking for a sign that would involve change. But whether we desire it or not signs are always given to us. The sign that Isaiah spoke of was to be the sign of signs. The Word of God would become incarnate in the womb of a Virgin in order to crush the head of Satan. God would become Emmanuel and would remain with us until the end of time.

We are living in an age that has ignored the Voice of Wisdom and Truth and hence another sign is being given to us. We refused to pay attention to Your invitation to turn away from iniquity, heresy, and idol-worship and now there is a scourge sent to us. May we not refuse to see this sign for what it is – a sign to wake up from our sleep, turn away from sin, and return to You with humble and contrite hearts. Save O Lord, save Your people, and be not angry with us forever.

PSALM 40:7-8A, 8B-11

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

The response for the psalm today is, “Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.” This was Your response to the will of Your Father when You became incarnate of the Virgin Mary and today, this is the cry of the heart that is required from everyone who is alive. The sacrifice of goats, lambs, and bulls has no power to take away our sins.

You have written Your Law of Love in the hearts of all who are baptized and once again You invite us to remember that we no longer belong to ourselves but to You. You paid the price of our redemption and we owe You a debt of love that we can never repay.  All we can do is gratefully surrender to Your glorious will and do all You ask of us which is to love God with the whole of our being and our neighbor as ourselves. Love of neighbor involves sharing the Good News of our salvation which we have failed to do. Let Your just anger which burns against us be lifted and may we return to praise You once again in our churches and offer to the Father the only Sacrifice that was offered on Calvary. Recall the price You paid to redeem us Lord and forgive us once again.

HEBREWS 10:4-10

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

You made the most gracious, humble, profound, and pleasing response to Your Father’s desire to become the Fragrant Sacrifice in atonement for the sins of the world when You said, “Here I am to do your will.” Hell trembled in rage and incomprehension and heaven was in awe that God was prepared to offer His only beloved Son as a Sacrifice for us human beings. The world thanks You, the Father and the Holy Spirit by putting aside every law of God and nature, we deaden our conscience and we live licentiously. We are depraved in our sins. We are like Sodom and Gomorrah and we deserve this present chastisement and yet we say, “Father, for the sake of the sorrowful passion our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, have mercy, have pity, on us and on the whole world. Do not let Your anger continue to burn against us. We need the Eucharistic. We hunger for the Body and Blood of Your Son. Do not deprive us of this supernatural food lest we die. Have mercy on us O Lord. Have mercy on us.

LUKE 1:26-38

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

Mary, Your Mother, the fairest of the daughters of the Father, and the most chaste spouse of the Holy Spirit, is the disciple par excellence. She is our model. She shows us how to be pleasing to God in every way. She teaches us how to respond to the will of God by her own response to His will. You Yourself loved us so much that You not only lay down Your life for our redemption but You also gave us the best gift that You had, Your Mother, to be our Mother as well. You knew that we needed a Mother like her. Our own earthly mothers fall far short of her perfection and grace. 

Thank You for glorifying her in heaven and for desiring to pour Your immense graces to us through her immaculate heart. Thank You for making her the mediatrix of all graces. She gives us only that which has been granted to her and she can do what she will with the gifts showered upon her. Mary, our Mother, and our Queen do not abandon your children during this time of chastisement and tribulation but approach Your Son as you did at the wedding in Cana and ask Him to fill us once more with the wine of joy. Yes, we know that first we must do whatever He tells us to do and we promise we will. Pray for us Mother dearest, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

A clean heart create for me, O God;
give me back the joy of your salvation. PS 51:12A, 14A

EZEKIEL 47:1-9, 12
PSALM 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9
JOHN 5:1-6



EZEKIEL 47:1-9, 12

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

You are the Living Temple and from You gushes forth streams of Living Water. The deeper we fall in love with You the more deeply will we be immersed in Your infinite, never-ending love. If we put roots deep in You we will be fed and nourished by You and we will in turn be a witness and a blessing to all. 

Grant O  divine Lover, that as we wait for this chastisement to pass and it surely will, that we will be more truly and more perfectly conformed to Your image and likeness. May this time of hunger for You in the Holy Eucharist that we have taken for granted, that we have been indifferent to, have neglected, have cast aside, become once again the focal point of our daily lives just as the Father desired it should be. Amen.


PSALM 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

During this time when in Your divine wisdom You have permitted this yoke to be placed upon us may we understand that without You we are nothing. In this time of fear, anxiety, terror even, loneliness, pain and suffering that You O Lord are our refuge and our strength - there is no other. You are God, You are Emmanuel, God with us. You are God in us, within us, above us, below us, around us and this is why we have not be afraid no matter how difficult and challenging the days and months ahead may prove to be.
   
There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed;
God will help it at the break of dawn.

All our experience of You has taught us that You never ever abandon those who are washed in Your Blood and sealed in Your Holy Spirit. Because You are with us nothing can stand against us.


JOHN 5:1-6

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

There is so much You tell us in this miracle of the healing of the cripple at the pool. The waters of the pool represent the Living Water of Baptism. The five porticoes represent Your five wounds from which grace and mercy flows. All the sick gathered there represent the world's sinners helpless to help themselves. But You come among us, sent by the Father, and You take the first step inviting us to make known our inmost desires. "Do you want to be well?"

One would imagine the cripple would be overjoyed and his immediate response would be, "Yes, yes." Strangely he offered some convoluted response. You then said, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk." And he did. All it took was a word. The man did not even have to ask. You knew the desires of his heart he would not have been lying there for 38 years if he did not desire healing.

This is the time Beloved, when You are giving each one of us who are lame, blind, crippled, sick spiritually, mentally, and physically to realize that we are sick and we need the divine Physician. You said clearly that You came for us sinners for the righteous do not need You.

Let us not be blind to the forest for the trees - what matters is that You have the power to heal, restore, make whole once more. And when we are healed let us heed Your words, 

“Look, you are well; do not sin any more,
so that nothing worse may happen to you.”

Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS


Seek good and not evil so that you may live,and the LORD will be with you. AM 5:14


ISAIAH 65:17-21
PSALM 30:2 AND 4, 5-6, 11-12A AND 13B
JOHN 4:43-54


ISAIAH 65:17-21

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

For a people in exile who felt abandoned by God who appears to have forgotten that they are His people, His nation, chosen from among all the nations of the world to be How own, this prophecy is full of glad tidings. It promises the fulfillment of all their hopes. It assures them that God has not forgotten them and that He is about to do something new, wonderful, something never seen before.

Oftentimes we live as if the world is all there is. We forget that we are just pilgrims and that we have to walk through the valley of tears in order to reach the Promised Land. The eternal Kingdom. The place that God has prepared for us even before we were conceived. 

The Kingdom of God is here among us and we would see it if we only open our eyes. You are here present in us and disguised in each of us, all we need to do is recognize You and love and serve You in our neighbor. 


PSALM 30:2 AND 4, 5-6, 11-12A AND 13B


My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

We believe that 'this too will pass.' In the midst of our fear, sadness, and anxiety, in the midst of our pain and sufferings for our loved ones and for the world, we know that You are in control. This is a necessary chastisement. We are too greatly loved to be allowed to go our merry way and live as if God did not exist. 

The Father created us to be His joy and His delight. He did not forsake us though time and time again we deliberately and willfully turned away and rejected His love and deserved to die but sent You, His beloved Son, to receive the punishment that was ours. You paid the ransom for our sin and broke the chains of slavery to sin so we could be restored to friendship with God and have a share in Your glory,

You O Lord are our Helper and You will change our mourning into dancing and we will return once again with all the fervor of our whole beings to offer You praise, adoration, thanksgiving and worship, with a heart full of love and gratitude for leading us once more from darkness to Light.


JOHN 4:43-54

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

We have rejected You over and over again. The world has demanded signs and wonders, despite the greatest sign given to us, the Sign of the Cross. We have despised all that is good, holy, and pure and we have become crass and ugly. We have wallowed with the swine and fed from their trough. We have done evil and we deserve the punishment that we are now receiving.

Too great a price was paid for our salvation for us to live godless lives. Now we come before You and plead with You as the royal official did. We are sick, our children are sick, our country is sick, the nations are sick and we are faced with the peril of eternal damnation. Come Beloved, before we are lost. Yes, we deserve death but we beg You for the sake of Your sorrowful passion, to have mercy on us and bring healing to our sinful world. May we hear those grace-filled words You spoke to the poor, worried father, “You may go; your son will live.”

We believe that You are God and that one Word from You to the Father in heaven will bring us health in heart, mind, soul, body and spirit. Hear our cries O Lord and descend once more upon us that the whole world may come to know You and worship You in spirit and truth. Amen. 

Saturday of the Third Week of Lent

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts. PS 95:8

HOSEA 6:1-6
PSALM 51:3-4, 18-20-21AB
LUKE 18:9-14


HOSEA 6:1-6

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

How is it that we who are created in Your image and likeness are so hard of heart? How is it that we so easily forget Your innumerable kindnesses to us and turn our faces like flint away from You? Yet Your love never wavers. You never cease to invite us back to You as tenderly as a mother calling her wayward child. How is it that we are so blind and so hard of understanding? The truth is we need You. We could not draw a single breath without Your aid and yet our hearts are stubborn. 

Finally, in this time of affliction, You have our attention. We hear the voice of the prophet. We return to You with humble hearts and contrite spirits. We believe that You alone can heal us. The chastisement visited on us is well-deserved. All of us have sinned, Lord, but now we come back to You. 

Do not withhold Your love from us even though we are undeserving of it. We come before You in sackcloth and ashes and confess that we have sinned grievously. Do not punish us as we deserve. For the sake of Your sorrowful passion have mercy on us and on the whole world.

PSALM 51:3-4, 18-20-21AB


My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

We cry out to You for mercy but we have shown no mercy to those less fortunate than ourselves. We have been indifferent to the misery of the poor, the marginalized, the lonely, the sick, the suffering, the forgotten. We have cocooned ourselves in the softness and ease of material things. We have frittered away endless hours on entertaining ourselves and spent very little, if any, time in communion with You, our Creator, Redeemer and Lord.

Wash away our iniquity and cleanse us of our sins. Grant O Lord that we can return to our churches to offer once again the sacrifice of our lives in union with the one, holy, and perfect Sacrifice offered on Calvary. Pity us Lord and forgive us for the sake of Your sorrowful passion. Amen.

LUKE 18:9-14

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

So many of us like the Pharisee are convinced of our own righteousness. We make a show of our piety. We believe that because we are in a lot of committees and have prominent places in them that we are somehow better than everyone else. We conform outwardly in every way but our hearts and our interior lives are black with sin. 

We are proud and boastful of the gifts given to us to serve in love. We are haughty with the poor and believe that our many works done so others can see and praise us, makes us better than everyone else. 

To us You say, "I do not know you." But to the one who strikes his breast in humility and confesses his sins You say, "Go in peace, your sins are forgiven."

Beloved Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine. 

Friday of the Third Week of Lent

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS


Repent, says the Lord;

the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. MT 4:17

HOSEA 14:2-10
PSALM 81:6C-8A, 8BC-9, 10-11AB, 14 AND 17
MARK 12:28-34


HOSEA 14:2-10

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

It is not by chance that the world is undergoing the present turmoil and uncertainty. Sickness and the specter of death shrouds the world. Our own wickedness and guilt has brought us to this calamity. The people in the time of Hosea were asked to make offering of bullocks. We need to make an offering of contrite and repentant hearts and resolve to sin no more for the wages of sin is death. 

We refused to fulfill our Sunday Obligation, we refused to obey Your Commandments and now our indifference and cold hearts has brought us to this time when our churches are closed and we can no longer participate in the celebration of Holy Mass even if we wanted to.  

We come back to You, Beloved, 

We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’
to the work of our hands;
for in you the orphan finds compassion.”

Have mercy on us O Lord. Keep Your promises as You have done since the dawn of creation and say to us as You said to the prophet,

I will heal their defection, 
I will love them freely;
for my wrath is turned away from them.

Restore and renew us in Your love beloved. Take away the hand of punishment that lies heavy on us. You have humbled us. You have crushed us and we lie down in dust and ashes and beg for Your mercy and forgiveness. We on our part will strive never to forget this time of chastisement and heed Your words spoken through Hosea:

Let him who is wise understand these things;
let him who is prudent know them.
Straight are the paths of the LORD,
in them the just walk,

but sinners stumble in them.


PSALM 81:6C-8A, 8BC-9, 10-11AB, 14 AND 17


My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

It is not by chance that we are facing this calamity in the Season of Lent. At this time every year the Church invites her children to reflect on the horrific price You freely paid for our salvation. 

Through the Liturgy each day we hear God entreating us to hear His Voice. He reminds us of all that He has done for us through salvation history.

He recalls how time and time again

“I relieved his shoulder of the burden;
his hands were freed from the basket.
In distress you called, and I rescued you.”

These are testing times. Grant us the wisdom not to turn deaf ears to You but to understand that You are admonishing us and urging us to return to the Way, to live the Truth and to receive Life.


Too long have we worshipped before the gods of the flesh, the gods of the culture, before strange, alien, pagan gods. Too great a price was paid to ransom the children of God. The love of the Father will not  permit that His children perish without giving us time to repent and receive His mercy.

Today, the Lord is urging us to to hear His voice, return to the path that leads to life and He will feed us once again on the Eucharist and our hearts with honey from the Rock of Life.


MARK 12:28-34

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

Today You remind us of the two great commandments which we have either forgotten or deliberately set aside.

“The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these.”

How feebly we have loved You who laid down His life for us. How much longer did we expect the Father to tolerate our indifference? We are justly chastised. You do not desire lip service but hearts that are tuned to Your Voice and are filled with Your Spirit. 

Now is the time to love  in the way that we were created to love. 

Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Blessed are those who dwell in your house, O Lord;
they never cease to praise you. PS 85:5

2 SAMUEL 7:4-5A, 12-14A, 16
PSALM 89:2-3, 4-5, 27 AND 29
ROMANS 4:13, 16-18, 22
MATTHEW 1:16, 18-21, 24A


2 SAMUEL 7:4-5A, 12-14A, 16

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

Only those who are truly blind and deaf will be incapable of seeing how the Old finds its glorious culmination in the New. It is as clear as daylight that even Solomon in all his glory could not compare with the glory of the Son of David. Each time St. Joseph read these lines in Scripture he would have smiled, looked at You and a warm, tender, reverential glow would light up his heart. He would have thought, what is Solomon in comparison with the Son of God whom I am privileged to call my Son and to whom I am a father.

PSALM 89:2-3, 4-5, 27 AND 29

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

The Church, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has always been conscious of the extraordinary role St. Joseph plays in the life of the Church. He is recognized as the most chaste spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a loving foster father to You, and a faithful, obedient son of God. To him was given the privilege of tending to both You and Your Mother. Not a single spoken word is recorded in Scripture and yet his very silence speaks eloquently to the world.

Every husband, every worker, every parent, can safely model their lives on his, confident that in following his example their lives will be pleasing to God.

 ROMANS 4:13, 16-18, 22

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

St. Joseph is counted among those who are deemed righteous and just because of their faith. He occupies a place of honor with the patriarchs. He is a saint par excellence. He is the model for every husband, worker, and father who desires to please God

His humility, obedience, and faithfulness are remarkable. In a world of noise and discord, his absolute silence is a model for all who desire to please God as he did.  

He is the completion of Abraham for all God's promises to his descendants found their fulfillment in him who was chosen by God to be Your foster father and guardian.


St. Joseph died in Your arms and in the arms of Mary after fulfilling his vocation to perfection. He did not live to witness Your public ministry but in unwavering faith, 

He believed, hoping against hope,
that he would become the father of many nations,
according to what was said, Thus shall your descendants be.
That is why it was credited to him as righteousness.

MATTHEW 1:16, 18-21, 24A

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

What a thrill it must be for St. Joseph every time the Church recalls through her liturgical seasons the recording of this fact:

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

We have Mary to thank for all the marvelous details regarding her betrothal to Joseph, the narrative of Your birth and infancy and the following years. 

Matthew's account of St. Joseph's reaction on hearing that Mary was with child, does not lose its poignancy no matter how often we read it. Mary wanted it noted that he was a righteous man all through the terrible conflict and struggle he suffered. 

Yes, Joseph was a just man but he was also a man who loved selflessly, deeply, faithfully, and irrevocably. He was prepared to go to any lengths to protect his beloved Mary from shame and the wrath of the law.    

Scripture does not say how he reacted to the visitation of the angel of the Lord who  appeared to him in a dream and said,

“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”

All we read is that:

When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him

and took his wife into his home.

If only we listened to You and to the Holy Spirit and allowed all our thoughts, words, and deeds to be guided by Your Word, the Kingdom of God would already be among us.

St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus, spouse of the Virgin Mary, and protector of the Holy Family of Nazareth, pray for us now and at the hour of our death. Amen.