DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS
You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord; blessed are they who have not seen me, but still believe!
JN 20:29
ACTS 2:42-47
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
The lives of the apostles after Pentecost serve as a blueprint for Christian living. Believers on fire with the Holy Spirit lived in community, they came together to pray and celebrate the Eucharist. They shared everything so those who had much did not have any left over and those who had little wanted for nothing. Their way of life is so alien to the way we live. We have no peace because our wants are insatiable. We want new, better, faster, bigger, more expensive and we have no rest unless we acquire these things.
We do not think twice about spending in a day what would sustain families for years. We are so busy getting and spending that we are exhausted, unhappy, and strangely dissatisfied because nothing seems to fill the emptiness within us.
True joy comes from knowing who we are. Our possessions can never satisfy us only You can fill the vast empty expanse within us. The world can be drawn to You only if those who believe in You witness by the joy in their lives that in possessing they possess all things.
PSALM 118:2-4, 13,15, 22-24
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
We thank You for Your mercies that endure forever. We thank You that You do not treat us as we deserve but that Your heart burns with love for us. We thank You that despite the fact that the world rejects You, You do not reject us but pursue us relentlessly to the end.
Thank You, for dying for us and for giving us every opportunity as long as there is breath in our body, to repent and return home to You.
Thank You for Good Friday which gives way to Easter Sunday. Thank You for Divine Mercy that never tires of seeking and saving the lost.
1 PETER 3:1-9
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
St. Peter praises us who have not seen You and yet believe in You. This is faith and it is a gift. We believe in a God of mercy a God who lay down His life for us. A God who did not spare His only Son but gave Him up in order that we who were dead could live again.
We believe and because we do we have an imperishable inheritance kept for us in heaven where rust does not corrode nor moths destroy. We believe that we are saved and that our salvation was bought at a price so great we can never hope to repay it. It is God our Father's free gift to us. We are children of God, and co-heirs with You to the Kingdom of heaven.
Yes, in this world we will have trials, suffering, persecution, and may perhaps even have to die but these are nothing compared to the joy of eternal life with You. Thank You for the gift of new life that is given to us through Water and the Holy Spirit. Thank You for assuring us that we are blessed because even though we have not seen we believe. Keep us faithful to the end.
JOHN 20:19-31
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
The disciples hid behind locked doors trembling and paralyzed with fear. Fear cripples us. It freezes our power of reasoning and when we compromise our conscience fear takes center stage. This is how You found Your disciples - cowering in fear expecting to be rounded up by the authorities for being Your followers, and shame for having abandoned You.
You entered the room despite the locked door and Your first word to them was like sweet balm on a painful wound. They are words every sinner longs to hear. "Peace be with you." Then You showed them Your wounds, the wounds that You invited Thomas to touch and believe, the scars that are a permanent reminder to heaven, hell, and earth of the price of our salvation.
In Your great mercy, You institute another Sacrament, the Sacrament of Reconciliation giving Your apostles the power to forgive sins in Your Name and giving all sinners an opportunity to start over. You commissioned them - sending them forth into the world just as the Father sent You. Since then the disciples have continued to send forth new disciples in Your Name to baptize, to forgive, and to feed us with Your Body and Blood and administer to us the Sacraments we need in order to live holy lives.
We believe, Beloved, we have not seen You but we believe and believing we are saved.
You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord; blessed are they who have not seen me, but still believe!
JN 20:29
ACTS 2:42-47
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
The lives of the apostles after Pentecost serve as a blueprint for Christian living. Believers on fire with the Holy Spirit lived in community, they came together to pray and celebrate the Eucharist. They shared everything so those who had much did not have any left over and those who had little wanted for nothing. Their way of life is so alien to the way we live. We have no peace because our wants are insatiable. We want new, better, faster, bigger, more expensive and we have no rest unless we acquire these things.
We do not think twice about spending in a day what would sustain families for years. We are so busy getting and spending that we are exhausted, unhappy, and strangely dissatisfied because nothing seems to fill the emptiness within us.
True joy comes from knowing who we are. Our possessions can never satisfy us only You can fill the vast empty expanse within us. The world can be drawn to You only if those who believe in You witness by the joy in their lives that in possessing they possess all things.
PSALM 118:2-4, 13,15, 22-24
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
We thank You for Your mercies that endure forever. We thank You that You do not treat us as we deserve but that Your heart burns with love for us. We thank You that despite the fact that the world rejects You, You do not reject us but pursue us relentlessly to the end.
Thank You, for dying for us and for giving us every opportunity as long as there is breath in our body, to repent and return home to You.
Thank You for Good Friday which gives way to Easter Sunday. Thank You for Divine Mercy that never tires of seeking and saving the lost.
1 PETER 3:1-9
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
St. Peter praises us who have not seen You and yet believe in You. This is faith and it is a gift. We believe in a God of mercy a God who lay down His life for us. A God who did not spare His only Son but gave Him up in order that we who were dead could live again.
We believe and because we do we have an imperishable inheritance kept for us in heaven where rust does not corrode nor moths destroy. We believe that we are saved and that our salvation was bought at a price so great we can never hope to repay it. It is God our Father's free gift to us. We are children of God, and co-heirs with You to the Kingdom of heaven.
Yes, in this world we will have trials, suffering, persecution, and may perhaps even have to die but these are nothing compared to the joy of eternal life with You. Thank You for the gift of new life that is given to us through Water and the Holy Spirit. Thank You for assuring us that we are blessed because even though we have not seen we believe. Keep us faithful to the end.
JOHN 20:19-31
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
The disciples hid behind locked doors trembling and paralyzed with fear. Fear cripples us. It freezes our power of reasoning and when we compromise our conscience fear takes center stage. This is how You found Your disciples - cowering in fear expecting to be rounded up by the authorities for being Your followers, and shame for having abandoned You.
You entered the room despite the locked door and Your first word to them was like sweet balm on a painful wound. They are words every sinner longs to hear. "Peace be with you." Then You showed them Your wounds, the wounds that You invited Thomas to touch and believe, the scars that are a permanent reminder to heaven, hell, and earth of the price of our salvation.
In Your great mercy, You institute another Sacrament, the Sacrament of Reconciliation giving Your apostles the power to forgive sins in Your Name and giving all sinners an opportunity to start over. You commissioned them - sending them forth into the world just as the Father sent You. Since then the disciples have continued to send forth new disciples in Your Name to baptize, to forgive, and to feed us with Your Body and Blood and administer to us the Sacraments we need in order to live holy lives.
We believe, Beloved, we have not seen You but we believe and believing we are saved.
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