DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS
Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;
you have the words of everlasting life.
JN 6:63C, 68C
ACTS 9:31-42
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
If the Church was permitted to live in peace in the world; if she was allowed to work freely and without persecution; if she walked in the fear of the Lord, her Spouse, she would be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and she would be the beacon You meant her to be. Sadly, none of the above is true.
The grave corruption in many areas of the Church among some of her members fills her, not with an odor of sanctity, but with the stench of decay. Many are scandalized. Many use this as an excuse for their own bad behavior and lax morals.
The Church was meant to be vibrant, with its shepherds clothed in the same garments as Peter and the rest of the disciples who went about preaching and teaching, just as You did. They walked in Your footsteps and did all that they saw You do.
Is this a time of re-awakening? Is this the time of a renewal of the Church by the Holy Spirit as well as the face of the earth? Will we, like the paralyzed Aeneas, rise up at Peter's command, healed and ready to do God's work once more in sincerity, humility, obedience, and truth? Will all that was glorious in the Church be raised to life once again by Peter who raised to life the good Dorcas? Will our shepherds be as quick to respond to the cry of their flock as Peter did when the people said, “Please come to us without delay?”
If we allow the Holy Spirit to sweep through every member of the Church then we will once again see mighty signs as we live the Gospel and many will come to believe in You and be saved.
PSALM 116:12-17
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
Every hour of every day I must ask myself, "How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good He has done for me?" I will never run out of praise or thanksgiving for with every breath I breathe I do so because You are gracious, kind, compassionate, and merciful.
We are denied the cup of Salvation in these dark yet blessed days. The Holy Spirit is at work in us and we feel a great hunger and thirst for You as perhaps never known before.
The angel of death is sweeping through the world right now and many faithful souls are now in the Kingdom of God. Perhaps many more will be taken up before this pandemic ends.
We are the sheep of Your flock. We are Your people. We pray and long for the day when released from this present confinement, we will gather once more as one community of believers, to offer the Father the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving, the Holy Eucharist in Your Name O Lord.
JOHN 6:60-69
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
John the evangelist tells us that many found Your teaching on eating Your Body and drinking Your Blood hard despite all the miracles they had witnessed. They admired You and believed that Your power came from God, yet, they rejected You because they found this teaching too hard.
You said plainly, "Does this shock you?" You were aware of their disgust at being told that they had to literally eat You in order to have eternal life, but You did not water down what You said. You could so easily have spoken about transubstantiation but the truth of the matter is, that while the bread and wine do not change in appearance, they change in substance. You wanted this known without a shadow of a doubt, through the ages and to the end of time, that we are in truth eating Your Flesh and drinking Your Blood and without this Food and Drink, we would have no life in us.
When we leave the Church for whatever reason whether it be grave because we have been gravely wounded, or because we seek an excuse not to heed some of the hard teachings of the Church, we risk our eternal salvation. We are not in the Church by chance - the Father willed us to be a part of Your Body, the Church, and when we walk away, we walk away from God.
Sometimes in our lives, when things get hard and even impossible, You will say to us, "Do you also want to leave?" Then like Simon Peter may our response be, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”
Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;
you have the words of everlasting life.
JN 6:63C, 68C
ACTS 9:31-42
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
If the Church was permitted to live in peace in the world; if she was allowed to work freely and without persecution; if she walked in the fear of the Lord, her Spouse, she would be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and she would be the beacon You meant her to be. Sadly, none of the above is true.
The grave corruption in many areas of the Church among some of her members fills her, not with an odor of sanctity, but with the stench of decay. Many are scandalized. Many use this as an excuse for their own bad behavior and lax morals.
The Church was meant to be vibrant, with its shepherds clothed in the same garments as Peter and the rest of the disciples who went about preaching and teaching, just as You did. They walked in Your footsteps and did all that they saw You do.
Is this a time of re-awakening? Is this the time of a renewal of the Church by the Holy Spirit as well as the face of the earth? Will we, like the paralyzed Aeneas, rise up at Peter's command, healed and ready to do God's work once more in sincerity, humility, obedience, and truth? Will all that was glorious in the Church be raised to life once again by Peter who raised to life the good Dorcas? Will our shepherds be as quick to respond to the cry of their flock as Peter did when the people said, “Please come to us without delay?”
If we allow the Holy Spirit to sweep through every member of the Church then we will once again see mighty signs as we live the Gospel and many will come to believe in You and be saved.
PSALM 116:12-17
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
Every hour of every day I must ask myself, "How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good He has done for me?" I will never run out of praise or thanksgiving for with every breath I breathe I do so because You are gracious, kind, compassionate, and merciful.
We are denied the cup of Salvation in these dark yet blessed days. The Holy Spirit is at work in us and we feel a great hunger and thirst for You as perhaps never known before.
The angel of death is sweeping through the world right now and many faithful souls are now in the Kingdom of God. Perhaps many more will be taken up before this pandemic ends.
We are the sheep of Your flock. We are Your people. We pray and long for the day when released from this present confinement, we will gather once more as one community of believers, to offer the Father the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving, the Holy Eucharist in Your Name O Lord.
JOHN 6:60-69
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
John the evangelist tells us that many found Your teaching on eating Your Body and drinking Your Blood hard despite all the miracles they had witnessed. They admired You and believed that Your power came from God, yet, they rejected You because they found this teaching too hard.
You said plainly, "Does this shock you?" You were aware of their disgust at being told that they had to literally eat You in order to have eternal life, but You did not water down what You said. You could so easily have spoken about transubstantiation but the truth of the matter is, that while the bread and wine do not change in appearance, they change in substance. You wanted this known without a shadow of a doubt, through the ages and to the end of time, that we are in truth eating Your Flesh and drinking Your Blood and without this Food and Drink, we would have no life in us.
When we leave the Church for whatever reason whether it be grave because we have been gravely wounded, or because we seek an excuse not to heed some of the hard teachings of the Church, we risk our eternal salvation. We are not in the Church by chance - the Father willed us to be a part of Your Body, the Church, and when we walk away, we walk away from God.
Sometimes in our lives, when things get hard and even impossible, You will say to us, "Do you also want to leave?" Then like Simon Peter may our response be, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”
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