DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS
You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. MT 16:18
ACTS 12:1-11
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
When we walk with You, when we surrender our lives to You, when we trust You in all the circumstances of our life, then as Peter and so many countless more have discovered, we will experience Your power working for us and against those who would harm us. You assure us that the Father has counted every hair on our head. He is intimately involved in every aspect of our lives.
We also discover the power of intercession. We read, 'All the time Peter was under guard the Church prayed to God for him unremittingly.' And God sent angels to deliver him. From Peter we learn that we can sleep peacefully when we are committed to the mission You have assigned to us. 'Peter, secured by double chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while outside the door guards kept watch on the prison.' In fact he was sleeping so soundly that when 'the angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shone in the cell.' He had to tap him to wake him up and immediately the chains fell from his wrists. There is no sense of alarm or hurry as the angel instructs Peter to put on his belt and sandals and reminds him to take his cloak and follow him past the sleeping guards. The iron gate leading to the city opened for them and he was led out and the angel left.
All who trust You know that You have appointed an angel to watch over us and to rescue us from the wiles of the Enemy.
PSALM 34:2-9
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
We were created, every one of us, to glorify God and to find Him wonderfully present in our praises. When we magnify You our soul exults in the wonder of You and we marvel at You goodness, Your power, Your beauty, Your magnificence, Your munificence, and we are humbled by Your infinite love for us sinners.
Grant me this grace my Lord, that no matter what I experience in this life of joy or sadness, pain or grief, I will seek Your Presence and praise You.
Anyone who walks with You will be delivered from all fear for fear has no place in love. When I call on You, You will answer me and You, my Beloved, will stay with me until the storm has passed.
Keep my gaze ever raised to You. May I yield to every gentle prompting of Your Spirit and may I be preserved from doing anything that would grieve Him. Thank You for giving me refuge in Your Sacred Heart and thank You for appointing an angel to guard and protect me all the days of my life.
2 TIMOTHY 4:6-8, 17-18
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
St. Paul, appointed by You as Apostle to the Gentiles, and to whom I am indebted for my conversion as is everyone who is not a Jew, is a true icon of You. This is why he could confidently say to the people of God in the churches he established, to imitate him for in doing so they imitated You.
He had the heart of a lion and he loved You passionately. He was a man who although very docile to the Holy Spirit, was volatile in his emotions. It was not in his nature to do things by halves - even when he persecuted Your followers, he did so zealously believing that he was battling for God. But once he encountered You, once he understood that it was indeed You who was the Messiah, the Savior, the Redeemer, that the Jews had been waiting for, he surrendered completely to You and to Your will. His life was Yours to do with as You willed. This is why he could say with complete conviction, I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, Which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance.
We who strive to walk the Way of Truth, Life, and Love, ask that You stand by us, give us strength we need, and help us to be faithful in living, preaching, and teaching the Good News by our lives. May all who see us and know us recognize that You live in us and desire the same joy, peace, and divine Presence that is ours.
MATTHEW 16:13-19
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
In our pilgrim journey through life as baptized Christians and members of the family of God, we each have to make our own proclamation of faith when asked, "Who do you say that I am?" As Your disciples, we cannot look to the world for the answer to this question, if we do we will get a false idea of who You are. Our own faith journey must lead us to a personal encounter with You and then like Peter, we will be inspired to answer as he did.
Inspired by the Holy Spirit Peter responded rightly and in doing so, You chose him and appointed him as the visible head of the Church. He is the Rock on which You have built and established Your Church and You are its Cornerstone. The Church will stand despite every effort made from without and within to bring her down but no power can do so. Not only because You have said that the gates of hell shall not prevail against her but also because of Your assurance that You will remain with her always until the end of time.
You conferred primacy to Peter in these words, "I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” It is a fulfillment of a prophecy in Isaiah 22:20-23
We will pray and work with the help of the Holy Spirit for the unity of all Christians and one day, Beloved, the unity You prayed for will be realized, there will be but one flock and one shepherd and then we will know that Your coming is imminent. Marantha! Lord Jesus, Maranatha!
You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. MT 16:18
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
When we walk with You, when we surrender our lives to You, when we trust You in all the circumstances of our life, then as Peter and so many countless more have discovered, we will experience Your power working for us and against those who would harm us. You assure us that the Father has counted every hair on our head. He is intimately involved in every aspect of our lives.
We also discover the power of intercession. We read, 'All the time Peter was under guard the Church prayed to God for him unremittingly.' And God sent angels to deliver him. From Peter we learn that we can sleep peacefully when we are committed to the mission You have assigned to us. 'Peter, secured by double chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while outside the door guards kept watch on the prison.' In fact he was sleeping so soundly that when 'the angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shone in the cell.' He had to tap him to wake him up and immediately the chains fell from his wrists. There is no sense of alarm or hurry as the angel instructs Peter to put on his belt and sandals and reminds him to take his cloak and follow him past the sleeping guards. The iron gate leading to the city opened for them and he was led out and the angel left.
All who trust You know that You have appointed an angel to watch over us and to rescue us from the wiles of the Enemy.
PSALM 34:2-9
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
We were created, every one of us, to glorify God and to find Him wonderfully present in our praises. When we magnify You our soul exults in the wonder of You and we marvel at You goodness, Your power, Your beauty, Your magnificence, Your munificence, and we are humbled by Your infinite love for us sinners.
Grant me this grace my Lord, that no matter what I experience in this life of joy or sadness, pain or grief, I will seek Your Presence and praise You.
Anyone who walks with You will be delivered from all fear for fear has no place in love. When I call on You, You will answer me and You, my Beloved, will stay with me until the storm has passed.
Keep my gaze ever raised to You. May I yield to every gentle prompting of Your Spirit and may I be preserved from doing anything that would grieve Him. Thank You for giving me refuge in Your Sacred Heart and thank You for appointing an angel to guard and protect me all the days of my life.
2 TIMOTHY 4:6-8, 17-18
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
St. Paul, appointed by You as Apostle to the Gentiles, and to whom I am indebted for my conversion as is everyone who is not a Jew, is a true icon of You. This is why he could confidently say to the people of God in the churches he established, to imitate him for in doing so they imitated You.
He had the heart of a lion and he loved You passionately. He was a man who although very docile to the Holy Spirit, was volatile in his emotions. It was not in his nature to do things by halves - even when he persecuted Your followers, he did so zealously believing that he was battling for God. But once he encountered You, once he understood that it was indeed You who was the Messiah, the Savior, the Redeemer, that the Jews had been waiting for, he surrendered completely to You and to Your will. His life was Yours to do with as You willed. This is why he could say with complete conviction, I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, Which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance.
We who strive to walk the Way of Truth, Life, and Love, ask that You stand by us, give us strength we need, and help us to be faithful in living, preaching, and teaching the Good News by our lives. May all who see us and know us recognize that You live in us and desire the same joy, peace, and divine Presence that is ours.
MATTHEW 16:13-19
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
In our pilgrim journey through life as baptized Christians and members of the family of God, we each have to make our own proclamation of faith when asked, "Who do you say that I am?" As Your disciples, we cannot look to the world for the answer to this question, if we do we will get a false idea of who You are. Our own faith journey must lead us to a personal encounter with You and then like Peter, we will be inspired to answer as he did.
Inspired by the Holy Spirit Peter responded rightly and in doing so, You chose him and appointed him as the visible head of the Church. He is the Rock on which You have built and established Your Church and You are its Cornerstone. The Church will stand despite every effort made from without and within to bring her down but no power can do so. Not only because You have said that the gates of hell shall not prevail against her but also because of Your assurance that You will remain with her always until the end of time.
You conferred primacy to Peter in these words, "I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” It is a fulfillment of a prophecy in Isaiah 22:20-23
We will pray and work with the help of the Holy Spirit for the unity of all Christians and one day, Beloved, the unity You prayed for will be realized, there will be but one flock and one shepherd and then we will know that Your coming is imminent. Marantha! Lord Jesus, Maranatha!
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