Teach me your paths, my God,
make me walk in your truth. PS 24:4, 5
1 KINGS 18:20-39
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
You are the High Priest, You are the Altar, and You are the Lamb of Sacrifice. In today's reading from the Old Testament, we see that Elijah is a prefigurement of You. Since the foundation of the world, many have been idolaters and the practice is alive and well to this day. The whole dramatic portrayal of the inefficacy of idol worship versus the worship of the one true God reminds us how foolish and ridiculous we are when we make gods of created things whether animate or inanimate.
The world is full of false prophets - those of Baal numbered four hundred and fifty, and Elijah was the lone prophet of the Lord at the time. You have said, "By their fruits will they be known." We have been given the gift of reasoning and intelligence. Let us use them in order to discern what is from God and has the power to save us.
At every celebration of the Eucharist, we draw close to God and to each other as God's people. We take our place around the altar of the Lord and the priest who is Alter Christus, offers to the Father the one, holy, only acceptable Sacrifice offered on Calvary, an eternal, once-for-all holocaust for the redemption and salvation of us all. Water and blood flow from the Altar of Sacrifice and the Fire of the Love of God consumes the whole Sacrifice, drawing the Victim of the Sacrifice as well as those who worship, give thanks, and partake of the one holy and perfect Sacrifice, into the divinity of the Godhead. This Sacrifice will be offered until that glorious day of Your coming in glory when the elect shall feast eternally at the heavenly banquet.
PSALM 16 1-2, 4-5, 8 & 11
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
We thank God, our Father, for His plan of redemption that gave us so glorious a Savior. You are our refuge in the storm. You are our deliverer in times of calamity. You preserve us in Your love and You sustain us with Your own Flesh and Blood.
There is no God but You O Lord, may we never be so foolish as to make gods of created things. Have pity on those who refuse to recognize the futility of putting their faith and hope in the work of human hands. You have given us intelligence and reasoning and these are sufficient to look around us and recognize You who are higher, more glorious, and powerful than everything that You have created.
May we who are called by Your Name give witness to the truth and stay true to You keeping our feet firmly on the path that leads to life until we attain the fullness of joy in Your glorious Presence.
MATTHEW 5:17-19
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
Every Christian, every seeker of the Truth, everyone who desires to know God must acquaint themselves with both the Old Testament and the New. We will not find You if we only focus on the Old Testament for in it You are veiled. When we are familiar with both the Old that the New Testament that You come alive and we see how every prophecy finds its fulfillment in You.
We thank the Church for giving us the Bible in its entirety and for the discernment of the Council, with the help of its Author, the Holy Spirit, in choosing and including the Books that were inspired and included for our growth in faith, hope, wisdom, and above all in love.
We are not at liberty to choose what we will keep or discard. The Church has already done that task in accordance with the authority You have given to her alone. Let us remember always Your solemn word that till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved. Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.’
No comments:
Post a Comment