Friday, July 10, 2020

FRIDAY OF WEEK FOURTEEN IN ORDINARY TIME - 2020

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS








When the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth, and he will remind you of all I have said to you. JN:16-13, 14:26




HOSEA 14:2-10

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

God never tires of wooing us back into His embrace. You, O Lord, never tire of inviting us back into Your fold. You are faithful even when we are faithless. Even when we are stubborn, hard of heart, lukewarm in spirit, still You love us, watch over us, care for us, and provide all we need. When light finally dawns, when we realize that without You we can do nothing, even as we begin to turn our steps to You, You are there to forgive, wipe away our tears and purify us from all our iniquities. You pour the oil of gladness on our heads and You fill our hearts with songs of joyful praise. Who is like You, Beloved? There is no God like You, my Lord.

Even though we have spent our lives feeding on swill meant for swine, still You will take us back as joyfully as a bridegroom receives his virgin bride. Only You, O Lord, our God, can love as You do and not dwell on our past sins and infidelities. Once we return You no longer remember our sins.

PSALM 51:3-4, 8-9, 12-14, 17

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

I am created to love God as I am loved by Him. This is the truth. You are the Lover I am the beloved. You are the Bridegroom, I am your bride. You pursue me even when I am unfaithful and although I am unworthy You will not rest until I am with You eternally in heaven. 

You wash away my iniquity, you cleanse me of every sin. You restore my soul to its pristine baptismal beauty when I am contrite and repentant. Beloved, keep me grace-filled, keep me humble, keep me obedient, and preserve me from grave sin and never take Your Holy Spirit from me. Amen.    

MATTHEW 10:16-23

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

The world is full of ravenous wolves this is why You warn us not to be gullible and naive. We are not to be taken in by guile even while being always gentle, humble, and docile to the promptings and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Never, since the world persecuted You and crucified You, have Your disciples and followers not received the same treatment meted out to You. This is why You warned them and us that if we are persecuted, to remember that You were persecuted first, if they scourge us, You were scourged first, if they kills us, they killed You first. We are to rejoice if we are so blessed as to be considered worthy of suffering for the sake of the Kingdom of God. It has always been so, the blood of martyrs is the seed from which springs an abundant harvest of Christian souls. 

You instructed Your Apostles to flee once the great persecution started. You used this evil to help them carry the Good News to every new place they went to seek refuge. This is how they fulfilled their mission to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth.  To this day all who leave or flee the comfort of home, country, nation, and family, to make a new life in a new country must live, preach, and teach the Gospel by the testament of their lives.

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