DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS
Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness
but will have the light of life, says the Lord. JN 8:12
2 CORINTHIANS 9:6-10
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
It has always been the experience of the generous that they lack nothing. Those who give out of their poverty find that the jar of flour and the jug of oil do not run out. The poor widow who gave her last two pennies, all she had to live on, gave more than all who gave out of their abundance.
When we think with our head we are afraid to give as You desire us to but when we are guided by the promptings of the Holy Spirit we give generously and with no thought of self for we know that God is our provider. When our giving is done joy it brings its own reward. Any act of charity stripped of love is distasteful to the one on whom it is bestowed.
We have received the good seed of Your Word and are commissioned to sow this seed generously by the witness of our lives. God who sees the heart will ensure whether or not the seed will yield a bountiful harvest.
PSALM 112:1-2, 5-9
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
The psalmist speaks of how generously God deals with those who obey His commands. Anyone who is guided by the promptings of the Holy Spirit in every area of their life discovers that they have God for a Friend.
You are gracious to those who are kind, generous, merciful and forgiving to all. The one who pays no regard to the narrow boundaries that people generally raise to restrict their giving to a few will find blessing upon blessing heaped on them. Too often the world holds the poor in a chokehold of debt and those responsible for the tears of those in distress and want will have to give a just rendering of their wicked deeds before God who loves the poor.
The history of the Church is resplendent with souls who spent their lives in acts of mercy, lavishly expending themselves for the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the forgotten, the unseen who are pushed out of sight by those who do not wish to be troubled by their misery and suffering. Grant O Lord, that we who are members of this Church continue to follow their example of generous giving.
JOHN 12:24-26
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
A true disciple is one who is ready to follow You all the way to Calvary and to the Cross which is the world's greatest Sign of Contradiction. Only God can do what You have done. Only God could conceive of such a plan. Only God could take an instrument of scandal, an instrument of shame, an instrument of extreme torture and horror and turn it around to make it the Sign of the greatest victory and triumph.
You are the Grain of Wheat that was brought down to the ground, died, and buried, and You rose again and in Your rising, Beloved, You have produced a superabundance of good fruit. Every Christian must be prepared to die to self in order to be raised to new life and like You yield a plentiful harvest.
The world teaches us the worship of self. It teaches us how to satisfy all the desires of the flesh. It preaches the gospel of instant gratification with no thought or respect for others. The Master of the World is the Tempter who lures and beguiles us using every weapon in his arsenal of evil to deprive us of our inheritance purchased by Your death on the Cross. Satan has been a liar from the beginning and he is the father of lies.
Today, Beloved, You remind us that it is in giving that we receive and in dying to self that we are truly alive. You are our Master and we are Your servants - where You are may we also be and for Your sake may we be ready to serve as You served even to the giving up of our life for Your sake and for the sake of the Gospel. Thank You for Your assurance that when this life comes to an end we will be with You in the company of all the angels and saints eternally.
Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness
but will have the light of life, says the Lord. JN 8:12
2 CORINTHIANS 9:6-10
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
It has always been the experience of the generous that they lack nothing. Those who give out of their poverty find that the jar of flour and the jug of oil do not run out. The poor widow who gave her last two pennies, all she had to live on, gave more than all who gave out of their abundance.
When we think with our head we are afraid to give as You desire us to but when we are guided by the promptings of the Holy Spirit we give generously and with no thought of self for we know that God is our provider. When our giving is done joy it brings its own reward. Any act of charity stripped of love is distasteful to the one on whom it is bestowed.
We have received the good seed of Your Word and are commissioned to sow this seed generously by the witness of our lives. God who sees the heart will ensure whether or not the seed will yield a bountiful harvest.
PSALM 112:1-2, 5-9
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
The psalmist speaks of how generously God deals with those who obey His commands. Anyone who is guided by the promptings of the Holy Spirit in every area of their life discovers that they have God for a Friend.
You are gracious to those who are kind, generous, merciful and forgiving to all. The one who pays no regard to the narrow boundaries that people generally raise to restrict their giving to a few will find blessing upon blessing heaped on them. Too often the world holds the poor in a chokehold of debt and those responsible for the tears of those in distress and want will have to give a just rendering of their wicked deeds before God who loves the poor.
The history of the Church is resplendent with souls who spent their lives in acts of mercy, lavishly expending themselves for the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the forgotten, the unseen who are pushed out of sight by those who do not wish to be troubled by their misery and suffering. Grant O Lord, that we who are members of this Church continue to follow their example of generous giving.
JOHN 12:24-26
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
A true disciple is one who is ready to follow You all the way to Calvary and to the Cross which is the world's greatest Sign of Contradiction. Only God can do what You have done. Only God could conceive of such a plan. Only God could take an instrument of scandal, an instrument of shame, an instrument of extreme torture and horror and turn it around to make it the Sign of the greatest victory and triumph.
You are the Grain of Wheat that was brought down to the ground, died, and buried, and You rose again and in Your rising, Beloved, You have produced a superabundance of good fruit. Every Christian must be prepared to die to self in order to be raised to new life and like You yield a plentiful harvest.
The world teaches us the worship of self. It teaches us how to satisfy all the desires of the flesh. It preaches the gospel of instant gratification with no thought or respect for others. The Master of the World is the Tempter who lures and beguiles us using every weapon in his arsenal of evil to deprive us of our inheritance purchased by Your death on the Cross. Satan has been a liar from the beginning and he is the father of lies.
Today, Beloved, You remind us that it is in giving that we receive and in dying to self that we are truly alive. You are our Master and we are Your servants - where You are may we also be and for Your sake may we be ready to serve as You served even to the giving up of our life for Your sake and for the sake of the Gospel. Thank You for Your assurance that when this life comes to an end we will be with You in the company of all the angels and saints eternally.
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