DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS
Jesus Christ was rich,
but he became poor for your sake, to make you rich out of his poverty. 2COR 8:9
Jesus Christ was rich,
but he became poor for your sake, to make you rich out of his poverty. 2COR 8:9
EZEKIEL 28:1-10
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
Any ruler, leader, authority, power, or person that pridefully sets itself over God is battling against Him and will soon discover that they are outmatched. God alone is the sovereign ruler of the heavens and the earth, of all creation, of all things seen and unseen. Too often, men and women, governments, rulers, and leaders forget that they are stewards. Their temporal powers and material wealth are given to them to be used for good. They are only caretakers and will be called to give a strict account of their stewardship.
The ruthless, the avaricious, the murderous who use their name, power, influence, riches, and status unmindful of God, will make the painful discovery that ultimate power rests with Him alone. God has a way of knocking to the dust the proud, the boastful, the haughty, the wicked, and the arrogant who put their trust in themselves and their possessions. All we have, every talent, every gift, both material and spiritual are given to us by God to be used generously and with humility in the service of others.
DEUTERONOMY 32:26-28, 30, 35-36
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
More and more we see the poor are swept aside like so much trash. Their rights are ignored. Their voices silenced. They are invisible and are used, abused, and exploited. The longer the wicked prosper, the greater their conviction that they and not God are the arbiters of life and death.
Life ends for us all no matter how many years are granted to us and in the end, we will all face our Maker. Whatever we do, whether good or evil, You will consider it as being done to You. It will be too late to tremble in fear for our wicked deeds and indifference to the poor and protest when judgment is handed to us. It is the Lord who deals death and life.
MATTHEW 19:23-30
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
The Kingdom's values are diametrically opposed to the values of the world. Many who receive a greater portion of this world's goods soon begin to believe that they are the arbiters of their lives and the lives of others. They believe they are in control. Nothing can touch them. They live in a bubble far removed from the harsh realities of life and become self-obsessed. Their needs and wants are the be-all and end-all of their lives.
This is why You warn Your disciples today that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. One tends to lose perspective of the truth when one's riches become the focal point of one's life rather than a life of loving service to one's neighbor.
Who can be saved then? the disciples ask and Your response is one that it will do us all who believe in You, well to remember always. Matthew writes, Jesus, gazed at them. ‘For men’ he told them ‘this is impossible; for God everything is possible.’ No human being decides who is saved and who is not, that is the prerogative given to the Son of God alone by the Father.
Peter's response to all of this is interesting. He is aware that he and his companions have given up everything to follow You. No sacrifice made in the right spirit is ever forgotten by God who is a generous giver. He knows how to reward even our smallest acts of love for His sake, richly, lavishly, generously, with a largesse that we can never even begin to imagine.
This is why the Church, the bride of Christ, honors the Apostles, the saints, all holy men and women who gave up all for the sake of the Kingdom, and she honors and reverences above all creatures Mary, the disciple par excellence, who is also Your Mother and ours, ‘I tell you solemnly, when all is made new and the Son of Man sits on his throne of glory, you will yourselves sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or land for the sake of my name will be repaid a hundred times over, and also inherit eternal life.
It is good to know that anyone who tramples on the poor and the marginalized to clamber to the top regardless of the consequences will find that, 'Many who are first will be last, and the last, first.’
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
Any ruler, leader, authority, power, or person that pridefully sets itself over God is battling against Him and will soon discover that they are outmatched. God alone is the sovereign ruler of the heavens and the earth, of all creation, of all things seen and unseen. Too often, men and women, governments, rulers, and leaders forget that they are stewards. Their temporal powers and material wealth are given to them to be used for good. They are only caretakers and will be called to give a strict account of their stewardship.
The ruthless, the avaricious, the murderous who use their name, power, influence, riches, and status unmindful of God, will make the painful discovery that ultimate power rests with Him alone. God has a way of knocking to the dust the proud, the boastful, the haughty, the wicked, and the arrogant who put their trust in themselves and their possessions. All we have, every talent, every gift, both material and spiritual are given to us by God to be used generously and with humility in the service of others.
DEUTERONOMY 32:26-28, 30, 35-36
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
More and more we see the poor are swept aside like so much trash. Their rights are ignored. Their voices silenced. They are invisible and are used, abused, and exploited. The longer the wicked prosper, the greater their conviction that they and not God are the arbiters of life and death.
Life ends for us all no matter how many years are granted to us and in the end, we will all face our Maker. Whatever we do, whether good or evil, You will consider it as being done to You. It will be too late to tremble in fear for our wicked deeds and indifference to the poor and protest when judgment is handed to us. It is the Lord who deals death and life.
MATTHEW 19:23-30
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
The Kingdom's values are diametrically opposed to the values of the world. Many who receive a greater portion of this world's goods soon begin to believe that they are the arbiters of their lives and the lives of others. They believe they are in control. Nothing can touch them. They live in a bubble far removed from the harsh realities of life and become self-obsessed. Their needs and wants are the be-all and end-all of their lives.
This is why You warn Your disciples today that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. One tends to lose perspective of the truth when one's riches become the focal point of one's life rather than a life of loving service to one's neighbor.
Who can be saved then? the disciples ask and Your response is one that it will do us all who believe in You, well to remember always. Matthew writes, Jesus, gazed at them. ‘For men’ he told them ‘this is impossible; for God everything is possible.’ No human being decides who is saved and who is not, that is the prerogative given to the Son of God alone by the Father.
Peter's response to all of this is interesting. He is aware that he and his companions have given up everything to follow You. No sacrifice made in the right spirit is ever forgotten by God who is a generous giver. He knows how to reward even our smallest acts of love for His sake, richly, lavishly, generously, with a largesse that we can never even begin to imagine.
This is why the Church, the bride of Christ, honors the Apostles, the saints, all holy men and women who gave up all for the sake of the Kingdom, and she honors and reverences above all creatures Mary, the disciple par excellence, who is also Your Mother and ours, ‘I tell you solemnly, when all is made new and the Son of Man sits on his throne of glory, you will yourselves sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or land for the sake of my name will be repaid a hundred times over, and also inherit eternal life.
It is good to know that anyone who tramples on the poor and the marginalized to clamber to the top regardless of the consequences will find that, 'Many who are first will be last, and the last, first.’
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