FRIDAY OF THE TWENTY-FIFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2020

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our mind,
so that we can see what hope his call holds for us. EPH 1:17, 18

ECCLESIASTES 3:1-11

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

The writer, inspired by divine wisdom, reminds us that all things are passing and that we must cling to nothing except the things that are eternal.

The rhythm of life, its cycles and its seasons come and go, day follows night whether we like it or not and we can do nothing to stop it or hinder its passing.

The people we love do not remain with us always a time will come when they must leave. The only things that are certain are change and death which comes to us all. The only unchanging, unwavering, ever-present truth is this, that God and God's infinite love remain the same today, tomorrow, and forever.  

While we are called to live life to its fullest we ought not to cling to anyone or anything. Nor should we be too preoccupied about the things we have no control over but trust You fully and have faith in You. 

There is much we will not understand for much in living and suffering is a mystery - and while we may never fully understand the why of some things, if we have a childlike faith in You we can trust that in the end, all will be well. What does a man gain for the efforts that he makes? I contemplate the task that God gives mankind to labour at. All that he does is apt for its time; but though he has permitted man to consider time in its wholeness, man cannot comprehend the work of God from beginning to end.

PSALM 144:1-4

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

In a constantly changing and evolving world, I thank You with all the fervor of my being that You are changeless. You are the Rock, You are the fortress, You are the stronghold, the shield, the place of refuge for all who believe in You, hope in You, trust You, and love You. You are the one thing we can always count on never to fail, never to deceive, never to leave - who will love us in season and out of season, whether we are worthy or unworthy, deserving or undeserving. 

You are our light in a world that is sometimes very dark. You are hope when everything seems hopeless. You are our true joy and our Northstar guiding us surely to safe harbor in Your Kingdom once our days on earth draw to a close.

LUKE 9:18-22

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

St. Luke tells us in the Gospel passage chosen for today's liturgy that You were praying alone in the presence of Your disciples. This reminds us that we can enter into the inner sanctuary of our being and pray alone even when we are surrounded by people. We can pray anytime, all the time, and anywhere for You are Emmanuel, God with us, always.

Every Christian pilgrim journeying from this life to the next will meet people who have different ideas of who You are. The question that You put to Your disciples was, 'Who do the crowds say I am?' And there were varied responses and then we come to the crux of the matter when You directed the same question to them, 'But you, who do you say I am?' This is a question that every Christian has to answer at various stages in their life and at each stage, hopefully, we will come to a deeper understanding of who we believe You are, who we know You are, and whom we must love ever more deeply, follow more closely, and long for more ardently every day.

Peter did not fully understand what the Father prompted him to say of You that day, 'The Christ of God.'  But we have the benefit of revelation and we who believe know who You are. We know why the Father sent You into the world. ‘The Son of Man’ he said ‘is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day.’

And while You gave Peter and the rest strict orders not to tell anyone what was divinely revealed to him, we who are called by Your Name are commissioned to announce the Good News of salvation to the whole world as long as we live.