MEMORIAL OF ST. JEROME, PRIEST & DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH - 2020

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I have accepted the loss of everything
and I look on everything as so much rubbish
if only I can have Christ
and be given a place in him. PH 3:8-9

JOB 9:1-12, 14-16

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

We are justified before God by faith in You, and by believing in the Good News that saves. There is no other way to God than by You who are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. There is neither salvation nor justification in any other but You for this is how God, our Father wills it. 

Job speaks the truth in all he says concerning God to his friends. Who can say no to Him? He does what He wills. He raises and He brings down. He smooths and He makes rough. He calms and He stirs. He speaks and all He desires come to pass. God is spirit and truth - He is eternal and all things are held in Him by the power of His Word. The Breath of His Spirit sustains all that lives for He is the life-giver, when He takes His Breath away we cease to be.

If we live we live because of Him, if we die it is because He wills it. Life and death are His to give and to take. There is but one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - in Him we live, and move, and have our being.

PSALM 88:10-15

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

There are times in our life when we all experience the cri de coeur expressed in this psalm. We cry until there are no more tears to shed. We beg night and day for deliverance from sickness, troubles, anxiety, pain, or whatever it is that is crushing our spirit or wracking our body and mind. There seems no way out of this pit of darkness and despair and You seem far beyond our sight and deaf to the sound of our weeping, moaning, sighing, and despair.

Yet, we cry out to You. We appeal to Your mercy. We plead with You to lift the bone-crushing weight of our agony whether physical, mental, or spiritual, and to grant us deliverance and peace.  In moments like these, Beloved, let us keep the Cross ever before us and let us recall that we are not alone in our sufferings. When we carry our own cross in union with You then we will be given the strength, grace, and courage to bear it for as long as God wills. And while we wait for deliverance, Beloved, let us remember that weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning. 

LUKE 9:57-62 

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

In our pilgrim journey from this life to the next, every one who desires to be Your disciple receives his or her call to follow You in different ways. There is no one size fits all. Everyone's call is unique. This is why we must be attentive, we cannot have any preconceived ideas. What is right for one may not be right for another - we are not cast from the same mold. God takes into account my strengths, weaknesses, talents, gifts, abilities, vocation, etc., and my mission as Your disciple is tailormade for me.

Today's Gospel speaks of three different types of people who encounter You on the road as You travel with Your disciples. To the first man filled with bubbling enthusiasm to follow You wherever You went without giving any real thought as to what it entails, You give a strong dose of reality by reminding him that ‘Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’

The next person, however, was given a direct invitation to follow You.  So many of us are like him. We make excuses. We want to follow You but there are so many other pressing duties that we think first need our attention. To him, You say, ‘Leave the dead to bury their dead; your duty is to go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.’ It is a sober reminder to all of us that our foremost duty as members of Your Body is to live the Gospel by our lives. 

And finally, there is the last one to whom You also extend an invitation to follow You. He wants to become a disciple but not yet. He does not say yes and he does not say no, he evades a direct refusal by making the excuse that he will follow You but not right away. He wanted to return to his people first and take their leave. When we make excuses, when we refuse to commit ourselves, when we allow other things to get in the way of following You, chances are we never will if we are not prepared to follow You now. To him You give this warning, ‘Once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’

Beloved, grant us the grace to get our priorities right. If we don't follow You now while this day lasts, chances are there might be no tomorrow and it will be too late.