DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS
I take pleasure, not in the death of a wicked man,says the Lord, but in the turning back of a wicked man
who changes his ways to win life. EZ 33:11
EPHESIANS 4:7-16
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
St. Paul reminds us that each member of Your Body, the Church, is given gifts according to Your will. These gifts are given to build up Your Church, each is important, each must exercise the gift given and as each member functions using the particular gift bestowed the whole Church flourishes as God wills it to. No gift is too great or small but each is necessary for the proper functioning of the whole. In unity is our strength. The Head and the members of the body together working in harmony to establish God's Kingdom on earth.
As St. Pauls expresses it, In this way we are all to come to unity in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God, until we become the perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself.
How far we are from this ideal of what the Church ought to be. It is easier to lay blame and responsibility instead of owning up to our own lack of desire to root and ground our lives deep in Scripture and in the teachings of the Church. Our ignorance and our apathy have caused deep divisions that have weakened us and cause us to be caught up and tossed about by every deliberate, trumped-up controversy. Deceit is certainly having its day in our time as those with evil intent cleverly manipulate us causing ever deeper divisions.
Love ought to bind us to You and to each other in perfect harmony. Truth must be the bedrock of our faith and both love and truth will help us grow more like You in every way as each member fulfills the work entrusted to it.
When if not now Beloved will each of us take responsibility for doing our part in ensuring that the Church remains a beacon of love, light, hope, and truth in the world rather than laying the onus solely on the Holy Father, the Bishops, the priests, and everyone else but ourselves? A strong Church is one founded on love for all with each of its members being well-formed in the faith and teachings of the Church that nothing will ever have the power to rattle or shake for we know the Truth and the Truth sets us free from the wiles of the Enemy.
PSALM 122:1-5
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
How privileged we are to be members of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church - the Church You founded, a Church of which You are the head. Each one of us from the greatest to the least is an important member with special gifts and a specific role to play in its proper functioning.
To Peter was given the keys to the kingdom of heaven and he has handed it down faithfully to each of his successors. Only in union with Peter will we be able to reach safe harbor for this is what You intended from the beginning.
We come together not only the Lord's Day but every day of the week from the rising of the sun to its setting, to offer to the Father the one, holy, and perfect Sacrifice that is most pleasing to Him. If the world is shown mercy despite the fact that evil seems to flood the earth, it is because the fragrance of this Sacrifice rises up to the Throne of God and draws upon the world forgiveness, mercy, and pardon.
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
Suffering and death are the lot of every human being. We do not suffer because we are greater sinners than others but because You have the power to draw good from our sufferings. All of us are sinners and it is only through repentance that we can we hope to receive Your forgiveness, mercy, and pardon and be saved from eternal death.
Thank You, Beloved, for assuring us that God does not wish the death of the sinner but desires that everyone be saved. As long as we have breath in our body God constantly invites us to enter into His life and gives us every opportunity to do so.
The Sacrament of Baptism makes us children of God, the Sacrament of Reconciliation makes it possible for us to start over every time we fail and fall short of the glory of God. We receive life-giving graces in each of the Sacraments especially the worthy reception of the Holy Eucharist, making it possible for us to bear good fruit in every season.
We must bear the fruit of good work always without which our faith is barren, it is dead. We were created to be fruitful and You give us every grace and blessing to help us but in the end, if we resist the help of the Holy Spirit we choose to be separated from You, to be cut down and destroyed. Grant that we choose life always so we may live.
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