DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;No one can come to the Father except through me. JN 14:16
EPHESIANS 1:1-10
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
How beautifully Paul makes clear the purpose for which we who are privileged to receive the gift of faith were born. Countless souls who have received this same gift have never understood how priceless this gift is. Their faith is either stunted or has withered and died, still many have preferred a watered-down version of it because it demanded too much and they were not willing to embrace it in its entirety.
St. Jerome tells us that ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of You. If we are ignorant of You how can we know how worthy You are of worship and how extraordinarily easy it is to fall head over heels in love with You? St. Paul tells us that it is God who chose us in You before He laid the foundations of the world and has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings that heaven holds in You. We could never contain these infinite blessings this is why God gave us an immortal soul so we could hold eternity in this vessel of clay which is our body.
Our response to being adopted sons and daughters of God and heirs to the Kingdom of heaven is to strive with our whole being to be holy and spotless. We are to be consciously aware of Your loving presence every moment of every day that we are alive. I am called to be the praise and glory of God in You, Beloved, but this is only possible if I allow You to possess me so completely that it is no longer I who live but You who lives in me.
It does not appear to be so Beloved, for the world looks like a hideously ugly place right now, but the truth, as St. Paul reminds us, is that the mystery of God's plan is not hidden from us. It is the Father's plan from the very beginning that everything on earth and in the heavens, all that is seen and unseen will eventually be reconciled in perfect love, peace, and harmony under Your lordship, rule, and power.
PSALM 98:1-6
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
You have brought salvation to all the nations this is why we always have a new song in our hearts. We are Your people, the sheep of Your flock, and You are our Shepherd who leads us, guides, us, refreshes us, nurtures us, protects us, and has laid down His life for us.
The mission to carry the Good News to the ends of the earth is being realized - people everywhere know You, many believe and are saved but the work of evangelization is not yet complete for there are countless within the fold who have strayed far from the path of life. These are the ones that You desire that we reach and gently lead back to You. We do this joyfully and with confidence, because we know that You have won the victory, You have triumphed, the Enemy is vanquished.
LUKE 11:47-54
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
Evil does not rest. The devil is prowling the world feverishly seeking to murder, devour, and destroy. Evil was alive and well when You confronted it in the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Scribes and it is alive and well today in the hypocrisy of those with influence and power who have learned the art of doublespeak well.
All who stand on the side of truth are persecuted to this day. The list of those who fearlessly stand up for the rights of the weak, the poor, the helpless, the victims of the ruthless greed of the power-hungry, is endless. The wicked have spilled the blood of the innocent from the time Cain murdered his brother Abel and those among us who stood by in silence doing nothing will also be held accountable.
What You said to those who were entrusted in safeguarding the faith and handing it down You say to those in Your Church and to all who are guilty of being indifferent to the plight of our brothers and sisters, ‘Alas for you lawyers who have taken away the key of knowledge! You have not gone in yourselves, and have prevented others going in who wanted to.’
The scribes and the Pharisees were filled with murderous rage and from then on they set traps to ensnare You. When all their wicked plottings failed they fabricated charges against You and killed You anyway. In our time as well, many good, noble, selfless people who serve You, follow You, and imitate You continue to be ensnared in the traps of evil and are tortured, imprisoned, and slaughtered. Evil may have its day now but we are not disheartened for good has triumphed.
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