DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS
Let us see, O Lord, your mercy
and give us your saving help. PS 84:8
ISAIAH 63:16-17, 64:1, 3-8
My Beloved Soul of my soul,
The prophet's lament is our own. Why has the world strayed so far from You? We are like the prodigal son who has turned his back on a loving father beguiled by concupiscence and we have lost our way. Our hearts have grown tepid, indifferent, we lack the courage to deny ourselves the temporal pleasures of this life and to embrace the way of the cross. Suffering terrifies us. How much longer Lord, will we be condemned to live in a world that is growing increasingly ignorant of You, not knowing You it has rejected You.
Have mercy O Lord as You have done so very often in the course of salvation history. We make the prayer of the prophet our own Oh, that you would tear the heavens open and come down! - at your Presence the mountains would melt, and so would our sin hardened hearts.
Your Church begins a new liturgical year today - grant that it is a new beginning for all who are called by Your Name. You alone can save us for You are our Savior, our Redeemer, our Lord, and our God. We are Your children, the sheep of Your flock, do not reject us even though we have rejected You. God of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
PSALM 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
Today the psalmist reminds us that You are our Good Shepherd and we are the sheep of Your flock. You the true vine and we, its branches. Because we are Yours, one with You, united to You, we are confident that You will not forsake us.
Come to our aid O Lord. We deserve all that is happening in our world for we have sinned grievously in every way. We have broken the first commandment and the second which You likened to the first. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Father, we thank You with all our hearts for sending us Jesus, Your Son, to be our Savior and to pay the price of our redemption. This Advent, we ask for His Sake, to renew the face of the earth once again and to draw all Your children back to Yourself, may we walk once more in the light of Your Face and with Your help, we shall never forsake you again; give us life that we may call upon your name. We make this prayer in the name of Jesus, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
All the wonderful, uplifting, praiseworthy words that St. Paul says of the people in the church of Corinth is true also of a great many men and women in the Church who have lived and walked in the Way of Truth revealed by the Father in You and through You, His Son.
Were it not for the witness of the Apostles, the Church Fathers, the countless martyrs, holy men and women who spend their entire lives in spreading the Good News by their exemplary lives, the world would be a much darker place than it is. They give us hope. They continue to enkindle the fire of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of the lives they touch.
We, the members of Your Body are truly grateful for our Pope, the Vicar of Christ, holy bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, deacons, and many in the laity who continue to inspire us with their teaching, preaching, and above all by their faithfulness to the Word and to Truth. They strengthen us and help us to grow in faith. They stir up the Spirit within us and we can echo the words of St. Paul when speaking of them for so long as their witness to You is strong in the Church we will not be without any of the gifts of the Spirit while we wait in joyful hope for Your return. Keep us faithful to the end, My Lord.
MARK 13:33-37
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
You ascended into heaven and left those in authority, as well as all the baptized in charge of Your Church. We are given a divine mandate to spread the Good News to the ends of the earth and we are to do this even to the shedding of our blood for Your sake and the sake of the Gospel.
Too many of us live lukewarm, tepid, insipid, wishy-washy lives. There is a distinct lack of courage, of spirit, of verve, we would each rather withdraw into ourselves and wear blinkers oblivious of the truth that unless we are prepared to deny ourselves and pick up the cross daily we cannot be Your disciples.
Today, the Church warns us that the time for slumber has passed, what You said to Your disciples You say to us, ‘Be on your guard, stay awake because you never know when the time will come. Like the man traveling abroad, You will return to the world You redeemed and when You do, You will ask for a strict account of how we carried out the work assigned to us and proper to our vocation in life. Just as the world was unaware of Your First Coming, piercing time and space, so will You come again at a time when we least expect it, unexpectedly, but this time the whole world will know, For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. May we heed Your warning today, so when You come You will not find us asleep.
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