DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS
when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ,
for the Spirit of God rests on you. 1PET 4:14
PHILIPPIANS 2:12-18
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
Today we are invited to work out our salvation in fear and trembling. To every false teacher and preacher who says that good works are not required in order to be saved, Paul himself calls them out on their lie. While it is true that we begin with faith in You, that in itself is Your free gift to us through the water of Baptism and the Holy Spirit, but my faith has to be lived out by my witness to it. As long as I live and breathe I am invited to do good and shun evil. My works will be a testimony of my faith when I stand before You on the day of my judgment.
He also says this, 'It is God, for his own loving purpose, who puts both the will and the action into you.' The Holy Spirit inspires me to do good and He gives me the opportunities to do it. How then can anyone make the false claim that we are saved by faith alone? 'For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.'
We live in a world where we are called to action in order that our faith may shine giving light to the weary, the tired, the discouraged, the hopeless, the sick, the suffering. We will be persecuted for it. We will be laughed at, mocked, cursed, scorned, and may have to suffer even greater torments because of our faith in You. But we are to count it all joy to be thought worthy of suffering for Your sake and for the sake of the Gospel. Let us stop whining, complaining, causing division among ourselves, and instead become like innocent and true children of God striving after perfection and holiness in imitation of our Father who is all holy and all perfect. In doing so if we are called to lay down our lives then it is a matter of great rejoicing for we will receive an eternal crown of glory.
PSALM 27:1, 4, 13-14
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
Cowardly fear and trembling have no place in the Kingdom of God nor in His children for perfect love casts out fear. We have God on our side who is our light, our help, our stronghold, our refuge, and our warrior who wages battle on our behalf. Faith in You, Beloved, is our strength and our shield.
How can Catholics ask for more when we have received all that God, our Father has to give? How can we live such wretched, ugly, little lives, wanting in courage, humility, and perfect submission to the will of Him who so loved the world He gave us His only Son to take upon Himself the terrible chastisement that was ours? You make Your home in our tabernacles, You feed us with Yourself, You abide in our hearts and make us one in You in a communion of love in the Holy Eucharist in an intimacy that is unparalleled in any other religion.
You are the sweet delight of our life on whom we can contemplate without hindrance at any hour of the day or night for You are always with us. You make Your dwelling place in us and all we need to do is turn our inward gaze on You within us for we are the temple of Your Holy Spirit.
How then, Beloved, is it possible for the world to be in such a terrible mess even though Your light is given to us. We are the New Jerusalem. We are the light of the world and the salt of the earth and yet the world is plunged in darkness and there is little of the savor of goodness around us? Like the apostles in the Garden of Gethsemane, we have fallen asleep - now is the time to wake up from our deep slumber and keep watch and pray.
The last verse of the psalm is one that is filled with hope. We know in whom we believe. You have conquered. You have won the victory. Life, not death has the last word, love has won.
LUKE 14:25-33
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
While Your words today might seem divisive and controversial in truth, it is not for it is in keeping with the First Commandment. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." We cannot put love for creatures no matter how dear to us before our love for You, our Lord, and our God.
Loving You entails suffering, there is no way we can escape from this truth. While the sin of our first parents is washed away in Baptism yet we carry its effects as long as we live. Suffering is part of the human condition because we have been weakened. Our will is constantly tormented by concupiscence and more often than not we are unable to withstand temptations. The choices we make have a ripple effect on others and our sins of pride, avarice, gluttony, envy, licentiousness, immorality and so many more have grave consequences and cause immense suffering to ourselves as well as those around us. So many are innocent victims of the sins of others.
This is why those who are called by Your Name must put to death our selfish desires, deny ourselves even legitimate pleasures, and lay down our will to embrace Your will for our lives. Each of us has our own personal calvary and we can make that arduous and painful journey from this life to the next only if we follow You closely.
The narrow way is full of casualties. Those who did not consider the great cost of discipleship are strewn by the wayside for they were caught off guard, they were unprepared, they did not know that they had to give up everything in order to possess the pearl of great price, and the treasure hidden in the field. They are like the rich young man in the gospel who went way sad for he was a man with many possessions and was enslaved by them.
You do not sugar coat the truth, Beloved, there is no middle ground when You say to us, 'None of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions.' It is all or nothing for You will have no part of a divided heart.
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