DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS
I am the vine, you are the branches, says the Lord:
whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit. JN 15:5
PHILEMON 7-20
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
If we are to be indebted to one another it ought to be a debt of love, a debt that can only be repaid in love. True love seeks to outdo each other in love. This is what St. Paul is writing to Philemon and demanding of him. Only love can make demands without incurring resentment rather we may plead, cajole, command even, all in love. Who can refuse what is asked for in love especially when what is asked for is right?
Philemon, a friend of Paul, was a good Christian, a man of means who owned slaves, one of whom escaped, Onesemius, and was with Paul helping him. He was also a newly baptized Christian. It was time for Onesimus to return to Philemon, his former master, and Paul is pleading with him to receive him back not as a slave but as a son.
Our love for You, beloved, unites us all and makes us brothers and sisters. We are family for we have God as our Father and You as our Brother. The Holy Spirit binds us in covenantal love one to the other.
As Christians, Beloved, St. Paul reminds us that we are all called to serve God, we all work towards the same goal, which is to make You known and loved and make disciples of all nations. There are no slaves in the Kingdom of God only brothers and sisters who must outdo each other in love.
PSALM 146:7-10
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
After all that You came to reveal to us how is it that we are living in such a dark world? Nations that were once wholly Catholic and Christian have long since forgotten their roots and their heritage. What a wonderful legacy has been left by countless courageous men and women who laid down their lives for Your sake and the sake of the Gospel. How did we arrive here? How did we become so selfish, cold, hard-hearted, soulless, faithless? When did we become idolators worshipping before the false god that we have set ourselves up to be and before whom we worship faithfully?
How long, Beloved, before we wake up from our spiritual comatose to discover anew the purpose for which God created and redeemed us?
Thank You, for being faithful, patient, slow to anger, full of tender compassion, rich in mercy, and unwavering in Your love for us.
Grant O Lord, before it is too late that we realize there is no God but You and that salvation comes from You alone. It is You who frees the captive from slavery to sin. It is You who ensure justice for the widow and orphan. It is You who feed the hungry, You who set the imprisoned free.
Knowledge of You restores our vision, raises those who are crushed. You love those who walk in the way of truth and justice. All who are called by Your Name, all who are members of Your Body, all who are branches of the true Vine, will reign with You forever in Your Kingdom which You have already established among all who believe.
LUKE 17:17-25
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
You spoke often about the kingdom of God plainly as well as in parables this is why the Pharisees, wanting to pin You down, asked when the Kingdom was to come. You responded saying, ‘The coming of the kingdom of God does not admit of observation and there will be no one to say, “Look here! Look there!” For, you must know, the kingdom of God is among you.’
How is the kingdom of God among us? It is in our love for one another. It is in the joy we possess in the midst of trials. It is our tranquility in the midst of sickness, persecutions, and a host of other difficulties that we have to endure as long as we live. It is in Your immanent presence within us, among us, and in the world. It is in the Holy Eucharist. It is the presence of the Holy Spirit abiding in us. It is in the Church You established. It is in our brothers and sisters.
We are not to be disturbed at the news of false messiahs, false revelations of Your return, or of false predictions of end times. None will be mistaken when You return again for the whole world will know at once when You return in glory. In Your words it will be, as the lightning flashing from one part of heaven lights up the other, so will be the Son of Man when his day comes.
But before that day arrives You give us a word of caution and warning. There will be grievous suffering, there will be rejection, there will be a dreadful scourging, there will be unspeakable torture, and there will be a horrific death by crucifixion before the dawn of that glorious day. And Your disciples must be prepared to suffer as You did for the servant is not greater than the Master.
This is the age of rejection, Beloved, grant that in Your mercy You reduce the number of days of the world's tribulation and open our eyes so we may embrace the Truth of our redemption lest we perish.
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