DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS
Whoever remains in me bears much fruit. JN 15:4A-5B
PROVERBS 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
What a beautiful description of Holy Mother Church is found in these lines of Sacred Scripture.
She is perfect because she is Your Body, she is formed from Your pierced side and is priceless because You redeemed her at the cost of Your life.
You are her Bridegroom, her Spouse, and Your Holy Spirit abiding in her adorns her with every grace and virtue. She strives ceaselessly to keep the Light of her Love alive and burning, for her Light comes from the Son of God.
She is always busy for her presence is found in the whole world and she is working constantly to make You known and loved among the people of all nations. Her arms are wide open to the poor, the widow, the orphan, and to all her children who wish to come to her and to remain close to her. She imparts wisdom to priests, prophets, and kings who come from far and wide to listen to her. She is respected by all who know her.
She is wise with the wisdom that is granted to her by the Holy Spirit. She always speaks the truth in love and with courage for truth is unchanging for truth is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
She is praised by all who truly know her. You will come for her at the end of time and You will present Your Bride, Your Spouse, Your Church, without wrinkle or stain to the Father. Yes, her members are sinners, but You wash her clean in the Blood of the Lamb for she belongs to You and she will receive a share in Your glory when time is no more.
PSALM 128:1-5
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
We were created for love, for beauty, for joy. You have shown us how to live in the world - how to choose the narrow way, how to labor tirelessly for the sake of the Kingdom of God. All who trust in You receive all that is good. All who believe in You are kept safe for eternity in Your love.
We have been given a blueprint for Christian living in the Beatitudes and true joy and peace can be ours even in this world of sorrow, tears, and tribulation for in the midst of the storm You are our harbor.
All who know You, all who believe in You, all who have faith in You, all who trust You know that You will never abandon them. You have called us by name, You have redeemed us, we belong to You in time and in eternity.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:1-6
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
As the Advent season draws near the Church reminds us of Your Second Coming. No matter how many thousands of years it may be before You return in glory, Scripture tells us, A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has passed, or like a watch in the night. But You have also warned us and St. Paul repeats that warning, that Your coming will be without warning, it will come stealthily like a thief when we least expect it. This is why we must always be ready, alert, waiting. We cannot give in to lethargy, we cannot slumber, we cannot get careless and fool ourselves into thinking that we have time.
Just as the Day of the Lord will come for the whole world, the Day of the Lord comes to us personally as well and so will the hour of reckoning. As children of the light let us remain awake and sober and we will have no need to fear that that hour for we are sons and daughters of God.
MATTHEW 25:14-30
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
When God created us He already planned a life of good works for us to do. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Just like the man in the parable who gave his servants talents, so too are we given gifts that we are to use wisely in order to bring about God's Kingdom in our own lives and in the place where God has placed us. You are the Master who has gone away for a while and You will return though we don't know when, "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."
Some of us are given greater gifts than others. As Catholics, we are the servants to whom the master has given five talents, for to us is given the fullness of faith and truth. Like the faithful servant let us use the time allotted to us to use the riches of grace granted to us in the Sacraments. Let us strive daily to live according to the blueprint You gave us in the Beatitudes. We will fall a hundred times in a day, Beloved, but we can rise again in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and begin anew.
Let us not be like the wicked, lazy servant who buried his lone talent in the ground and gave feeble excuses to exonerate himself from the grave sin of sloth. If we do, we will suffer the same fate that he did.
All of us are given talents whether we are Catholic, Christian, or believers of other faiths. In the end, we will all stand before the same righteous Judge to whom the Father has given all authority in heaven and on earth. May each one of us be privileged to hear these words uttered to us by You, the Son of Man, and the Son of God, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have shown you can be faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater; come and join in your master’s happiness.” Rather than, “You wicked and lazy servant!' and be thrown out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.
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