THURSDAY OF THE THIRTY-THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2020

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts. PS 95:8

REVELATION 5:1-10

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

You are the Lion of Judah. You are the Root of Jesse. You are the Son of David, You are the only Son of the Living God. You are the first-born Son of the Virgin who herself was immaculately conceived to worthily conceive and bear the Christ, the Anointed One of God, who takes away the sins of the world. By Your Blood, by the Blood of the Lamb without blemish or defect, poured out in oblation for the sins of the world, You take away the sins of the people of every tribe, every nation, every culture, and every language. We are redeemed by Your Blood and are now able to offer to God the most perfect, the most pleasing, and the only acceptable Sacrifice that obtains for us God's mercy and pardon. There is no other.

This is why, Beloved, heaven, and earth sing continually this hymn of praise to God and will do so until the sun, moon, and stars fade and time will be no more.

‘You are worthy to take the scroll
and break the seals of it,
because you were sacrificed, and with your blood
you bought men for God
of every race, language, people, and nation
and made them a line of kings and priests,
to serve our God and to rule the world.’

By Your stripes, we are healed. By Your stripes, we are saved. By Your stripes, You made us a line of kings and priests to serve our God and to share in Your glory for all eternity.

PSALM 149:1-6, 9

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

It is such a terrible tragedy that we live in fear. We cower, we lack the courage to stand up boldly in the face of evil despite the fact that You have destroyed death and won victory over Satan.

We are a redeemed people but we are unaware of this Good News. Raise up a new army of believers who are unafraid to raise the banner of victory and plunge into battle with all the evil forces that are lined up against us for the war has already been won at Calvary.

You are crowned with glory. You have received the scepter to rule. All authority, dominion, and power are Yours. To all who believe is given a new song of praise in worship of our God. Heaven and earth converge as we offer to the Father, the Lamb that was slain at each Eucharist which is the source and summit of the Christian life. 

If only every Christian believed this Truth we would be a force to be reckoned with. The chains of evil would be destroyed and the Kingdom of heaven would be among us. 

Help Your faithful remnant to have greater courage and conviction in living out what we believe, with greater boldness, so our witness will change the face of the earth and hasten Your coming in glory.

LUKE 19:41-44

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

If only the Jews had received You how different our world would be today. You foresaw all that would happen even before You entered the city and wept. A few days after they hailed You as their King they would be manipulated into calling You a heretic, would bay for Your Blood, and condemn You to the worst death imaginable - crucifixion. 

How You longed for their conversion, for their insight into Scripture, and for their being able to see that You were the fulfillment of every one of the prophecies made about the coming of the Messiah, the Son of David, the Eternal King. You wept over their blindness, their hardness of heart, their closed minds, for they had given themselves over to their own vision and idea of how God should appear in their midst. 

You saw the terrible tragedy that was to come because of their rejection. The Temple would be destroyed completely, utterly, and would never be rebuilt again. Everything You foretold happened just as You said it would, for they rejected the Prince of Peace. And what was true then is true for our times as well for we continue to reject You.

Yes, a time is coming when your enemies will raise fortifications all round you, when they will encircle you and hem you in on every side; they will dash you and the children inside your walls to the ground; they will leave not one stone standing on another within you – and all because you did not recognise your opportunity when God offered it!’

Once again, I pray Beloved, that in Your infinite mercy You reduce the number of our days of tribulation and the world experience a great era of peace, grace, virtue, and holiness, and may innumerable souls come to believe and be saved.