John saw Jesus coming towards him, and said:
This is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. JN 1:29
ISAIAH 55:1-11
My Soul's Beloved,
My Soul's Beloved,
The words of the prophet Isaiah are ones You Yourself will cry out on the last day of the festival in Jerusalem. It is a cry that reaches the ends of the earth inviting the world's weary, hungry, lonely, heartsick, sinner, saint, imprisoned, and dying to come to You, be healed by You, and made whole. You alone are the hope and the comfort of the living and the dying. Sin is wearying, it weighs us down in body and spirit, but You set us free to love as You love.
You are the Father's everlasting Covenant with us. To You the Father has given the peoples of every land, nation, culture, and language in every age and until the end of time. Every day numerous souls come to know You, to believe in You, to have faith in You, they are baptized into Your Body and are saved.
Our mission is to make You known and loved. Time is running out and it would be tragic for even one soul to be lost. Too great a price was paid for our salvation and we ought to have a great burden for souls, like St. Paul, and to know no rest because all need to hear and believe the Good News that saves.
Many still do not know You, many more are indifferent and lukewarm. They prefer to live shallow lives because they are afraid of the demands of love and are ignorant of the great joy of loving as You love. We are not saved in isolation, the faith of many has helped us and we too must be instrumental in bringing many to the knowledge of Truth.
Your sacred and precious Blood has stained the earth red and Your Sacrifice cannot be in vain. God will not permit a single soul, redeemed at so great a price, to be lost. While there is yet time hear our prayers and grant that all may hear the Word of Truth, believe, and be saved.
PSALM ISAIAH 12
My Soul's Beloved,
We are saved by Your Sacrifice on Calvary. Fear no longer rules despite the fury of the powers of evil for You have overcome the world. You are our Savior, our Redeemer, our Hope, our Song, our Joy. Out of You flow streams of living water that refreshes and cleanses the soul of every sinner.
Thank You for instituting the Banquet of Thanksgiving and feeding us on Your Body and Blood. Thank You for making present at every Holy Mass, the Sacrifice of our redemption at Calvary. Thank You for saving us from the jaws of death and the fires of hell.
You have put a song in our hearts one we will continue to sing in eternity. It is a song of praise, worship, and thanksgiving recalling all God has done for us and how You saved us. We are the children of the new Adam, the Church You founded is the New Zion, the New Jerusalem, and it is here You choose to dwell in fullness and in truth.
1 JOHN 5:1-9
My Soul's Beloved,
The tragedy of our times is that even after 2000 years and even though the world knows You, many are indifferent. Members of our own, family whom we love so much and cherish are lukewarm despite knowing You. The lure of the world, material possessions, the giddy kaleidoscope of life beguiling with its tawdry and tinsel entertainment, have blinded many to the true Light.
It is so easy to become disheartened and lose hope when we take our gaze away from You and fix it on the world. The truth is You have triumphed. The victory is won. The head of Satan is crushed. This is why we who believe, must pray with faith knowing that You have overcome the world.
St. John reminds us that we are God's children because we believe in You. Everyone who is baptized is a child of God whether or not he or she endeavors to live a holy life. The grace received when we were plunged into the waters of baptism has wonder-working powers and the Holy Spirit leads every soul slowly and surely, through paths best suited to it, to God.
So while we may worry about the salvation of the souls of those we love let us remember that it is because God loves us He has given us the Sacraments of Baptism, the Holy Eucharist, and above all the Holy Spirit who will lead all God's children safely to the place God has prepared for all who love You.
MARK 1:7-11
My Soul's Beloved,
In the Second Reading of today's Liturgy St. John reminds us,
Who can overcome the world?
Only the man who believes that Jesus is the Son of God:
Jesus Christ who came by water and blood,
not with water only,
but with water and blood;
with the Spirit as another witness –
since the Spirit is the truth –
so that there are three witnesses,
the Spirit, the water and the blood,
and all three of them agree.
God Himself testifies that these three are witnesses to the truth about You - the waters of baptism that You purified in Your own baptism, the Blood of Your Sacrifice shed for the salvation of the world during Your passion and crucifixion, and the power of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, that there is no salvation apart from You.
John the Baptist testified that there is no one greater than You and no one least of all himself, was worthy even to untie the straps of Your sandals.
Today as the Church commemorates the event of Your Baptism signifying the importance of this first Sacrament of initiation that makes us children of God and heirs to His Kingdom, the evangelist Mark tells us, 'No sooner had he come up out of the water than he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; my favor rests on you.’
The tearing apart of the heavens is a foreshadow of the time when the temple veil will be torn in two from top to bottom when You die on the Cross. The gates of heaven are no longer shut to fallen humanity, but thrown wide open by the tearing of Your flesh and the piercing of Your Sacred Heart, so all who believe in You can enter Paradise.
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