TUESDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 20201

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Accept God’s message for what it really is:

God’s message, and not some human thinking. 1Th 2:13

HEBREWS 2:5-12

My Soul's Beloved,

You became one like us, born of a woman. You experienced death like we do. You underwent horrific suffering and You drank the cup to its bitter dregs. You were brought lower than the angels and now God has raised high above all created things. To You is given the crown of glory, all rule, all power, all dominion, and God intends that we, for whom You lay down Your life, be raised with You. God, our Father, intends that all who believe in You, walk with You, love You and for Your sake are prepared to do violence to themselves in order to grow in holiness and purity receive a share in Your glory. 

Suffering and death are a particular experience of the human condition brought about by sin leading to eternal separation from the God of love. He who is love, who is our Father, saved us through You. Only one like us, except without the stain and blemish of sin could redeem us, so You became the Lamb of Sacrifice, slaughtered on the altar of sin and death, taking upon Yourself a punishment that was ours, paying the price for our guilt and taking away the sins of the world. 

Perfected through suffering You have made it possible for us, who have nothing, to claim for ourselves all that is Yours. We are now Your sisters and brothers, Your Father is our Father, in You and through You we are children of God and heirs with You to the Kingdom. 

PSALM 8:2,5-9

My Soul's Beloved,

Father in heaven, we bless You, we adore You, we worship You, we give You thanks and we offer You, from the rising of the sun to its setting a sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise. It is the only sacrifice that has the power to save and pleases You like no other. Its fragrance fills the highest heavens and obtains for us showers of blessings. 

To Your only, beloved Son, You have given power over all creation. All that lives blesses His Name for it is a Name that is above every other name in heaven and on earth. At the Name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess to Your glory, Father, that Jesus is Lord. All who believe in Your only Son will never taste death. 

MARK 1:21-28 

My Soul's Beloved,

You,  the Son of God, the Eternal Word, was sent by the Father to make visible to the world the invisible Face of God. This is why when You preached, You taught, You spoke it was with the conviction of one who not only knows the power of God and the wisdom of God but is God.

Unlike the teachers of the law, the scribes, who interpreted the Law of Moses and based their teaching on it, You spoke about the things You knew, the things of heaven, the things of God. And Your words were backed by powerful deeds. The miracles You performed gave credence to the words You spoke. Your word had the power to affect what You commanded and You had power over the physical, the natural, and over evil. This is why those who heard You and witnessed the miracles were deeply impressed by You. 

Wherever You went large crowds followed You and every sabbath the synagogue was filled with people hungry for the word of God. On this particular Sabbath, St. Mark narrates that a man possessed by an unclean spirit was present. The evil spirits knew who You were and were afraid of You. You commanded them to be silent just as You often commanded those whom You healed and even Your disciples to tell no one what they had seen. You had a mission to fulfill and You had to safeguard Your identity until the appointed time when the hour finally arrived and You would make all things new. 

Grant O Lord, that we who know You, who are saved by You, who have been delivered from bondage and captivity to sin, may never hesitate to witness with authority and conviction what You have done for us so through us many may believe, come to the knowledge of truth and be saved