Seek good and not evil so that you may live,
and that the Lord God of hosts may really be with you. AMOS 5:14
ISAIAH 58:1-9
My Soul's Beloved,
Today, the prophet invites us to declare aloud all our sins, our transgression, as long as we hide them they will enter the very marrow of our bones and debilitate us. Grant us the wisdom O Lord, to confess our sins and be cleansed of our wickedness.
The desire for You, Beloved, is embedded deep into every soul. We not only need Your commandments of love, but we also need to keep them. If we ignore Your law of love towards God and neighbor we will be bereft of all joy and peace.
You will condemn us if our fasts are exterior and superficial designed to disguise the inner rot in our soul. There is no spiritual profit if there is no interior transformation. A fast that does not do violence in disciplining our spirit and our flesh is meaningless.
Without a transformational change of heart, a metanoia, we will not give up our bad habits; our sins will multiply, we will continue oppressing the poor, we will continue being bigots, and wallow in the trough of concupiscence.
If we break God's law with impunity we ought not to be surprised when our prayers remain unanswered. Let us first resolve to set our own spiritual house right before sitting in judgment on others.
Pulling long faces, robing ourselves in black, and sprinkling ash on our heads is hypocrisy if there is no real sorrow for our sins, no proper contrition, or repentance.
What You desire of us is to come to You and beg Your help to break the chains that keep us enslaved and yoked to our baser instincts. Only You can set us free.
Give us a generous heart to share gladly the abundance with which You have blessed us. Give us open hands that are prepared to give without thought of self or worry whether we will have enough for ourselves. As freely as we have received let us give.
Let us share not only the bread that sustains life but the light of our faith so those who walk in the night of ignorance and error will embrace the light of truth. When we do, You will be pleased with us, accept our fasts, and hear and answer our prayers.
Help us O Lord to live in total submission to Your Spirit only then we will hear You say, 'I AM here.' when we cry out to You.
PSALM 51:3-6,18-19
My Soul's Beloved,
Without Your mercy, Your benevolence, Your kindness, Your compassion, we would have no hope of being forgiven and freed of our guilt. Only You can wash us, cleanse us, and restore us to a right relationship with You.
It is foolish to hide my sins from You, a false sense of shame before You is ridiculous, although You hate the evil I have done You never stop loving me. The truth is - no matter how gravely I sin You never cease pursuing and wooing me back to Yourself.
May I never ever make the grave error of believing my sins too grievous to be forgiven. Satan's greatest lie is to convince me that God will withhold His mercy and forgiveness from me. True, You will not accept my prayers when they come from a sin-hardened, unrepentant heart, but I have Your assurance from the Cross that You do not withhold Your mercy to sinners. 'A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.'
MATTHEW 9:14-15
My Soul's Beloved,
We are living in the age of Your Second Coming. It is a time for the bride, the Church, to wait with an unwavering spirit of expectation and preparedness, ready and alert for her Bridegroom's return.
Of this, we are assured, You will return, and while we wait we pray, fast, and care for one another in joyful anticipation, for the dawn of Your glorious return to claim us for Yourself eternally.
‘Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of mourning as long as the bridegroom is still with them? It was truly a time of unbelievable grace for Your Apostles, disciples, followers, and all who encountered You. They beheld You face to face, they touched You and were touched by You. They heard You preach, teach, they conversed with You. They ate with You, laughed with You, shared their hopes and dreams with You as You shared the divine vision of Your bride with them. But the time did come when You were taken away, from them.
The Church waits with intense longing for Your return, and while we wait, we will fast, pray, and strive to love You and one another as You commanded us to. Maranatha! Lord Jesus, Maranatha!
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