FRIDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son. ACTS 16:14

GENESIS 3:1-8 

My Soul's Beloved,

The Biblical account of the fall of man is one that helps us understand that our choices have consequences. Our free will can either take us to victory or like a serpent it can turn on us and sting us with death. We were created for love, for joy, for beauty, for truth, for God. We were given all that was needful to live a joyous life with You, to walk with You, to behold You, to be Your friend, and to delight in the company and favor of God almighty.

How easily we fall for the lie that the world, the flesh, and the devil beguile us with. How foolishly we fall for the traps they set for us. Satan's envy of us is so great he works tirelessly to separate us from You. We have only to look at our world to see how successful he has been in spreading lies, and obfuscate the truth to confuse, divide, and destroy.

In His goodness, God created us holding nothing back but giving us all that is needful to live happily and harmoniously with Him, with each other, and with creation. One misstep, one deliberate, willful act of disobedience, destroyed forever our relationship with One who is all-good, all-knowing, all-loving, and whose will is perfect. There was nothing our first parents could do to repair what they destroyed so callously, heedlessly, and cavalierly, because they were tempted into believing they could be like God. 

Tempted into committing the same sin of pride that Lucifer and his angels were guilty of, sorrow, shame, and guilt would become their constant companions. Division and discord entered into what was meant to be a perfect marriage and each blamed the other although both were equally guilty. 

They bought into the great lie that by disobeying God they would become like Him. How often, despite knowing the consequences of perverse and gravely sinful decisions, the world continues to choose evil over good. Eve allowed her senses to beguile her into forgetting the Word of God and she tempted Adam to do the same. As soon as they sinned they were aware of their nakedness and for the first time felt vulnerable in each other's company. They tried to cover their nakedness and hid when they heard the voice of God. 

Every time we sin we are overwhelmed by our guilt and shame, and we instinctively desire to hide from God and from each other. Sin renders us open to concupiscence and closed to the Spirit of God.

We cannot know as God knows. We cannot understand as God understands. We live because it is Your Spirit that sustains us, without the Spirit of God we are just decadent, decaying flesh. Help us Lord to choose life, always.

PSALM 32:1-2,5-7

My Soul's Beloved,

The greatest gift God has given us apart from life is forgiveness of our sins. The greater and graver our sins the greater the joy that comes from being pardoned completely. However, far greater is the joy that comes from being guiltless and guileless. No human can claim this state of perfect innocence except You, and Your Mother.

But to us, to whom our first parents bequeathed the curse of original sin, and condemned to death, have been granted a full reprieve through You. The generous love of our God gave the world a Savior in You, His only Son. Now You make it possible for us to receive pardon for all our sins when we acknowledge them and do not hide our guilt. A contrite, humble heart You will not spurn.

As long as we live in the world we will be tossed about by waves of evil but the floods will not overwhelm or drown us if we cry out to You night and day in prayer when we are tempted.  

Thank You once again for Your wonderful assurance through the words of the psalmist, they are light in the darkness promising hope of a new dawn:  

You are my hiding place, O Lord;

you save me from distress.
You surround me with cries of deliverance.

MARK 7:31-37

My Soul's Beloved,

You return to Jewish territory and to Your people once again and on this occasion, the people bring a deaf-mute to You and ask You to lay Your hand on him and heal him.

You take the man aside desiring not to draw attention to Yourself and the inevitable adulation of the crowd by performing a miracle before them, and in private, You put Your fingers into the man's ears and touch his tongue with spittle. By the Finger of God, the Commands of God were written, by the Finger of God You cast out evil spirits and by putting Your fingers in the man's ears You touched him with the life-giving Spirit of God. 

With spittle from Your mouth through You touched his tongue and loosened it. Looking heavenward You sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened.’ The healing of the man was the work of the Trinity - Father, Son, and Spirit working in harmony to effect renewal of life in the man who had a speech impediment brought about by his deafness. 

Sin renders us deaf and dumb to the Word of God, the power of God, and the Life of the Spirit, and we become deaf to the true, the good, and the beautiful. 

In modesty and humility, You ordered the crowd to tell no one what they had seen, a lesson to those of us who desire a steady diet of praise. But the admiration of those who witnessed the miracle was so great they could not help but speak of it publicly.

If we find we are unable to stop ourselves from proclaiming the Good News when You ask for restraint how much more ought we to proclaim it from the rooftops when You command us to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.