WEDNESDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I am the light of the world, says the Lord;

anyone who follows me will have the light of life. JN 8:12

JEREMIAH 18:18-20 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

It is so difficult to bear our suffering with equanimity as You did. We struggle, we complain, and make the cross even harder to bear by squirming and rebelling against it. Yet, all suffering has the power to bring about a greater good were it not so You would not permit it. 

The prophet Jeremiah's lamentations about the cruelty of his people are a foreshadow of all that You will experience from the people that God chose to be His own. 

The world has always been intolerant of those who stand against it. They make sure that all dissent against the status quo, against the narrative that they desire to advance, is crushed and ground into the dust. This happens over and over again in the course of history and seems even more apparent in our times. 

Despite the fact that they hounded Jeremiah and gave him no rest, despite the fact that they tortured him, imprisoned him, and drove him out of the city, nothing could deter him from speaking God's message. 

The enemies of the Truth were unable to silence Jeremiah and they were certainly not able to silence You. From the Cross on Calvary, You continue to call out our iniquity and to invite us to return to God and be saved by the power of Your Blood. Thank You, Beloved, that until You return You will plead on our behalf and turn God's well-deserved wrath away from us.

PSALM 31:5-6,14-16 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You prayed this psalm as You hung in agony on the Cross. It is so hard for me to pray when I am suffering because I get so absorbed in it. If only I could take my gaze away from my pain and focus on You I would be able to bear it with greater courage and peace. 

You teach us best how to remain in perfect peace while the storms press around and the turbulent waves and wind surge increase in strength. 

You will never permit us to suffer beyond our ability to endure. Your love always saves. If we are able to cling to this truth that as long as we keep our gaze fixed on You, we will be able to endure any hardship and suffering. 

You have taught us how to suffer and many holy men and women have followed Your example and have found extraordinary grace and courage to remain faithful in the face of the most horrifying persecutions and tortures. Our lives are Yours and they remain Yours no one can snatch us from You, in this truth is our sure hope. 

But as for me, I trust in you, Lord;
I say: ‘You are my God.
My life is in your hands, deliver me
from the hands of those who hate me.’

MATTHEW 20:17-28 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Often during the three years that You lived with the Twelve,s You told them that You would be given up into the hands of sinners and they would put You to death. Now, once again, as You make Your final journey up to Jerusalem You speak once more of what is to happen once You get there. As God, You know exactly what will happen and You inform Your disciples of the sequence of events that will soon take place. This is the culmination of Your mission on earth and Your face is set towards Jerusalem, ready to meet head-on all that must take place. This is why You came into the world. 

‘Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the pagans to be mocked and scourged and crucified; and on the third day he will rise again.’

The evangelist Matthew narrates how the mother of Zebedee's sons belonging to the entourage of women who followed You and cared for You and the disciples approached You accompanied with her sons in order to make a request. You knew exactly what she wanted but nevertheless asked her, 'What is it you want?' Sometimes we only realize how silly our requests are when we hear ourselves make them. 

She believed You were on Your way to Jerusalem to Your death and wanted to ensure that her sons had prime positions in it the new Kingdom You would establish. ‘Promise that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your kingdom.’ You said, 'You do not know what you are asking, Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ ‘Very well,’ You said ‘you shall drink my cup, but as for seats at my right hand and my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted by my Father.’

The other ten were angry with the two brothers as secretly all were vying for prominent places in the Kingdom of God. This is when You taught them a Kingdom principle that they would never forget. 'Anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’