THURSDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF EASTER - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

‘You believe, Thomas, because you can see me.
Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe. JN 20:29

ACTS 5:27-33 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The Truth is anathema to those in cahoots with evil.  The

apostles are once more brought before the Sanhedrin and the high priest does his best to intimidate Peter and John with no success. He is spitting with rage but cannot bring himself to speak Your Name, Jesus, because he recognizes and fears its formidable power. He accuses the apostles of trying to fix the guilt of Your death on them when in fact it was the truth. They did manipulate Pilate into pronouncing Your death sentence.

The once cowardly Peter, now filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, looks the high priest in the face and tells them what they in fact know and ought to proclaim,  'Obedience to God comes before obedience to men.' If only all Catholics and Christians lived by this truth, we would experience the wondrous power of the Holy Spirit in our lives and we would transform the world.

This is the Good News that Peter proclaims before the high priest and the Sanhedrin and it is the Good News that we too must be witnesses to even at the cost of our lives. You were executed by Your enemies who hanged You on the Tree of Life, but God raised You up to be the Savior of the world. It is only through You that we receive repentance and forgiveness of all our sins. The Holy Spirit is God's gift to all who believe in You.

To this day the world and the enemies of Truth are infuriated by those who stand unflinching on the side of Truth and plot tirelessly but unsuccessfully to put those who believe in You to death. 

PSALM 34:2,9,17-20 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You hear every sigh, every wordless prayer, every helpless gaze

lifted up to You in pain, sorrow, bewilderment, and hurt. The poor in spirit are always before You and You make intercession for the whole world tirelessly, before Your Father.

It may not always seem so, but You always hear and answer every prayer, every petition, perhaps not in the way we would like but in the way that is good, right, and perfect.

We are to be joyful always and we will be joyful if we praise You and offer thanksgiving to You in all circumstances without judging them to be good or bad. If You permit it then it is because it is needful and because You can and will draw good from it.

Give us the kind of faith that continues to take refuge in Your Sacred Heart even though nothing around us or in our lives makes any sense to us. May we always have this assurance that You always answer and rescue us from every distressful situation. 

Many in the world are suffering greatly right now because of the pandemic, have mercy on them, on us, and on the whole world, send Your angels to assure them that 

The Lord is close to the broken-hearted;
those whose spirit is crushed he will save.
Many are the trials of the just man
but from them all the Lord will rescue him.

JOHN 3:31-36 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

How right John the Baptist is when he tells his disciples that those of the world are coarse in spirit. Their mind does not rise to the level where God dwells. Those in the world, the worldlywise, find great pleasure in wallowing in shallow, muddy pools and feeding off the trough of swine because they know no better.

John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit when his mother was carrying him in her womb and the sound of Your Mother's greeting reached her ears. It is through the same Spirit that he is able to counsel his disciples about the things of heaven. He knows that You come from above having come from God and are God hence Your testimony and Your witness are true. All who believe in You and accept Your testimony accept the Truth of God.

Truth is not just a word - it is the Word, the Eternal Word, and Truth is a Person both human and divine. When the whole world comes to believe what John is saying about You to his disciples, the Kingdom of God will appear in our midst.

 

'He whom God has sent

speaks God’s own words:
God gives him the Spirit without reserve.
The Father loves the Son
and has entrusted everything to him.
Anyone who believes in the Son has eternal life,
but anyone who refuses to believe in the Son will never see life:
the anger of God stays on him.’