FEAST OF THE VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who believed
that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled. LK 1:45

ZEPHANIAH 3:14-18 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Mary said yes and because she did the heavens and the earth exult. She said yes and the Son of God became incarnate of her as the Holy Spirit came upon her and the power of the Most High overshadowed her. The triune God caused her to be born without the stain of original sin by the merits of the Son she would conceive, The Trinity marked her with a spiritual beauty that was far above that of the angels and certainly over all the saints. 

The exultant shouts of joy that erupted in the heavens at Mary's fiat and caused the heavens to shake have not ceased for she is truly the cause of our joy both in heaven and on earth. By her yes the gates of heaven would finally be opened by her firstborn and the eternally begotten firstborn of the Father. Because Mary said yes, the death sentence that was passed on the world would be lifted and humankind would live.  The head of the Enemy would be crushed under her heel and the power of death would be destroyed.

Mary's yes has caused the world to have hope once more. We can now approach the very gates of heaven and behold our God face to face. You took flesh in her womb and we eat this flesh and receive Your life that will well up to eternal life for all who believe. 

Because of Mary's yes God walked in our midst. As God who became Man You gave Yourself up to us and we crucified You - in yielding Your life to our death You have ensured that we who believe will never taste death, and we have this assurance as well:

God will exult with joy over you,
he will renew you by his love;
he will dance with shouts of joy for you
as on a day of festival.

ISAIAH 12 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The whole of creation waited with bated breath for Mary's response to God's invitation to cooperate with Him in our salvation. We rejoice as the redeemed people of God only because Mary said yes.

Because Mary said yes, You walked among us as one of us. We are saved because she, in perfect humility, submitted her whole being to the will of God to do with as He willed.

Fear no longs stalks us for we walk by faith. Our hope is renewed and we now sing a glorious song of praise for You have saved us. You have given us access to the Holy Spirit so we can drink deep of the living water that never runs dry for it is replenished each time we approach the Sacraments.

Mother dearest, just as the Church will never cease to be grateful to you for your 'yes' to God so will her songs of praise of you be ceaseless for you, sweet Mother, are deserving of our praise, reverence, and love. Thank you.

LUKE 1:39-56 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The Magnificat is the hymn of a soul possessed so wholly by God it is a perfect reflection of Him. After receiving and accepting God's invitation to become the Mother of the Son of God given to her through the Angel Gabriel, she went in haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth having been told that she too had conceived a child in her old age by the power of God.

Every little detail mentioned about Mary in God's Word, though sparse, has revealed to the Church meditating on every word she spoke and all her actions for over 2000 years, is that Mary, the New Eve, the Ark of the New Covenant, the Seat of Wisdom, is the Mother of the Son of God. There is no praise, no honor, no reverence, no amount of love that we show her can rival or outweigh the love, reverence, and honor that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, together with all the angels and saints shower on her. 

She carried the Son of God in her womb for nine months. No human creature was as closely united with God as she was - in fact, God received strength and sustenance from her body. Her blood gave Him life - He was truly flesh of her flesh. He could become the Son of Man and accomplish the salvation of the world and redeem it from the powers of hell and Satan only because Mary said yes. No wonder hell is powerless against her. 

The more we contemplate the Song of Mary in the Magnificat, as the Church has done for 2000 years and will continue to do until You, her Son, returns, the more we will discover fresh insights into the rarest of rare Jewels that is Mary whom the Church is privileged to call Mama for we are truly her children by adoption just as Jesus is her only begotten Son.

Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home. But Mary, Our Mother, remains by our side always, for we, as the beloved disciple, have taken her home with us. 

THE SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
the God who is, who was, and who is to come. REV 1:18

DEUTERONOMY 4:32-34,39-40 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

There is one God in three persons - this a mystery that we will never fully understand in this life but we are called to meditate on it, exult in it and believe it.

God is our Father because He is our creator. In the beginning, God uttered His majestic Word, it thundered and reverberated from one end of heaven to the other. We heard the Word spoken from the heart of the fire of divine love which is God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit who made possible the incarnation of the Son of God through the Virgin Mary is the One who redeemed and saved the world. 

Unlike the past, only those who hear the Incarnate Word and obey it will live. No god comes close to the Lord our God, who is One in Three Persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our God is Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier.

There is nothing that God cannot do and will not do for the children He loves so much He sent You, His only Son, to become one like us weak, human, miserable, frail, sinful creatures in order to give us divine life with the help and power of the Sanctifier, the Holy Spirit.

Beloved, God has prepared an eternal banquet for us in the presence of the angels. God desires us to know Him in the next life as intimately as we are known to Him now but in order to be worthy of this inheritance won for us on the Cross we are required to believe in the One God and Lord, there is no other. And we must keep His laws and His commandments in order that we may live happy and fruitful lives on earth and live forever with Him in the life that is to come.

PSALM 33:4-6,9,18-20,22 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The Holy Trinity is revealed to us in the Old Testament and in the psalms. Each of the divine Persons in the Godhead has a separate function but each works in perfect unity and harmony within the Holy Trinity. Father, Son, and Spirit are perfect, complete, and distinct but they are always in sync and always though Three are always One.  

The Creator of all is God, the Word uttered from the depths of the Father is God who redeems and saves, and the Spirit if God for He is the Breath of the love of God that sanctifies and purifies. The Creator uttered the Word with His Breath and the heavens and the earth and the universe were made for the glory and honor of God in each of the divine Persons.

We are the people God has chosen for His own, and someday we have the wonderful expectation of living with Him eternally in heaven. 

Our soul is waiting for the Lord.
The Lord is our help and our shield.
May your love be upon us, O Lord,
as we place all our hope in you.

ROMANS 8:14-17 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

St. Paul reminds us that we need the Spirit of God given to us in Baptism to make us children of God. While people of other faiths look to God as Master the Holy Spirit makes us sons and daughters of the Most High God. It is only by virtue of our Baptism that we are privileged to address God as Abba, Daddy, Papa.

Our spirit, united and imbued with the Spirit of God, makes our body God's sanctuary and temple - we become God's dwelling place. And we are assured by our belief in You, His only Son, we are made heirs of God and co-heirs with You - but first, we must share in Your sufferings only then can we have a share in Your glory.

MATTHEW 28:16-20 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Matthew one of the Twelve and an evangelist records that when the disciples set out to meet You at Your request at the mountain just before Your ascension into heaven, they fell down and worshipped You though some hesitated. This is very telling and a reminder to us all how much we need the Holy Spirit. 

It is only after Pentecost that they were set on fire with missionary zeal. They believed completely and they would willingly lay down their lives for the sake of the Gospel.

On this feast day of the Holy Trinity, the Church reminds us that each of the Persons in the Trinity in order to live holy and godly lives. If we are to preach the Gospel effectively as You have commanded us we need to be grounded in the love of the Father as Creator, the mercy and compassion of the Son as Redeemer, and the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit. Thank You, Lord, for Your comforting assurance that You will be with us always, to the end of time.

SATURDAY OF THE EIGHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Let the message of Christ, in all its richness,
find a home with you;
through him give thanks to God the Father. COL 3:16a,17

ECCLESIASTICUS 51:17-27 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Nothing is hidden from those who hunger and thirst for wisdom and truth. You made everything known to those who desire to walk in the path of Life and it is up to us to plant our feet firmly on it.

Solomon, Son of David, prayed for wisdom and was granted it. He was the wisest of the kings. To him were revealed hidden truths and yet in the end he departed from the Way of Wisdom. You, however, also known as Son of David, were also filled with the wisdom of God and You walked steadfastly in the Way of Wisdom to the end. 

Being the Son of God, Wisdom was Your companion from all eternity and as Son of Man, she made her dwelling place in You. The all-encompassing, generous love of the Father gives all His children this incomparable gift and those who yield to her have a friend that is a sure guide no matter how dark the night, and how narrow and difficult the road. She helps us to live lives that yield a rich harvest for the glory of God. 

You are the supreme example and most compelling witness of the power of Wisdom for You yielded in sublime humility to her and she did not hide from You. Anyone who wishes to be Your disciple must yield to the voice of Wisdom in all things if we are to successfully navigate all the perils that are laid to snare us. Give us purity of heart O Lord, and Wisdom will be our friend too until the end.

PSALM 19:8-11 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The childlike of heart are the friends of Wisdom. They are serene and cheerful no matter how difficult life may be. They trust in Your Word and hence nothing can tempt them to deviate from her path for Your Word is a light to their feet and a lamp to their path. 

Our bodies are healthy when our souls are preoccupied with the things of heaven. When our spiritual vision is clear our faith is boundless and no obstacle is too great that we cannot overcome if we are guided by the Wisdom of God and the power of Your Word. 

Only those who love greatly fear wounding the beloved. Grant is a holy fear for You who are deserving of all our love and we will never stray from the path of Truth.

Give us a hunger and thirst for Your Word and we will never be in want for Your Word satisfies. 

MARK 11:27-33 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

To this day the same question that the scribes and elders put to You are put to Your Church, not only by those of her members who ought to know better but also by the world and those who belong to it.

What authority have you for acting like this? Or who gave you authority to do these things?’ 

And You said: ‘I will ask you a question, only one; answer me and I will tell you my authority for acting like this. John’s baptism: did it come from heaven, or from man? Answer me that.’ 

Anyone who is familiar with Sacred Scripture, the Gospels, as well as Apostolic Tradition, knows unequivocally from whom You receive Your authority. Yet many pretend they don't. There are consequences to acknowledging the truth, one must follow it, obey it, and abide by it. As long as we pretend we do not know it we will have to suffer the consequences of our deliberate blindness.

FRIDAY OF THE EIGHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I chose you from the world

to go out and bear fruit,

fruit that will last,

says the Lord. JN15:16

Ecclesiasticus 44:1,9-13 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Today we are reminded that it is the righteous who are remembered, they leave behind a rich legacy as an inheritance to their descendants. While many successful men have left their mark and some are remembered from one generation to the next; many more have not left a lasting footprint and hence their memory is erased by the sands of time.

It is not so with the truly good, holy, and virtuous, who in imitation of You, spend their entire lives in reflecting You. They live only to glorify You and they are consumed with the desire to reflect You and You alone in all they do. These will never be forgotten. Their memory and their legacy are kept alive in the Church so we may learn from their example that it is possible to live an extraordinary life if we surrender our ordinary lives to the will of God and the Holy Spirit.

PSALM 149:1-6,9 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The psalmist constantly urges us to sing a new song to the
Lord, and so we ought, for Your mercies and Your love are new every day. Each new dawn brings with it new hope, new possibilities, new insights into the unsearchable depths of the Father's love. All we need to do to prompt our spirit to praise You is to contemplate the work of the Creator in His creation, in the manner in which we are saved, and in the many gifts that He heaps on us. 

We are sinners, unworthy, weak, flawed, and prone to giving in repeatedly to temptations and yet You delight in us. How can we not rejoice in Your unwavering love and Your unflagging patience with us? All we need to do is step aside from the noise of the world and withdraw into the sanctuary of our soul and there we can contemplate You, our God, who makes His dwelling place in these frail bodies that You deign to make Your temple. We are saved because God condescended to become like us so and to die in order that we may be raised to life through Your resurrection. This is surely reason enough to celebrate, praise, and honor our God every day that we are alive. 

May all that is within me praise Your Holy Name for as long as I have breath in my body.

MARK 11:11-26 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The sole purpose for which I am created is to know You, love You, serve You, and be happy with You in this life, and eternally happy with You in the Kingdom of heaven. Nothing unclean can enter the presence of God and since I am the temple of God I must strive to keep God's dwelling place free from sin or I will be separated from You who are all good and worthy of all my love.

As we reflect on today's Gospel we understand that there is a connection between the two incidents - Your cursing the fig tree and the cleansing of the temple. The fig tree although full of leaves and seemingly very healthy, lacked fruit. The temple was a place of worship - a holy place, a place where God dwelt but it had become a place of commerce. Those who came to pray were distracted by the noise of buying, selling, and haggling; God's temple, a house of prayer, had become a marketplace.

The fig tree is a symbol of the Christian life that must bear good fruit in every season. The Temple is a symbol of our body which is the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit hence we must be always on our guard not to allow the spirit of the world to take up residence in us.  You are always hungry and thirsty for our love and for many souls to love You and come to know You and be saved. It is an insatiable hunger and thirst for very few love You as we ought.

But with You, there is always hope, once we repent You cleanse us from sin,. You return to us and feed us with Your Word, and Your Body. The more we allow ourselves to be nourished by You the less tempted we will be to turn Your dwelling place into a den of thieves.

Today, You teach us to be fruitful, to forgive from the heart, to have faith, and to keep ourselves free from sin so Your Spirit abiding in us will never leave us but remain with us always.

THURSDAY OF THE EIGHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 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. JN8:12

ECCLESIASTICUS 42:15-26 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

All that lives, moves and has being, the glory of nature, the splendor of the sun, moon, and stars, the birds of the air, the creatures on earth and in the seas were all created by the utterance of the Word. He spoke and all that He desired came to be. And I, too, am part of this wonderful creation with an eternal destiny.

Everything in nature is good and beautiful and a marvel to behold and human beings are the crown of Your creation. All life belongs to God and all life will return to Him and nothing in all creation was created without a purpose - which is to glorify You, the Father, and the Spirit.

No living thing can fail to praise You, Lord, for we are surrounded by the works of Your hands and they prompt us to contemplate You with wonder and awe. 

Thank You for creating me and thank You for my eternal destiny. May I never cease to praise the wonder of Your love every moment that I live and when I die I will open my eyes and behold You face to face and my praise will be everlasting.

They all live and last for ever,

whatever the circumstances all obey him.
All things go in pairs, by opposites,
and he has made nothing defective;
the one consolidates the excellence of the other,
who could ever be sated with gazing at his glory?

PSALM 33:2-9 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Just as the heavens were made by the power of the Eternal Word uttered by God so too was the world and all that is in it. As part of creation may my voice be always raised in praise of the awesome love of God for me and the power of God that holds all of creation in place by the power of His Word and the Breath of the Spirit.

O God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who is the Word that nestles in Your bosom eternally, thank You for creating me and for reserving a place for me in Your Kingdom. Thank You for the life You have given me and for the love that has been shown me from the moment I first drew breath.

As beautiful as the heavens with the sun, moon, and stars, as wondrous as the oceans are - nothing is as wondrous and beautiful as human beings. You have given us an eternal soul, and the ability to look around us and appreciate all the works of Your hands.  To us is given the ability to praise the Creator of the heavens and the earth and in this we glorify You. Keep us safe in Your love until we return to You.

MARK 10:46-52 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Faith in You is more pleasing to the Father than any sacrifices we make. When we believe in You and Your Word we will experience the power of faith accomplishing the impossible. You have assured us that faith as small as a mustard seed has the power to move mountains. 

Today's Gospel that narrates the entire sequence of events that led to the healing of the blind beggar Bartimaeus teaches us the power of believing in You and of making our needs known to You fearlessly regardless of any impediments that may be placed in our way. 

Bartimaeus heard of You and the miracles You performed and was determined to be counted among those You had healed. It was not just wishful thinking. He kept track of Your movements and when he found out that where You would be passing he made sure that he was there, sitting by the road in hopeful anticipation. Soon he heard the sound of the large crowd and knew that the moment of his deliverance had arrived and he seized his opportunity and shouted in a loud voice so he could be heard above the din of the crowd:

‘Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me.’ 

There will always be those who are embarrassed by those who make them uncomfortable by a visible, audible faith of those whose cry of the heart will not be silenced despite the shushing sounds of those around them. Just as the people tried to quiet Bartimaeus. But the more they scolded him the louder he shouted, ‘Son of David, have pity on me.’ 

You hear every sigh and You most certainly heard the desperate cry calling out to You. You stopped and said, ‘Call him here.’ It was then that the crowd became sympathetic and said to him, ‘Courage, get up; he is calling you.’ He did not need to be told twice. Throwing aside the only material possession he owned, his cloak, he jumped up and went to You. And as You so often do, You asked him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’  We need to be clear about what we desire and we must be able to articulate it. The man said, ‘Rabbuni, Master, let me see again.’ That is all it took. You looked at him and said, 'Go; your faith has saved you.’ And immediately his sight returned and he followed him along the road.

Once we have encountered You, once You have healed us and restored our spiritual well-being, we, like Bartimaeus must become Your disciples, follow You, and never cease to tell the whole world what You have done for us and how You saved us. 

MEMORIAL OF ST. PHILIP NERI, PRIEST - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Remain in my love, says the Lord;
whoever remains in me, with me in him,
bears fruit in plenty. JN 15:9, 5

PHILIPPIANS 4:4-9 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Most of us are suspicious of those who are truly joyous always no matter what their circumstances. But joy is the gift of the Holy Spirit to those who abandon themselves to the love of God. Joy teaches us to look to the Father with confidence and trust knowing that He never fails to provide everything we need. The love of God satisfies us in our innermost being and we are content and at peace.

The world is just as intolerant today as it ever was only the subjects of contention are different. We live in a society that refuses to accept either commonsense or divine wisdom. Those who wish to disregard every moral principle are hell-bent on persecuting and punishing those who stand firmly on the side of truth. In a world that constantly pushes the narrative that everyone has a right to believe in their own version of the truth, they desire to annihilate the fact that truth is immutable. No matter how hard the world tries to obfuscate it, it cannot be done for the darkness cannot overcome its light.

Thank You, Lord, for Your constant consolation that there is always hope. That God is always on the side of truth. That all we ask for in prayer with thanksgiving will be given to us. Heaven is Your throne and the world is but Your footstool. We might give ourselves delusions of grandeur but You know how to manage the children that You created and redeemed with inexpressible and boundless love.

Thank You, O Prince of Peace, for the peace You give all who believe in You. Thank You, for Your Holy Spirit who helps us in our weakness and encourages and enables us to be holy and perfect as our heavenly Father is holy and perfect.

May we become imitators of our heavenly Father so our minds and hearts are always occupied with holy and honorable thoughts and the peace that passeth all human understanding will be ours and our lives will be serene no matter how narrow the road or difficult the path.

PSALM 34:2-11 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We taste You in Your Word, and in the Eucharist, we taste You in the Sacred Apostolic traditions and we receive even now a taste of immortality.

The one sure way to experience Your abiding presence is to be filled with thoughts of You always, if we think of You praise will well up in our hearts and will overflow from our whole being. We will be glad always and always we will experience Your peace.

Praise is never far from the hearts and lips of those who are intrinsically bound to You. Even as they walk in the valley of darkness, even as arrows fly by day, they walk serenely for You set them free from fear, sadness, anxiety, and terror. No one who has placed themselves in Your hands, as a weaned child on its mother's breast, will ever be afraid or troubled.

Thank You for Your abiding Presence in the Holy Eucharist, in our Adoration Chapels around the world. The world is blessed because Your choose in sublime humility to be wholly and substantially present to us in the little white host. Gracious and glorious God, it is the Eucharist that will be the answer to Your prayer to the Father, in the Eucharist will all our separated brethren become united. 

Thank You for hearing our sighs and answering our prayers. The greater our spiritual poverty the greater will we have access to the treasures of heaven. Thank You for appointing every man, woman, and child with a guardian angel who will never leave us, who prays for us constantly, who receives our prayers, and brings us Your blessings. 

Thank You for the Church and for all her members whom You satisfy with every good and perfect gift. The world may go in want but those who are Yours lack nothing. 

JOHN 17:20-26 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We long for the day when Your prayer to the Father at the Last Supper, will be answered and we may be completely one as You and Your Father are one.

You prayed not only for us to be kept safe from evil but for unity with our separated brethren, Christian and Jew, as well as all people of goodwill of every other faith.

We are impatient for Your prayer to be answered and for the era of peace that will prevail when we are all united to the Father through You. The great Sacrifice You made for the salvation of the whole world will bear the fruit that the Father intended. I long for the day when every man, woman, and child will praise and thank God, our Father and bless His holy Name for the unfathomable expression of His love when He sent You into the world to be the means by which we are saved.

We would never have touched the face of God had He not sent You into the world - as St. John the evangelist says, That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.

Thank You Father for the wonderful gift of Your Son as our Savior and Redeemer, thank You, Beloved, for saving us and opening the gates of heaven to us, thank You Holy Spirit for helping us daily in our journey from this life to the next.

Hasten Your return in glory Lord. Hurry.

TUESDAY OF THE EIGHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children. MT 11:25

ECCLESIASTICUS 35:2-15 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

No one who desires to live a holy and virtuous life can dare to say that they do not know how to do so Scripture is full of insights enlightening us on how to cultivate habits pleasing to God. The book of Ecclesiasticus is one such book in Sacred Scripture - any good Christian who studies it will learn a variety of ways on how we can walk on the narrow path that leads to eternal life.

The first step to living a virtuous life is to truly desire it and then ask the Holy Spirit to aid us. He will not withhold anything that will aid us in our journey from this life to the next if we are sincere.

The foremost offering whose worth is above and beyond all other offerings is the union of our lives with the Sacrifice offered on Calvary. In the celebration of Holy Mass and at every worthy reception of the Holy Eucharist, we are given a taste of eternal life in the Kingdom of God and a glimpse of heaven.

All the gifts we are given both spiritual and temporal are to be put to the service of our brothers and sisters and we will be asked for a strict account of our stewardship. For nothing we receive is solely for our benefit but is to be shared as generously as we have received.

When we allow ourselves to be influenced by the commerce and economics of a rapacious world our hands are shortened and our minds are dulled and we become selfish, fearful, greedy, and acquisitive. But we are reminded today to give cheerfully and generously back to God what we have received for all we have is not ours but Yours and on the day of judgment, we shall not be ashamed to stand before You.

O Lord, our God, keep our motives for giving always pure.

PSALM 50:5-8,14,23 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

When will Christians all over the world realize that there is no sacrifice under the sun that is as pleasing to God as the one, holy, sacrifice that You offered on Calvary?

The psalmist says, "I will show my salvation to the upright." There are many wonderful, upright, Christians in the world who deny the one, most powerful truth, and that is the efficacy of the Holy Eucharist in uniting as one Body in You. There is no other. Nothing can so unite us as the eating of Your Flesh and the drinking of Your Blood. Deny this truth as much as they may, without the Eucharist, no Christian can have the full measure of the life that You came to give.

‘Summon before me my people
who made covenant with me by sacrifice.’

‘Listen, my people, I will speak;

Israel, I will testify against you,
for I am God, your God.
I accuse you, lay the charge before you.
I find no fault with your sacrifices,
your offerings are always before me.
Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God

and render him your votive offerings.

MARK 10:28-31 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The world needs holy men and women who are so in love with You that they will happily lose the world in order to belong solely and wholly to You.

But where will these holy men and women come from if they are not nurtured in the homes of holy and righteous parents? Husbands and wives who love each other with a love that is self-sacrificial. The world teaches us to not lose but to hold on to ourselves, to make choices that involve not the good of the other but the good of self and so for the sake of ephemeral emotions we are prepared to wound the most vulnerable and innocent victims that are responsible for their well-being on having to parents to raise them and put their needs above their own.

Only when we are prepared to make the supreme sacrifice of laying down our lives for the sake of the other will we find in the world, young men and women who are prepared to give up houses, brothers, sisters, fathers, children, and land for Your sake and the ake of the Gospel. And they will joyfully discover that they are repaid a hundred times over for their sacrifice even if it comes with persecutions from the world. Eternal life is guaranteed to those who are unafraid of the cost of true discipleship.

Let us not be envious of those who seem to have everything in this life for you assure us today that ‘Many who are first will be last, and the last first.’

MEMORIAL OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Happy are you, holy Virgin Mary, and most worthy of all praise,
for from you arose the sun of justice, Christ our God.

GENESIS 3:9-15,20 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

It is right and fitting that the Church celebrates Mary as Mother of the Church today after the feast of Pentecost. She conceived You when the Holy Spirit came upon her and the power of the Most High overshadowed her, and she conceived once again, this time spiritually when the sword that ran through Your side simultaneously pierced her heart. She became the Mother of the infant Church by her presence in the upper room when the Holy Spirit descended on her and the Apostles. 

The disobedience of Eve cost us paradise the perfect and uninterrupted obedience of the New Eve restored paradise to us once again. Our first parents became aware of their nakedness and vulnerability when they ate the forbidden fruit and separated themselves from God. Mary, our Mother who is sinless, is robed with the all-powerful and radiant light of her Son who is the Sun of Justice.

All the children of Eve are cursed but those who are made children of God by baptism become offspring of the New Eve. As Your brothers and sisters, we are made children of the Father, we are given Mary as our Mother, and we are heirs to the Kingdom of God. This is why we ought never to allow the world to get us down our lives here may be weighed down with sorrow and distress but if we bear our troubles patiently and humbly, our sorrow will be turned into everlasting joy.

We are a people of hope for she who is the immaculate Mother of all the living has crushed the head of the deadly Enemy under her heel.

PSALM 87 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You have established the City of God high on Mt. Zion. It is the place where the Triune God dwells in fullness, majesty, and power. It is to her that the people of God stream night and day and they are fed on the Word of God in spirit and in truth.

The doors of many of the churches around the world are shut to the faithful but You have not withheld sustenance from the people of God. Who will say 'nay' to You - You have the power to do all things and with every spiritual communion worthily made, You flood our souls with innumerable graces and blessings. Who will separate us from the love of God in You, Beloved? No one and nothing can take away those who are grafted to You.

You look on Your Church tenderly, You have given her Your Mother to be her Mother too and You love Your Church as extravagantly as she does. She pleads with You ceaselessly to have mercy on her sinful children and You will always hear and answer the prayers and pleas she makes on our behalf.

We long for the day of Your return in glory, Beloved. Reduce the days of our life on earth and hasten Your return so we will never be separated from You. Maranatha! Lord Jesus, Maranatha! Hurry, come soon. We yearn to see You in whom we have placed all our faith, hope, and trust.

JOHN 19:25-34 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

From the moment You entrusted Your Mother to the beloved disciple, she has been given pride of place in the home. She is a rare gift for she is the best of all Mothers. If we gathered the love of all mothers who were ever born until the end of time, their collective love would be less than a drop when weighed against Mary's love for us.

She stood with steadfast love at the foot of Your Cross as she had always done and her steadfast love for the Church You entrusted to her strengthens and sustains all the children who are born in her. 

All who are baptized into the Church hear the same words that You spoke to the disciple, 'This is your mother.' And we take her with us and she will remain steadfast in her love for us until our pilgrim journey here is at an end and our immortal soul returns to our Father in heaven. 

She too has the same thirst for souls that You have and so she understands Your thirst and will do all in her power to aid her poor, sinful children through her most powerful intercession with You. She drank just as deeply spiritually, along with You from Your cup of suffering and so God has raised her up above all the angels and saints, and You honor her by giving her a place at Your right hand. 

For all the years that she lived after Your ascension into heaven, she assisted the nascent Church with her love, wisdom, her presence, and her prayers. And as Mother of the Church, she will continue to do so until You return in glory.

Thank You, Lord, for such a glorious and loving Mother.

PENTECOST SUNDAY - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love.

ACTS 2:1-11

My Soul's Beloved,

Your Church speaks the universal language of love and because she chooses love above and before all she is often misunderstood even by those who belong to her.

Too often we wish she would take a whip to her enemies but she doesn't for she has a mother's tender and compassionate heart and prefers to woo with love. Many of us get impatient with her in our overzealous desire for her to enforce her power by coming down hard against her detractors and her enemies. But this is not her way because it is not the way of her Spouse and certainly not the way of the Holy Spirit who is the bond of love between Father and Son and who draws the Bride wholly into that sacred bond of love. 

Today as the Church celebrates her birthday let us unite our hearts and minds with that of Mary, Mother of the Church, and our Mother, along with Peter, the Apostles, and the disciples, let us pray with expectation and anticipation for a new Pentecost. The Church is in need of renewal once again - let us prepare for it through all the sufferings that the Church presently endures from her enemies, her detractors, her persecutors, and unite our personal sufferings with hers as well as Yours at Calvary.

The day is coming when the whole world will speak with one voice, one language, that of love, and she will have learned it from Your Bride who herself has been taught by the Holy Spirit. Send the strong winds of the Holy Spirit upon us now and consume us with the fire of Your divine love.

PSALM 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34 

My Soul's Beloved, 

We have drifted so far away from the Spirit of Love, Light, and Truth. The foul miasma of hate, division, pride, and the spirit of the world is seeping into the Church, and evil, decay, destruction, and death seem imminent. Help us, Beloved, not to take our gaze away from You and from Your promises, rather, like the psalmist may we bless Your Name constantly and praise You with our whole being. 

It is easy to praise You, Lord if we begin to count our blessings. Let us look around us and contemplate with wonder the beauty of creation and Your works O Lord will inspire us to praise Your goodness and Your bountiful love for us.

Thank You for the gift of Your Holy Spirit who fills us with life and grace. The breath of the Spirit animates us and as long as He is in us we can praise You, our Lord, and our God. He teaches us how to recognize You not only around us but in us as well - for He makes our bodies the dwelling place of God.

GALATIANS 5:16-25 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

When we read and contemplate the lives of great saints we understand that we are given all we need to live in perfect peace and in perfect harmony with our brothers and sisters because the Holy Spirit Himself abides in us. The world and so many of us in it are given to all the sins that St. Paul lists in his letter to the Galatians. 

When self-indulgence is at work the results are obvious: fornication, gross indecency and sexual irresponsibility; idolatry and sorcery; feuds and wrangling, jealousy, bad temper and quarrels; disagreements, factions, envy; drunkenness, orgies and similar things. I warn you now, as I warned you before: those who behave like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

We are self-absorbed, obsessed with worldly frivolities, narrow-minded and overbearing, confident that our way is the only way and anyone who disagrees with us ought to be ostracised and destroyed. 

But there is another way - the way of the Holy Spirit and if only we Christians and especially Catholics took this road the world will soon welcome the Kingdom of God on earth. For:

What the Spirit brings is very different: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. There can be no law against things like that, of course. You cannot belong to Christ Jesus unless you crucify all self-indulgent passions and desires.

 Since the Spirit is our life, let us be directed by the Spirit.

JOHN 15:26-27,16:12-15 ©

My Soul's Beloved, 

Truth is in extremely short supply in our world today. The world uses words to obfuscate the truth and to deny the reality of what they were always meant to convey. Definitions by which we understood reality are now a parody of the truth and the rich, the powerful, the influential, the pseudo-intellectual who is the darling of the world are prepared to go to any extremes to push a particular narrative at the expense of truth.

We know that Truth, as it is understood by the Church and by Your disciples, is not just a Word it is a Person. The Eternal Word became flesh and made His dwelling place with us. And when You ascended into heaven You did not leave us orphans but true to Your promises You sent us the Advocate, the Spirit of truth from the Father. 

The Church is unassailable, indestructible, and eternal because in Her dwells the fullness of Truth - the Holy Spirit. The Breath of God that hovered over the earth and brought order from chaos hovers over the world to this day and in the end will reign supreme. 

Over two thousand years have passed and through its long and often bloody history, for she has suffered at the hands of evil and her children have been slaughtered for Your sake and the sake of the Gospel, she has been faithful to the mission You entrusted to her. She has been Your most powerful witness from the first and she will continue to be Your most powerful and faithful witness to the end.  

She glorifies You, her Spouse, by her very presence in the world and by the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit who gives her life and she will do so until You come in glory to claim her as Your Bride for all eternity. Maranatha, Lord Jesus, Maranatha!

SATURDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I will send you the Spirit of truth, says the Lord;
he will lead you to the complete truth. JN 16:7,13

ACTS 28:16-20,30-31 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

When we are docile to the will of God as Paul was then all that we are inspired to do to further the Kingdom of heaven will be fruitful. 

Paul suffered greatly ever since his conversion and he rejoiced in his sufferings unlike most of us who are constantly complaining and whining about everything. We live such unholy, uninspiring lives that we are ineffective in evangelizing anyone let alone those closest to us. 

Paul's whole life provides exemplary proof of how we ought to live as members of Your Body. We must strive to live in harmony with one another, each serving the other and outdoing one another in our love for You and each other.

Paul was wise with the wisdom that comes from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and he was always docile to the prompting of the Spirit of God and did nothing if it was not the will of God. 

Grant us this grace, to imitate all the great saints for when we do despite any suffering, persecution, and hardship that we may have to endure we will always enjoy Your enduring peace in the midst of tribulation.

PSALM 11:4-5,7 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Our collective conscience is dead and the world has lost sight of the truth that there is a God and He lives. His gaze is on the whole world and He watches us as we persistently, consistently, and insistently live lives that are stubbornly contrary to His will.

Too long O Lord have You permitted us to willfully and deliberately turn our backs to You and to indulge in every unholy, unworthy, frivolous, and worldly pastime that draws us ever deeper into the snare of the Enemy.

Today, the psalmist reminds us that only the upright will behold Your Face.

We are living in testing times. We are faced with calamities one on the heels of the next and yet we have set our face like flint against You. The time is almost here when we can no longer pretend that our actions do not have consequences. The wicked will be destroyed but the just, Your faithful remnant will enjoy the vision of Your glory eternally.

JOHN 21:20-25 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Too often, like Peter, we allow ourselves to get distracted by irrelevant matters. You will not satisfy our idle curiosity. There is greater and far more important work at hand and we have only a limited amount of time to accomplish it. We ought to possess a sense of urgency that we will do all that is required of us before time runs out.

You refused to satisfy Peter's unhealthy curiosity about what would happen to John rather You reminded him that it was none of his business what You intended for John his only and most urgent concern ought always to be to follow You. That is true for each one of us who are privileged to be Your disciples.

Too often we are energy is consumed by idle speculation about everyone and we waste precious time on things that are not worthy as children of God and heirs to the Kingdom of heaven.

Today, John also reminds us of a very important truth - no one can contain God. The Church You founded understands that the divine Truth is infinite and our finite mortality can never comprehend eternity. We have the good sense to let God be God. We do not restrict You to the written word whether Old or New for You are beyond time and space. These are given to us as one way to draw near to You. It is the Holy Spirit that inspires those who are docile to Him to experience a little of the infinite height, depth, breadth, and length of that which is divine. Even in heaven, we will never exhaust the love, the beauty, the power, the knowledge, the grandeur, and the majesty of our awesome God who is always unchanging yet ever new.

There were many other things that Jesus did; if all were written down, the world itself, I suppose, would not hold all the books that would have to be written.