FRIDAY OF THE TWELFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

He took our sicknesses away,
and carried our diseases for us. MT 8:17

GENESIS 17:1,9-10,15-22 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

When we pray and ask for favors we desire them to be answered in our way and in our time but Scripture teaches us over and over again that Your Way is better than ours and You know best how to answer us and give us all the desires of our heart at a time and in the way that is better than anything our minds could ever imagine or ask for. 

God promised Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sands on the shore but they were still childless at the ripe old age of ninety-nine and ninety. Any possibility of having children had long since vanished. When God reaffirms His promise of a child to Abraham he laughs to himself and instead seeks to help God out of a tricky situation by helpfully suggesting that perhaps Ishmael his son by his slave Hagar, would serve just.

We, finite creatures, are constantly hampering God's desires to give us far more than we can conceive. Our vision is narrow and we are unable to see, know, and understand as You do. Nothing is impossible for God as Abraham and Sara were to discover. God always keeps His promises. We tend to lose heart when the answers to our prayers seem unheard. In times like these may we recall the numerous occasions when the way You answered our prayers was always far better than what we asked or hoped for.

Circumcision of every male of Abraham's descendants was to be the sign of the Covenant between them and God. In the age of the Messiah, the Sacrament of Baptism is the sign that we are children of God and heirs to the Kingdom.  And You, never leave us for You are Emmanuel, God with us, always.

PSALM 128:1-5 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The Word of God tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. 

Wisdom seems to be in short supply in our age and the world appears to be spinning out of control. We are hell-bent on pursuing every vice with a fervor that is positively manic as it is satanic while virtue is shunned as if it were the plague.

The truth is that unless we turn our steps back to You, unless we wash ourselves clean of sin, unless we begin to live gospel values and principles, we will never be happy. We cannot raise happy, spiritually healthy children if we ourselves are diseased.

Help us, Lord, for we seem unable to help ourselves. We are being swept by a culture that is determined to destroy every vestige of ordinary commonsense. We will not survive much longer without divine intervention. 

There are still many in the world who are struggling against great odds to be light and salt in the world. They are Your faithful remnant. Bless them Lord and increase their number and through them bring about a new springtime of faith in You. We cannot be happy without You. We need You, Lord. Have mercy on us, draw us back from the pit of insanity where the world seems headed, and save us before it is too late. 

MATTHEW 8:1-4 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Of all the diseases that plagued the people of the time the disease of leprosy was the most dreaded because of the shame, the stigma, and above all the separation from family, loved ones, and society. The fear of contracting leprosy was so great that lepers were not only ostracised but were treated disgracefully by the community. 

Today's Gospel speaks of a leper who sought You out despite the fact that there was a large crowd with You. His desire to be healed was far greater than his fear. Your fame had spread in the area and hearing of Your power to heal he approached You. His attitude is one of humility. He recognizes that only one who is from God can perform miracles. He believed that if You so desired You could heal him. Prostrating low before You he said, ‘Sir if you want to, you can cure me.’ 

Assuring him that You did wish to cure him, You stretched out Your hand, touched him, and said, ‘Of course I want to! Be cured!’ And his leprosy was cured at once. You then cautioned him about not telling anyone but to show himself to the priest and make the necessary offering as proof of his healing.

Thank You, Lord, for instituting the Sacrament of Reconciliation where the leprosy of sin can be healed always.