MEMORIAL OF ST. JUSTIN, MARTYR - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Your light must shine in the sight of men,
so that, seeing your good works,
they may give the praise to your Father in heaven. MT5:16

1 CORINTHIANS 1:18-25 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

So often we read or hear people who scoff our faith in You, mock our belief that miracles have and do happen, at divine mysteries that are unfathomable or illogical to the human mind but we are unfazed by any of it for we know the One in whom we have placed our faith, our hope, and our trust. 

To the worldly, to the faithless, to the godless who hold nothing sacred and feel the need to scorn irrefutable truths revealed in salvation history, nothing will convince them for they are ruled by pride and because they have given themselves over to the things of the world, human wisdom, and the flesh.

All that is carnal and is of the temporal world is here today but in time is scattered to the four winds and lost forever. For the things of the flesh perish but the Word of God is eternal. 

The language of the Cross is a scandal to the world. Those who mouth worldly wisdom about suffering have not understood that authentic love is always in service to the good of the beloved. It took an incarnate God who is also love incarnate to reveal this truth to us by giving up Your life so all who believe might live. 

The life span of the wisdom of the world is constantly being dumped into the ash-heap along with all the follies of the ages. Divine wisdom like divine Truth is eternal.

Where are the philosophers now? Where are the scribes? Where are any of our thinkers today? Do you see now how God has shown up the foolishness of human wisdom? 

Those of some faiths refuse to even consider the possibility that they could be wrong. They recklessly denigrate revealed Truth and prefer to demand miracle after miracle even though to those who disbelieve no miracle will convince. And there are those of others who refuse to consider that where God is considered, nothing is impossible for Him to do and He often acts in ways that human beings cannot fathom. They wish to put imprison God in their own little windowless minds refusing to give God the freedom and power that is His to acts as He wills. 

But to those who believe, those who have embraced God in His fullness as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and embrace revealed Truth both in the Sacred Scripture, the Gospels as well as Sacred Tradition, held faithfully by the Magisterium as a sacred trust passing it on just as it was received faithfully from one generation to the next: 

You, my Beloved, are the power and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

PSALM 34:2-9 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

As I grow older I see more clearly each day how You have taken me by the hand and slowly but surely set me free of all that terrified me at different stages in my life.

The songs of the psalmist become part of my own faith experience and life unfolds and reveals the beauty of eternal truths about You, my Lord, and my God.

Praise becomes fitting in all circumstances when I am able to understand and accept that in the end, everything works out for my good. Over and over again I have seen that anxiety and fear serve no useful purpose for You have brought me through safely through every difficulty I ever faced. 

This is the gift I ask of the Holy Spirit that in all circumstances, whether I understand them or not, to trust in You implicitly for You never fail to answer those who call on You.

Thank You for making Yourself available to us in this life - in the Holy Eucharist where we can behold You face to face as well as consume You Body, Soul, Divinity and become wholly united to You. We taste eternity even while we are on earth. 

Thank You for my own Guardian Angel who never leaves my side but makes constant intercession on my behalf and protects me. He will accompany me from this life to the next and together we will praise You, for all eternity along with all the angels and saints. I have a glorious and eternal destiny.

MATTHEW 5:13-19 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We lose our Christlike flavor and our light goes out when we sin and allow the world and the flesh to distract us from the goal which is heaven. Every disciple must spread divine light wherever they may be and everyone they encounter should be able to taste and savor Your sweet Presence as they flavor all things with divinely revealed Truth. 

If we fail to do so our light will surely go out and we will be tasteless and good for nothing but to be thrown away. We cannot be effective witnesses without Your Holy Spirit and this is why You sent Him on the Church. He is Your gift to all who are baptized in You and grafted to Your Body. He makes us adopted sons and daughters of Your Father and co-heirs with You to the Kingdom of God.

But for as long as are given this life on earth we are given the opportunity to establish Your Kingdom on earth and to bring many to the knowledge of Truth that saves. To each is allotted good works that we are to accomplish in this life. To each is given a portion of the harvest to bring in. In this way, we bring glory to God as we shine Your light in an increasingly darkening world.

The world is constantly knocking down divinely ordained commandments. instituting and imposing their own worldly and satanic decalogue and those who resist risk facing dire consequences. 

The world is lulled in a false sense of security but the day is fast approaching when something even more frightening than the current pandemic will be upon us and then no one will be able to flee divine wrath.

'Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.’