SATURDAY OF THE ELEVENTH IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Jesus Christ was rich,
but he became poor for your sake,
to make you rich out of his poverty. 2COR 8:9

2 CORINTHIANS 12:1-10 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

St. Paul was passionate about preaching the Gospel. His sole desire was to make You known and loved and he understood that all is grace. We have nothing, we are nothing, and can offer nothing that we have not received as pure gift from You. What we do have are our sins, our weaknesses, our frailties, our lack of virtue, our propensity to fall headlong into sin at the first little temptation, and these are all we have to offer. You gladly receive them and in return, You heap upon us graces in abundance and You help us to walk in the way of Life. 

St. Paul could have boasted about much but he didn't he understood that it avails us nothing to brag about our successes. Every good and perfect gift comes from above. We are to recognize this truth and give praise and thanks to God and pray for the wisdom to use these gifts to serve others. Too often we give ourselves credit for the spiritual gifts that we are given and we preen with self-content when they are recognized and lauded by others. When we take credit for the gifts we've been given there is a grave danger in believing ourselves to be better than we actually are and give the same erroneous impression to others. A lack of humility is the surest way to fall into a pit.

Grant us this grace, O Lord, to make our boast in You from whom all things come and to whom all things return. It is only when we acknowledge our nothingness before You that You can move in and fill us with Your Presence.

PSALM 34:8-13 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Thank You for all the loving assurances that this psalm provides for those who make their home in You, those who trust You, and those who look to You for sustenance.

God our Father, You are so good. You have given Your angels charge over us to protect us, watch over us, pray for us, and rescue us when we stray from the fold. 

Thank You, Holy Spirit for granting us grace and wisdom to know that our happiness and safety lie in making the Sacred Heart of Jesus our refuge, our home, our dwelling place. 

Thank You, Beloved, for feeding us with Your Body and Blood and for the life we receive by this heavenly food. No one who eats this food will ever suffer hunger or want in this life and are guaranteed eternal life in the age to come.

We are children of the Father, we are redeemed and ransomed by You, and we are provided with all we need to be happy in this life until we come home to the place prepared for us from all eternity. Thank You, for giving us the gift of faith - may we use every opportunity to share this gift so all may come to know You, share our joy, and be saved.

MATTHEW 6:24-34 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The world is in a terrible mess because it has chosen to be enslaved to the wrong master. The world, the flesh, and the devil have lured so many souls into choosing fleeting pleasures over ones that last forever. Too often it is because of complete ignorance of You. No one has shown them another way. No one has spoken of You and the Good News that saves. No one has ever told them that the huge void within can only be filled by You. 

Millions of people in every nation spend their whole lives chasing lies and fantasies in every shape and form believing that happiness will finally be theirs as they chase these dreams that diffuse almost instantly into nothingness. 

Very few take the trouble to point out to the world's weary, forgotten, marginalized, lonely, terrified, victimized, that the one who looks after the sparrows in the sky and the lilies in the field are provided all they need without toiling or worrying. And the same God who cares for them cares infinitely more for human beings who are of far more worth to Him.

You taught us to address Your Father as our Father and because He is our Father we can trust Him to provide for all our needs today and safely entrust to Him all our tomorrows.