THURSDAY OF THE ELEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The spirit you received is the spirit of sons,
and it makes us cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’ RM 8:15

2 CORINTHIANS 11:1-11 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The Church You founded on Peter is one that safeguards the precious deposit of faith in all its purity and fullness. The world never has and never will contaminate it with the spirit of the world and the spirit of the age. Truth is immutable, unchangeable, incorruptible. One has only to look at Your Bride, the Church, and see how steadfastly she has held on to the Truth in the midst of a corrupt and debauched world.

St. Paul says that the Church that he along with Peter, the Rock, and Apostles have built with You as its Cornerstone is one that is chaste, a virgin, with only one Spouse, You. The serpent, since the creation of the world, has been envious of her, there have been many within the Church along with the legions outside it who have sought to tarnish and destroy her but their efforts have been fruitless. 

Over the centuries many have become corrupted with the ever-changing spirit of the world and have rashly rejected the doctrines that You taught and entrusted to Your Church. Every fear of St. Paul is realized as we look at the churches formed by those who broke away from Holy Mother Church by preaching a false doctrine and they keep fragmenting ad infinitum:

 

the serpent, with his cunning, seduced Eve, and I am afraid that in the same way your ideas may get corrupted and turned away from simple devotion to Christ. Because any new-comer has only to proclaim a new Jesus, different from the one that we preached, or you have only to receive a new spirit, different from the one you have already received, or a new gospel, different from the one you have already accepted – and you welcome it with open arms. 

The Church stands strong and the Truth within her remains unpolluted. She will defend it in the face of every opposition as she has always done indefatigably in the past and in the end, she will prevail because Truth will always prevail. 

PSALM 111:1-4,7-8 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Let us never cease to take comfort from the words of the psalmist that all Your works O Lord are justice and truth. You came to bring justice for all especially those who are the last and the least. The world's ignored and forgotten. Those who get trampled on because they are considered an inconvenience by those who are consumed by selfishness. 

All the works of Your hand O Lord are to be celebrated. You give life and breath to all and all belong to You. The more we contemplate Your works the more we marvel at Your great love for Your creation.

Each one of us human beings is far more marvelous than anything else that You have made. You have given us an intrinsic worth that only we can mar, stain, and destroy by our sins. Even then You do not abandon us because You are full of compassion and love, slow to anger, and rich in mercy as is apparent from the wonderful Sacraments You instituted for our healing and growth. 

Thank You for the rich graces You make available to us through the hands of Your ministers and You heap on us in each of the Sacraments. Thank You for Your assurance that You will remain with us and with Your Church to the end.

MATTHEW 6:7-15 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Thank You for teaching us to pray. You who know Your Father best, knew also how we, His children, ought to approach Him and make our needs known to Him in words guaranteed to obtain His best blessings. 

The opening address itself is a miracle of love and gives an insight into the relationship that God desires to have with us. You teach us to call God by the same Name with which You address Him - Dad, Abba, Papa. In the very first words, You bridge the yawning chasm that existed between God and us.

You ask us to keep it simple, uncomplicated, direct, open, childlike, humble aware that nothing depends on us but everything depends on Him. 

‘Our Father in heaven,

may your name be held holy,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us.
And do not put us to the test,
but save us from the evil one.

But there is one very, very important factor that we ought never to forget when we pray if we desire our prayers to be answered and it is often very hard for us to do. But it is impossible to please God without it. We must forgive from the heart those who have hurt us, this is non-negotiable.

‘Yes, if you forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours; but if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failings either.’