THURSDAY OF THE TENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I give you a new commandment:
love one another just as I have loved you,
says the Lord. JN 13:34

2 CORINTHIANS 3:15-4:1,3-6 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Without the bright light of the New Testament illuminating the pages of the Old which is a fulfillment of all God's covenantal promises, it remains shrouded in unfulfilled hope and sad yearning and longing. This is why the chosen people of God continue to wait for You, the Messiah, who has already come and given us the most wonderful gift of peace, a peace that the world cannot give.

The more we shine the light of the New Testament on the Old the more brilliantly the Light of Truth shines on an increasingly darkening world. It is the Lord of the Spirit who illumines our hearts, our minds, and our spirits and enables us to see how all our longings, all our unfulfilled hopes, and dreams are realized and perfected in You. 

We thank You for the fullness of light, beauty, goodness, and truth in the Church You founded. To this day, Your disciples who preach the Good News of Your glory by the witness of their lives, draw many to come to the knowledge of the truth that has the power to save. The Gospel has the power to tear the veil of unbelief that separates every true seeker from You and we who are Your disciples are entrusted with the great mission of being Your light shining in the darkness for You.

PSALM 85:9-14 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You are the glory of God who has come into the world and redeemed it. No longer do we have to live in darkness brought about by sin and ignorance of God. The Father sent You into the world to reveal His Face to us - You are the image of the unseen God who has loved us with a love that is beyond our comprehension.

Not everyone knows You and hence not all recognize Your voice. They mistake the fleeting pleasures of the earth for joy and spend their whole lives chasing ephemeral dreams. But You have come into the world, You paid the price for our redemption and on returning to the Father You fulfilled Your promise to send us the Helper, the Holy Spirit, who leads us into all truth. 

In You we receive mercy. Through Your sacrifice, we have experienced the faithfulness of God. God's justice has been satisfied for the wages of sin is death but You entered into our death paying the ransom we owed with Your life so we may live. 

All who believe in You, all who hope in You, all who walk in the light of the truth of the Gospel, live, prosper, and are fruitful. An abundance of God's blessings is granted to us and even though we live in a world that stubbornly refuses to recognize You, peace is Your gift to all who believe in You.

MATTHEW 5:20-26 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Today's gospel passage makes us aware that the way to the Kingdom of God is hard and few choose to take it. It is hard to forgive those who are indifferent to the deliberate and calculated intention to inflict hurt. It is hard to hold our tongue and not retaliate in kind when we are verbally abused. It is difficult not to condemn those who rob us of what belongs to us and very often it is hard to overlook, forgive, and make peace with those who neither ask for it nor desire it.  

Yet, You tell us today that God is not fooled if our virtue is not authentic. We are called to be different from those of the world. We are called to be salt and light in the world. We are called to be different - alter Christus - only then can we hope to find a seat at the banquet table of the Bridegroom in the Kingdom of Heaven.