WEDNESDAY OF THE NINTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;
whoever believes in me will never die. JN 11:25, 26

TOBIT 3:1-11,16-17 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Both Tobit and Sarah cry out to God in their desolation, they pour out their grief to our Father in heaven, both have reached the end of their endurance and both see death as a sweet release from their suffering. The moment they give up hope of divine remedy, You send them deliverance. The Angel Raphael was sent to their aid and end all their earthly troubles by giving each what they longed for most. 

Scripture tells us:

This time the prayer of each of them found favor before the glory of God, and Raphael was sent to bring remedy to them both. He was to take the white spots from the eyes of Tobit so that he might see God’s light with his own eyes; and he was to give Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, as bride to Tobias son of Tobit, and to rid her of Asmodeus, that worst of demons. For it was to Tobias before all other suitors that she belonged by right. Tobit was coming back from the courtyard into the house at the same moment as Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, was coming down from the upper room.

From this little gem in the Bible, the Book of Tobit, we learn the power of prayer and God's everlasting faithfulness. Thank You, Lord, Eternal Word of our Father, for the treasures that are packed in Your Holy Word.  It is sweet manna for the hungry, the thirsty, the wayfarer, the sick, the afflicted in mind, body, and spirit - it is powerful healing for all that ails the children of God. Thank You.

PSALM 25:2-9 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

All who truly hunger and thirst to see You, to hear You, to touch You with all the fervor of their heart, mind, and soul will be granted their desire. You will not turn away, nor will You disappoint those whose whole being yearns for You. 

Even as we walk through this valley of tears we have Your Holy Spirit guiding us on the path we are to take that leads to life. Thank You, Beloved, for saving us and throwing wide open the gates of heaven to all who wish to enter through You. 

Thank You for making it so easy to raise heart, mind, and soul to You at all times. I only have to look around me to experience Your immense love for me. I have only to contemplate my life from the moment I was conceived to know that You have always surrounded me with Your loving presence.

Keep me safe in Your love all the days of my life and take my hand at the end, and lead me home to nestle in Your Sacred Heart forever.

MARK 12:18-27 ©

My Soul's Belove,d

The saddest thing in all the world is too often instead of soaring eagle's wings by lifting up our thoughts to the divine and eternal things we allow ourselves to become trapped and mired in the things of the world and the flesh. We have become so accustomed, so trained, so wired to the way the world thinks, we are so immersed in the mindless entertainment the world offers, we ape mediocre, shallow celebrities and are not only ignorant but indifferent to the more excellent way that You have shown us.

When we think about the things of heaven we can neither measure nor fathom its transcendence for the world offers nothing we can compare it with. The Sadducees were unable to understand the resurrection because their thinking was superficial and carnal.

Your response to them and to all who have grappled with the idea of heaven and the things pertaining to it is one that perfects answers every seeker of the truth: ‘Is not the reason why you go wrong, that you understand neither the scriptures nor the power of God?'

The world, the flesh, and the devil can teach us nothing about God, this is why the Father sent You into the world to show us the Way, to reveal the Truth, and to be the source of Life that sustains us and leads us to the Father's house. And when the days of our life come to a close, when the temporal will cease, all who believe will be raised to life and will be like the angels in heaven. The world only offers death but faith in You gives life, a superabundance of supernatural life. As You have revealed to the Sadducees, 'He is God, not of the dead, but of the living. You are very much mistaken.’