THURSDAY OF THE FOURTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The kingdom of God is close at hand:
repent and believe the Good News. MK 1:15

GENESIS 44:18-21,23-29,45:1-5 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

If we, like Joseph, could see in all things even the most tragic the hand of God who directs our way and is able to draw good from evil, our hearts will never be troubled, anxious, or afraid. 

Judah made an impassioned plea to Joseph revealing to him their father's passionate love for their youngest brother, Benjamin who was one of two sons borne to him through the wife he loved so dearly, Rachel. He revealed how greatly their father had suffered at the loss of Joseph whom he believed was dead.  Joseph was so moved that he could not contain his feelings any longer and wept aloud. He revealed himself to his brothers and hastened to assure them not to be alarmed. He was overjoyed that his father was still alive and he readily and gladly forgave the terrible sin his brothers had committed against him out of jealousy. So generous was he that he went a step further and said they ought not to grieve or condemn themselves too harshly for what they had done to him because God turned it all to good and to their advantage. 

If we forgive our enemies from the heart we will recognize how You can turn every evil act against us into good and into a blessing.

PSALM 105:16-21 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

After the sin of our first parents, destruction, decay, and death entered our world. All life was snuffed out and darkness and gloom were all around us until God sent You into the world to pay the price for our sins, the wages of which is death.

The famine that the world suffered until You came into it was the absence of the presence of God in the world He created with such love and joy. And when the time of our salvation had come, He sent You, His only Son to become the means by which You would bear all our sins, all our sorrows, all our humiliations, and by Your death, on the Cross, a glorious exchange would be made - we would receive Your life while You took upon Yourself our death.

You became a slave so we might be set free and become children of God. You drank the cup of suffering to its bitter dregs, You bore the crown of thorns, and the weight of the Cross, Your permitted Yourself to be nailed to it, and struck down in order to lift up the fallen human race.

These are the wonders You have done for us and as long as we meditate on these glorious things we will always have a song on our lips and joy in our hearts. May we offer the Father always and everywhere praise, gratitude, thanksgiving, and worship for setting You high above every power, every principality, every authority, every rule, and giving You a Name that is above every other. Yours is the Name that saves and brings blessing on all who speak it in faith, hope, and love. 

MATTHEW 10:7-15 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You came to save the world and to build the Kingdom of God among us. This Kingdom is not a material one but one that is spiritual and its foundation and cornerstone are self-emptying love. The instructions You gave the Twelve was to take nothing with them except the very bare essentials. No money, no change of clothes, or extra pair of sandals and no bag. All they needed was the Word of God and faith. They had to trust providence to provide for anything they might need - food to eat and a place to sleep after a day of preaching, healing, and teaching. All this there we to do without charge.

They received a power that was priceless for You gave them Your own power and authority over all the realms of this world - spiritual, natural, material, and temporal. You gave them clear instructions on how they were to approach the people in a particular town or village and how to respond to those who welcomed them and those who rejected them.

We believe Your Word is eternal, we believe that the power that the Apostles received and handed down to their successors is the same power that they themselves received from You and if this is truly what we, the Church believes then there is no room for excuses why we do not see Your power made manifest in the mighty miracles performed by the successors of the Apostles in the curing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing lepers, and casting out devils. There is a remedy for all the world's ills in the Sacraments of the Church for the good of all God's children.

We are warned today that the more we tiptoe around and soft-peddle the truth the greater are the chances of the world being judged and punished more harshly than the punishment suffered by the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.