DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS
The seed is the word of God, Christ the sower;
whoever finds this seed will remain forever.
EXODUS 16:1-5,9-15 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
All too often we behave like the people of God in the wilderness. When all is well we are full of praise, joy, and thanksgiving, but let a little trouble come into our lives and we forget every past blessing, every miracle, every joy both great and small, and above all we forget how much You love us and we begin to complain, whine, grumble, and question what You are doing in our lives. We allow sadness to smother us and rob us of our joy in the knowledge that we are sons and daughters of God.
The Israelites had suffered greatly when they were enslaved and but as soon as the journey to freedom became difficult they wished to return to slavery because although they suffered greatly their bellies were full. We are no different. We tend to look at the past through rose-tinted glasses when the reality is that they were times of great trial and suffering.
You hear the cry of Your people and You rained down bread from heaven. You gave them as much as they needed and they ate until they were satisfied. You provided meat as well so they would cease to complain and instead be grateful to You for providing them sustenance for the journey.
Here we see a foreshadowing of the Eucharist - the Bread of Angels is Your Flesh given for the life of the world. It is our food for the journey from this life to eternity.
PSALM 78:18-19,23-28 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
Once we resolve to give up the sins that have bound and enslaved us all the old cravings arise periodically to tempt us and lead us away from the path leading to life. They are presented to us as most appealing, satisfying, and we beguile ourselves into believing that we were happy being shackled to our sins. The fight to exercise discipline, and self-control until we gained mastery is sometimes so hard that we want to give up and give in.
The desert, the wilderness, is a battleground but we are not alone. You provide all we need to fight and to win the victory over our weaknesses which are legion. Thank You for faith, grace, the Sacraments, and above all Your loving Presence helping us every step of the way.
You are Jehovah Jirah, providing us Your own Body and Blood to sustain us until we reach the end of our earthly journey. Keep us faithful and trusting to the end.
MATTHEW 13:1-9 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
At various times in my life, the good seed of Your Word has fallen on a heart that has received it carelessly and so was lost when I was faced and gave into temptations. At other times I was so hard of heart that Your Word did not stand a chance of taking root in its hostile ground. There were other times after hearing a great sermon or reading a good book I was momentarily excited and received Your Word with many good resolutions to amend my ways but other base attractions grabbed my interest and I let Your Word be lost in the clamor of other, lesser loves. I am most grateful my Lord, that You did not give up but continued to sow relentlessly the Good Seed of Your Word all through my life until, after many tears, trials, sorrows, heartaches, and heartbreaks, my heart was finally ready to receive it and with Your help and grace now begins to yield fruit for Your glory and honor.
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