TUESDAY OF THE TWENTY-SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

A great prophet has appeared among us;
God has visited his people. LK 7:16

1 THESSALONIANS 5:1-6, 9-11 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We look at the world and it is hard not to become disheartened at the evil that abounds everywhere. It is easy to allow our hope to dim, our faith to droop, and our spirits to become despondent. This is why we must never shift our gaze from You. We must train our whole being to focus on You, when we do, no matter how ferociously the storm rages around us, we will not drown. 

St. Paul reminds us that no one knows when the Day of the Lord will come but while we wait for Your triumphant return, we must keep the faith. We have heard the Good News, we believe it, we live it, we are members of Your Body and children of the light. Let us remain vigilant against the forces of evil that are fighting a ferocious battle to claim victims for hell. Satan does not rest but prowls the earth seek to steal souls created by God and redeemed by You to live forever in heaven. 

You have won our salvation. We are free with the freedom You won for us on the Cross. You tasted our death in order that we may enter into Your life through the power of Your Resurrection. God our Father created us for life which we receive in abundance through Your Spirit. This is indeed Good News. This is the hope we cling to. We are saved.  

PSALM 27:1,4,13-14 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

God's children are unafraid for they walk in Your light and truth. We have God for our Father, You as our Brother, Friend, and Spouse, we have the Holy Spirit who dwells in us and empowers us to live holy lives, pleasing to God.

We walk with God and this is why we walk with our heads held high in the face of evil. Nothing can harm us for God has appointed His angels to watch over and protect us.

How blessed we are that God, our Lord, is always in our midst. You make Your dwelling place not only in the sanctuary of our hearts but in the tabernacles in our churches and chapels all around the world. You remain hidden in a little white Host, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity and we consume You in the Holy Eucharist and become one with You. We behold the Living God and You fill us with the sweetness of Your Word and Your abiding Presence. 

For us, heaven has already begun on earth for we are united with You even now just as closely as we will be united in heaven only then we will behold You as You are, we will become like You. We know that our Father has destined us to see Your glory and to share in it eternally. This is our hope, we hold firmly to it, and it is this hope that encourages us and helps us to walk in the light.

LUKE 4:31-37 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The Church continues to speak with Your voice, Your authority, and we, her children, must be guided by her teaching and her doctrines because they are entrusted to her by You. If we live as children of the world we will be swayed by every new fad and fashion promoted and imposed by a godless world, and if we succumb we our lives will be joyless and sterile. 

The man in today's Gospel is possessed by an unclean spirit. Our world abounds with evil spirits seeking the ruin of souls. St. Peter tells us that Satan is like a raging beast on the prowl, he never rests but roams tirelessly seeking souls to devour. He knows that he is no match for You but he has the advantage because of our willful, woeful ignorance of You and of the Good News.

Satan's days of destruction will finally come to an end but until it does he will strive to steal as many souls from heaven as he can. To us is entrusted the power to labor in Your vineyard and to bring in the great harvest of souls whom God has destined for heaven. Grant us the courage to put this authority into action so the world may believe that You are indeed the Son of God who has redeemed the world and be saved.

MONDAY OF THE TWENTY-SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The Lord has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives. LK 4:18

1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-18 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

St. Paul reminds us that death is not the end and that all who believe in You, have faith in You, are members of Your Body, and belong to the family of God for we are His adopted children and co-heirs with You to the Kingdom of Heaven, will live forever. This is why when we grieve for those whom we have loved well and who are now dead we ought not to grieve as those who have no hope. Our hope is in You, our joy is You, our eternal reward is You.

This is certain, those who love You, those who spend their lives actively seeking Your will and doing it, those who live their lives with their gaze fixed on heaven will not fear death for it is only the doorway to eternal bliss with You and with those we loved on earth. 

PSALM 96:1,3-5,11-13 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The Good News is not something we ought to lock up in our hearts and delight in it in secret, rather it must compel us to open our mouths and proclaim it to the world so all can share in the wondrous love of God who so loved the world that He sent His only Son into it to pay the price for our redemption.

All who know You must have a song on our lips as joy wells and overflows from our hearts for heaven is ours, we have hope of eternal life and bliss because God was prepared to pay the ultimate price for our salvation.  

Truly, my Lord and my God, You are worthy of praise, love, worship, and adoration with every breath I breathe, every word I speak, every thought I have, every act I do. Not only are You our God and ruler of the heavens and the earth but You stoop low over Your unworthy creatures whose sole desire is to possess You and be possessed by You.

Yes, we live in a sinful world that is growing ever dark with evil but the Light has not gone out and never will. The love of God has and will prevail and one day when time shall be no more You will come in glory and:

With justice he (You) will rule the world,
he (You)will judge the peoples with his (Your) truth.

LUKE 4:16-30 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The extraordinary prophecy of Isaiah is the most astounding and most thrilling news that finds its complete fulfillment in You. You are God's Covenant of love with us and this is the Good News that You came to announce to the world:

'The spirit of the Lord has been given to me,
for he has anointed me.
He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives
and to the blind new sight,
to set the downtrodden free,
to proclaim the Lord’s year of favor.'

When we hear this proclamation through the millennia, from one generation to the next, many will believe in You and will exult in this joyful news and many will reject it too because they prefer to cling stubbornly to their own human thinking. Unless we put on the mind of God we will be unable to accept that our God is a God of love. A love so extraordinary, so unfathomable, changeless, who loves us not for what we do but for who we are - His children, and hence we do not need to do anything to earn it. 

Those who allow their prejudices, their preconceived ideas, their ignorance, their inability to go beyond their narrow experiences, and are unwilling to unlock the mental cages imprisoning them by their own narrow way of thinking are prepared to destroy that which could liberate them and fill them with ecstasy. They are not prepared to allow themselves to believe what their eyes see and their ears hear because the past has them in shackles. To these, You say in no uncertain terms that they will never experience the power of God in their lives and they will be the poorer for it. 

To this day unbelievers do their best to discredit You just as the unbelieving Jews in Your hometown did. They thought they knew You and this prevented them from recognizing that God was in their midst. They thought so little You, Mary, and Joseph who lived so simply and humbly that they simply could not believe that You, a carpenter's son, could be the Messiah. And when they heard what You had to say they became so enraged they were prepared to kill You. 'But You slipped through the crowd and walked away.' 

TWENTY SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

By his own choice the Father made us his children
by the message of the truth,
so that we should be a sort of first-fruits
of all that he created. JM 1:18

DEUTERONOMY 4:1-2,6-8 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Historically there have been great civilizations in some parts of the world - the people were not so barbaric, they had great laws, the people of that land lived in relative peace, they were leagues ahead of people in other, far away lands. But they needed more to fill the spiritual vacuum within them. The need to worship someone or something greater than themselves led them to worship the elements and things they did not understand then. They made gods of wood, gold, silver, and others materials and they bowed to them and worshipped them. 

But all that was to change - God chose the smallest, the least, as is God's wont, and from among them chose one man, Abraham, and from then on began a revelation, and a revolution of perfect, incomprehensible, incomparable love. Had God not done this, Beloved, no matter what advances humankind makes we would live in a world without light as can be seen in no many places where God is rejected.

It is through Israel that the world was given a new world-view which is in fact a view of God's Kingdom. Through Abraham, and his descendants He began the work of preparing the world for the Kingdom of God on earth. And when the time had come He sent You, His Son, into the world to make that Kingdom visible. As the new Adam, the Church was formed from Your pierced side on Calvary and entrusted to establish Your Kingdom on earth. 

The hour will come when every non-believer will exclaim that “No other people is as wise and prudent as this great nation.” And indeed, what great nation is there that has its gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call to him? And what great nation is there that has laws and customs to match this whole Law that I put before you today?’

PSALM 15:2-5 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

This Psalm reveals the characteristics of true disciples who are
called by Your Name and walk in Your Presence. To these is promised the reward of eternal joy in the Kingdom of God.

If we desire to live forever in perfect ecstasy then this is how every man, woman, and child must live: 

Lord, who shall dwell on your holy mountain?

He who walks without fault;
he who acts with justice
and speaks the truth from his heart;
he who does not slander with his tongue.

He who does no wrong to his brother,

who casts no slur on his neighbour,
who holds the godless in disdain,
but honours those who fear the Lord.

He who keeps his pledge, come what may;

who takes no interest on a loan
and accepts no bribes against the innocent.
Such a man will stand firm forever.

JAMES 1:17-18,21-22,27 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Every baptized Catholic must weep at the wondrous bounty of God for this wonderful privilege of being Catholic, and this ought to be especially true of cradle Catholics. From Your pierced side God formed the Church - to her You gave Your Mother to be her Mother as well, it is a home for both sinner and saint. She is imperfect but through Your merits, as St. James so wonderfully elucidates in his letter, that to her the Father of all light has given her all that is good, all that is perfect, all that is true. She is eternal because her Bridegroom is eternal. In her, there is no shadow of alteration or change, because her Spouse is changeless. And because of You, we are now His children, co-heirs with You to the Kingdom. You are His firstborn and we are the first fruits of Your salvific work through Your life, passion, death, and resurrection.

We are the fruit of Your Word and we must accept and submit to it always if we are to save our souls. We must resolve to be like You and we must strive all the days of our life, with the help of Your Holy Spirit, to embrace Your will for our lives in all things. We are commanded not just to listen to the Word but to conform our lives to it else we will be deceiving ourselves. St. James also tells us what true religion is: Pure, unspoilt religion, in the eyes of God our Father is this: coming to the help of orphans and widows when they need it, and keeping oneself uncontaminated by the world.

MARK 7:1-8,14-15,21-23 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

So many of us who are Your disciples are often hypercritical of
those who are different from us. We are clueless about who they are, their background, their culture, and we judge them superficially and condemn them and are just as deserving of the tongue-lashing You gave to the Pharisees and scribes. I am guilty for I too, on occasion, have judged unfairly those who do not fit my preconceived ideas.

There are traditions that vary from nation to nation, city to city, town to town, village to village, and even from one home to the next and too many of us are focused on these differences rather than what unites us and makes us family. Let us who are guilty take a moment to reflect on Your response to them. Also, may we not be found be guilty of rejecting Apostolic Tradition which is unchanging and confuse it with mere human traditions.

You put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions.’ He called the people to him again and said, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that goes into a man from outside can make him unclean; it is the things that come out of a man that make him unclean. For it is from within, from men’s hearts, that evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within and make a man unclean.’

MEMORIAL OF ST. AUGUSTINE, BISHOP & DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH - 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

1 THESSALONIANS 4:9-11 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You have taught us to love one another because we are children of God and He has commanded us to love each other. All are deserving of our love there are no exceptions.

The world tempts us to treat people differently. We are beguiled into believing that it is ok to retaliate unkindly to those who have treated us badly, taken advantage of us, used us, and have done wrong by us, and it is extraordinarily easy to buy into this lie. When in doubt it is better to err on the side of love, to forgive, let the matter rest with You, and to live in peace with our conscience. 

PSALM 98:1, 7-9 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Often we encounter those who by virtue of their vocation are
invited by You to live a life that sets them apart from the world. They are in the world but are called by You in a very special way not to be of it. But this is not always the case and it is very easy to become disappointed, disgruntled, and downright furious when by their actions they prove to be no less money-grubbing than those in the world who are without conscience. 

Sadly, they have forgotten their divine calling and are unaware of the fact that they are a scandal to those who have experienced injustice at their hands. In moments like these, we must remember that You are God and we must trust in the might of Your right hand, Your holy arm, that has brought salvation to the world and we must entrust all who have done wrong by us to You.  

What does it matter my Lord, if through all the ups and downs of our lives we can see that You have always been with us, never once forsaken us, and have found even better solutions to our difficulties brought about by the injustice of those we have had every reason to trust?

Let us be at peace and rejoice that we are Your people the sheep of Your flock. We belong to You and we can trust You for You are the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and You will judge us all with fairness.

MATTHEW 25:14-30 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

As members of Your Body, baptized into Your Church, we each have received special graces through the Sacraments that You instituted. They are the wellspring of rich graces that flow perennially from the Holy Spirit to us. We are all given talents each according to our ability. Some received five, others two, and still others one. It matters not so much how many talents we have received from You, but what is of grave importance is what we do with what we have received.

Today's parable reminds us that as disciples we are accountable to You and we will be called to give a strict account of our lives when we stand before You to be judged at the end of our lives.

To which category of Your servants do I belong and what have I done with my life thus far? There is a clear hierarchy here, as there always is in Your Church, some are given greater responsibilities as overseers and shepherds of Your flock, but what about us who have received two and one talent? 

Many of us do only the minimal - we just barely stay within the lines - we are nominal Catholics who have not been worthy guardians of the wealth God has bestowed upon and for which we will have to account.

Thank You, Lord, for this timely reminder today that those to whom much is given much is expected. Catholics have received the fullness of truth, beauty, and goodness in the Church and we will be called to give a strict account of how we have squandered the wealth that is lavished on us. If we have been like the man who on receiving one talent went off, dug a hold in the ground and hid his master's money, we will hear You say to us, “You wicked and lazy servant! So you knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered? Well then, you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return, I would have recovered my capital with interest.' If on the other hand, we have been honest stewards of Your riches like the servants who received five and two talents we will hear You say, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have shown you can be faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater; come and join in your master’s happiness.”

Let us work sincerely for all our todays will eventually come to an end and we will stand face to face before You to be judged, then we will not be ashamed and cast away from Your Presence.

MEMORIAL OF ST. MONICA - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Stay awake, praying at all times
for the strength to stand with confidence
before the Son of Man. LK 21:36

1 THESSALONIANS 4:1-8 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Our whole lives are a struggle with the flesh and its desires. The things of the flesh lead to decay and death it is the Spirit that gives lives. If we have not given the Holy Spirit authority over our lives, if we do not conform to His will, if we grieve the Holy Spirit who dwells in us then we will be lost forever and the darkness in us will be dark indeed.

We are created to love and glorify God in You, His Son, who ransomed us with Your life and make us heirs of the Kingdom and adopted children of the Father. We must have nothing to do with the world and the things of the world rather we must keep our gaze fixed on You and allow Your Holy Spirit to guide us moment by moment on the narrow way that leads to salvation. 

PSALM 97:1-2,5-6,10-12 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

It is easy to become downcast when we allow the cares of the world to oppress our souls but we were created for joy in the Holy Spirit. The Good News is the reason for our joy and no matter what life throws at us, we must lean on You, accept Your yoke and learn from You who are meek and humble of heart. 

Like Peter, we will be able to weather the storm and walk on water. As long as he kept his eyes on You he was safe it was only when he took his gaze of You and focused on the wind, the waves, and the storm that he began to sink. But like him, if we cry out, "Lord, save me!" You will stretch out Your hands and deliver us from evil and death. 

You are my Lord and my God and although my fears will constantly threaten to overwhelm me as long as I live I know that if I trust in Your Word and call on You every time I begin to sink You will hasten to help me.

May I rejoice always for the King is my Brother, my Friend, my Bridegroom. You are God and nothing is impossible for You because You encompass me in Your love and fill me with Your Holy Spirit.

THURSDAY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Stay awake and stand ready,
because you do not know the hour
when the Son of Man is coming. MT 24:42, 44

1 THESSALONIANS 3:7-13 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

All the sufferings we endure because we are Your disciples are as nothing if we spent our lives sowing the seed of the Gospel. There is no greater joy and comfort than knowing that the lives of those to whom we have brought the Good News are transformed by the Holy Spirit because they have accepted You as their Lord and Savior. St. Paul's sufferings were greatly eased because he was comforted in the knowledge that the Thessalonians held firmly to their faith in You. 

Our mission in life is to evangelize we have no other. This is why we were born, why we were created, to know You, to love You, to serve You, and to be happy with You in this life and eternally in the life to come - this is possible only when we live a life dedicated to sharing the Good News of Your love to everyone we encounter each day.

As disciples, we must pray earnestly that everyone who knows You continues to grow strong in the faith, that no one falls by the wayside. We are to encourage one another constantly and strengthen one another by our love.

St. Paul never ceased praying for all the people in all the churches he established. He had a father's heart for them - we must be like him because we are one body in You. If all the members of Your Body are healthy we will hasten the coming of Your Kingdom on earth.

PSALM 90:3-4,12-14,17 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Every today will eventually end and we will stand before You to give an account of how we have spent this wonderful life that is God's gift to us. My body will decay but my soul's destiny will be determined by love - love for God and love for neighbor. No one knows when this day will come but we are invited to receive each new day as an opportunity to do better today than we have done yesterday.  Thank You for filling us anew each day with Your love and grace for without it we would fail miserably.

Thank You O Word of Life, for becoming Emmanuel, God with us. Thank You for not leaving us orphans. Thank You that in You we are made the adopted children of the Father. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit who makes His home in us and helps us to grow in Your image and likeness.

Keep us be ever aware that this moment is all we have and to live it as if it were our last. Thank You for Your favor that rests upon us O Lord and may we never take Your love for granted. May all the work that You desire us to do be fruitful and abound to Your glory now and forever.

MATTHEW 24:42-51 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

So many of Your servants, me included, spend many hours each day pursuing frivolities and engaging in useless pastimes. The time allotted to us will go by in the twinkling of an eye and too late we will regret that every wasted hour would have been better spent in prayer, in good reading, in listening to good preachers breaking Your Word to us, in praise, worship, and adoration and in doing each task carefully rather than in haste and badly.

You have warned us in no uncertain terms about what will happen to the lazy and careless disciple who has used and abused the gift of faith and every other gift for our own selfish purposes and not for the express purpose for which they were given to us and that is to go out and make disciples for Your Kingdom.    

Your Word today tells us unambiguously to, ‘Stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming.' If we did, then we would be ready, like the good and faithful servant who performs every duty impeccably, unmindful and unafraid of the Master's return for when He does return, no matter the hour, the servant will be ready and waiting to welcome Him. 

You also assure us of the great reward that will be bestowed on those who have kept their eyes on the goal unflinchingly and has been a faithful and committed disciple. Happy that servant if his master’s arrival finds him at this employment. I tell you solemnly, he will place him over everything he owns. 

But we are also warned of the fate of the dishonest, self-serving, servant, The master will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.’ Grant O Lord that we remain faithful to You always not out of fear but for love.

WEDNESDAY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Whenever anyone obeys what Christ has said,
God’s love comes to perfection in him. 1 JN 2:5

1THESSALONIANS 2:9-13

My Soul's Beloved,

St. Paul's transformation after his encounter with You, the risen Lord, was so powerful that nothing mattered to him except to make disciples for You. The Good News is not a fairy tale, it is not a myth, nor is it the stuff of legends, it is the Truth that reveals the unfathomable love of God for us. 

A disciple is one who is prepared to follow You wherever You lead. A disciple is one who allows the Word to find a home in the heart and gives the Word the freedom to imbue our every thought, word, and deed with the power of divine love. When our heart lingers on the wonder of the incarnation of the Word of God, and the impaling of the Word of God on the Tree of Life, we will be transformed by the God of love who desires that all His children become like His Son, His first-born. 

Nothing mattered to Paul except to be led by the Holy Spirit to preach the Good News anywhere and everywhere the Spirit led him. The problem with us Christians today and has been for a while now is that we have not encountered You, the Living God. This is why we find it so difficult to discipline our flesh and why we are easy prey to the transient pleasures of the world.

Generations of milksop Christians who preferred the things of the world to the things of heaven have begotten and raised sons and daughters unworthy of Name. Unless the Holy Spirit raises disciples like Paul and the Apostles the Enemy will continue to find easy prey among nominal and ignorant Christians who have never encountered You. Unless we who call ourselves Your disciples are prepared to lay down our lives for the sake of the Gospel evil will have its day.

PSALM 139:7-12 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

I exult in Your intimate knowledge of me. I am yours and weak and unworthy as I am, frail and easily tempted I may be, I fall a hundred times a day, yet You never weary of encouraging me, raising me up, washing me clean, and helping me start over again.

I do not wish to flee from You no matter how far I have fallen from grace. I do not wish to hide from You. I cannot hide the truth of my unworthiness for You know everything. I am a sinner. I acknowledge my sins. Even as I confess them, repent of them, and resolve to never sin again, I fall. Thank You for the rich graces You make available to me in the Sacraments.

Thank You for never leaving my side and for keeping Your gaze always on me. Let me never be ashamed of running to You no matter how gravely and often I have sinned. Keep me safe in Your love and for eternal life with You. 

MATTHEW 23:27-32 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The endless cycle of violence against Your disciples, those who keep Your Law of love towards God and neighbor, and who will not compromise with the evil promoted by the powerful continues to this day.

The world hates good people, those who live the beatitudes, those who promote justice, unity, peace, and equity for the last, the least, the forgotten, the marginalized. Those who are used and abused and then pushed beyond the peripheries so they remain unseen.

Evil men and women hate those who do good because it shows them up for the hypocrites they are and they will not rest until they are silenced but You continue to raise modern-day saints who live the Gospel and shed Your light and love as they work tirelessly to bring hope and comfort to those whom the world renders invisible. Let us not be afraid to do all the good we can while we can.

FEAST OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW, APOSTLE - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Rabbi, you are the Son of God,
you are the King of Israel. JN 1:49

REVELATION 21:9-14 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We were created for heaven. We are called to be members of Your Body, the Church, Your Bride. After the fall we were lost and the gates of heaven were shut. We had no hope of possessing the life that God our Father intended us to enjoy eternally. It was impossible for us to attain the heights of holiness required without first breaching the separation between God and His creatures. Since we severed the relationship with God only we could restore it, however, there was no possible way for a sinner to repair the damage we had done. The only way of healing the breach was for someone like us but sinless who could do it. But among humans, there was no one and we were doomed to eternal death until God decided to take matters in hand and He did. He sent You into the world, His only Son of God as Man, in order to intervene, restore, repair, and heal the chasm created by our sins.

You, as the perfect Man, showed us that it is possible to strive daily, to the best of our ability, to be holy and perfect. Only God is all holy and all perfect, but we must make it our life's work to strive to be like our Father in heaven. Nothing is more pleasing to Him and You show us the way back to our Father's house.

In order to be saved, we must be baptized into Your Body, we must become members of the Church You established, for outside the Church there is no salvation. It is through the Church You founded on the 12 Apostles with Peter holding the Keys to the Kingdom of God that we are granted a share in Your glory. 

‘Come here and I will show you the bride that the Lamb has married.’ In the spirit, he took me to the top of an enormous high mountain and showed me Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God out of heaven. The city walls stood on twelve foundation stones, each one of which bore the name of one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

PSALM 145:10-13a,17-18 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You said that all who do the will of Your Father are Your family - and if we are Your family then we are under a divine mandate to evangelize the world. Our lives must be a hymn of praise and thanksgiving and we are to open our mouths and speak of the blessings that You shower on those who are called by Your Name.

What are these immense blessings - You speak of them in the Beatitudes. When our lives conform to the blueprint that You gave us, one that is anathema to the world, then the Kingdom of Heaven will be established on earth.

We will be called to a private and a public judgment and only those whose lives were conformed to You and those who endeavored to image You will receive the joy of living in God's presence eternally. 

We cannot become like You without help, without grace, without the Sacraments. And You remain with us and help us every step of the way.

JOHN 1:45-51 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Our Father in heaven did not intend for us to stumble blindly and helplessly in our search for the Truth but from the very beginning, when He laid the foundations of the earth, He planned for us to have a close and personal relationship with us as our Father, our Dad, our Abba.

God created us and gave us the most wonderful gift of free will. In freely choosing to yield our will to Yours in all things and embracing Your will for our lives we are able to enter the Kingdom of God and take the place prepared for us from all eternity.

When Philip tells Nathanael that He has found the One mentioned by all the prophets in Scripture, the Messiah, the Redeemer, the Savior, he is skeptical and his prejudices are clearly evident from his response to his friend when he tells him that You are the son of Joseph from Nazareth. ‘From Nazareth? Can anything good come from that place?’ And Philip's response must be the response of every member of Your Body, ‘Come and see’ And once we have encountered You, Beloved, we must also respond as Nathanael did, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.’ 

We believe that You are God who willingly became one like us in all things save sin, entered into our death in order that we may be raised to life in Your glorious Resurrection. And one day, just as You have promised, we will see heaven laid open and above the Son of Man, the angels of God ascending and descending. 

MONDAY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me. JN 10:27

1 THESSALONIANS 1:1-5,8-10 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

This life is only the doorway through which we enter our final destination. How we live on earth today determines where we will spend forever. St. Paul and his compansions praise the Thessalonians for their receptiveness to the Good News and the metanoia that resulted in their lives after hearing the Word of God preached to them. The faith has spread from Thessalonika to the surrounding regions because of their dynamic testimony of the Gospel by their lives.

This is how it should be with every Christian who is called by Your Name. Unless our actions reflect our words in every way and every single time we will only be making empty sounds, like crashing gongs or clashing cymbals. Authentic Christian living has the power to preach without words. As salt and light of the world, we can transform the place we live in into God's Kingdom on earth. 

St. Paul put it well when he says that our faith must be recognized by our actions, love must be the catalyst for our work in establishing God's Kingdom on earth as we persevere through hope in You, our Lord and Savior.

PSALM 149:1-6,9 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

When we focus on the things of the world we lose sight of the joy that is Your gift to all who believe in You, hope in You, and place all their trust in You. The Good News has the power to fill us with unending songs of praise and joy because You are our Lord and our King and we are Your people, called by Your Name, we belong to You and unworthy though we are You love us with an everlasting love and You delight in us.

The childlike in spirit, the poor, the humble, those who experience authentic joy in You are able, like David, to dance and sing delightedly in Your Presence. It is You who raise us from the dungheap of our sinful lives and crown us with Your love.

Keep me ever mindful of the great privilege of being called by You, of being anointed by the Holy Spirit, and of belonging to the family of God through the gift of faith received at my baptism. Grant, O Lord, that I may be always grateful for this wondrous gift of faith in You. 

MATTHEW 23:13-22 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

If there is one thing that You have little patience for it is hypocrites. You will no tolerate them no matter when they are seated in the highest echelons of power.

It is good for all of us to pay special attention to what You say to the scribes and Pharisees who twist the law to serve their own interests rather than God. You are especially harsh to those who after converting someone make him more deserving of hell than heaven by their bad example.

Faith is Your free gift to us may we not use it to distort the truth to further our own selfish interests.

MEMORIAL OF ST. BERNARD, ABBOT & DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Teach me your paths, my God,
make me walk in your truth. PS 24:4, 5

RUTH 1:1,3-6,14-16,22 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Some of the choices we make have the power to shape not only the course of our lives for good or ill but affects the lives of those who come after us for generations. So it was with Ruth. Her decision to return with her Jewish mother-in-law Naomi, to Bethlehem after she was widowed and who encouraged her to return to her own people, chose to remain with her and to live with her. Her words are immortalized in sacred scripture and have provided not on the Jewish people but Christendom as well as food for reflection.

‘Do not press me to leave you and to turn back from your company, for

‘wherever you go, I will go,
wherever you live, I will live.
Your people shall be my people,
and your God, my God.’

Ruth's loyalty and her love for Naomi were rewarded and her name, although she was a foreigner and a woman, earned her a place among Your illustrious and not so illustrious ancestors. Ruth was the great-grandmother of David who would become the most celebrated King of Israel. Prophets foretold that the Messiah would be a descendant of the royal line of David.

PSALM 146:5-10 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

None of us has to muddle along and find the way to salvation by accident because the blueprint to eternal life is given to all who desire it. 

Not only have You left Your imprint in our soul so we hunger and thirst for You all our lives, but we also see You reflected in Your Word in Sacred Scripture both Old and New, as well as in creation. 

To be happy all we need is a childlike trust in You no matter what the circumstances in our lives. The good, the bad, the ugly, the horrific, the disastrous, the heartrendingly sorrowful and painful, all have the power to teach us that in all things You are with us. And if we draw close to You and rest in You, peace and tranquility will enter our soul.

You never promised Your disciples an easy life but You did promise to remain with us, to provide all the help we need, to flood us with grace through the Sacraments You instituted, to be our food and drink, to shoulder our crosses with us, and to be yoked to us so our burden will be lightened. 

Thank You for each of Your promises. The more we are familiar with Your word the easier it will be for us to draw comfort from them in times of tribulation. Suffering will come to us all but we can bear it with courage if we know Your Word and place our faith in it. 

MATTHEW 22:34-40 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Ruth loved and esteemed her mother-in-law so much that she was prepared to leave all that was familiar to her and go with Naomi and embrace her God and her people.

Love comes from God and no one is able to love if they have not first experienced Your love from those around them. Love alone has the power to save us and the world. Teach us to love as You have loved us - self-sacrificial love that gladly and willingly lays down one's life generously for the beloved.

THURSDAY OF THE TWENTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord. PS 95:8

JUDGES 11:29-39 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

All our blessings and all our successes are Your gifts to us. If we submit to Your will in all things then we will accept all the good things that we receive with grace and humility and thank and praise You for Your goodness to us. 

We ought never to make foolish vows - they are unnecessary and You do not wish us to. All You ask of us is a grateful, thankful, heart that never ceases to give glory to God from whom all blessings flow.

Jephthah made a foolish vow without considering the repercussions in case things did not go as he envisioned they would and not only he but his daughter too paid the price for it. However, we must admire the girl for her willingness to submit to the oath her father made despite the cost to her.

Grant us the gift of wisdom O Lord that we may always do what is right and pleasing to You in all things. Amen.

PSALM 40:5,7-10 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You said that doing Your Father's will was food and drink to You and so it ought to be with us who are Your disciples. To actively seek Your will in all things and do it is the key to a life of peace and joy.

When we exchange our will for Yours when we say as You did no matter what the cost, 'Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done" peace, like a river, will flow from us and we can rest in tranquility knowing that all things work for good for those who love You.

In this godless world where idols abound as does idolatry, keep us safe from such worthless pastimes that will cost us our immortal soul. As long as we seek Your will, Lord, we will be kept safe from the danger of losing our life to eternal death.  

Beloved, we were created to know You, to love You, and to spread the Good News to the ends of the earth - grant us the grace to do so all the days of our life so we and all who believe in You may live with You forever.

MATTHEW 22:1-14 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

God created all things for You and above all creatures, He desires that every man, woman, and child, love You and worship You. We deserved death but You became one like us and You redeemed us - we are irrevocably Yours because we owe our lives to You. This is why we are all invited to Your wedding banquet. The Father desires that we all take our place around the table and celebrate the union of the Bridegroom and His Bride.

However, many reject You. They prefer to go about their own business rather than be busy with the business of God and of eternal salvation. There are severe consequences to those who reject the Father's invitation. God desires that we have a share in Your glory, and in Your Kingdom, He desires our eternal happiness, but if we turn our back to Him, we can be certain that our death will be eternal.

Thank You for inviting us to belong to the Church You founded. Thank You for the graces that flow from the Sacraments that enable us to live holy lives that are pleasing to You. Thank You that our names are written in the palms of Your hands and that we are bound for heaven because You have saved us. 

Help us to keep our baptismal garments free from the stain of sin so we can live with You eternally.