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.