MEMORIAL OF ST. JEROME, PRIEST & DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

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

NEHEMIAH 8:1-12 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

As we read the passage selected for the first reading in the Liturgy of the Holy Mass, we see glimpses of how the people of Israel worshipped and how the Church has been faithful in leading the people of God, born of her, in worship. 

At every celebration of the Holy Mass, the priest or the deacon reads God's word. The assembly that gathered then to worship consisted of men, women and children old enough to understand this is also the requirement in Your Church. We stand at the reading of the Holy Gospel, for it is God's word that is spoken to us and we stand up to listen in reverence to what God is saying to us.

Accordingly Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, consisting of men, women, and children old enough to understand. 

All the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.

It was Ezra, the scribe and priest who read from the Book of the Law of God and after reading it we are told that he translated, interpreted what he had read, and gave the sense, so the people understood what was read. This is why we need the Magisterium, which is God's gift to the Church. With the aid of the Holy Spirit, she teaches the people of God with authority and without error. 

The Magisterium, which is the sole authority in the Church, together with the priests and deacons,  with one heart and mind instruct God's people so there is neither division nor dissension in what the faithful believe. 

We thank You for instituting the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Through the hands of Your anointed, we enter Holy Mother Church, are nourished by her, healed through her, and strengthened by her as she ministers to us until the end of our life's journey.

The people of Israel rejoiced and feasted because they were of one heart and mind having understood the meaning of what was proclaimed to them. So it is in the Church, she is inerrant in her teaching and preaching of the incarnate, eternal Word.

PSALM 19:8-11 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

If the words of the psalmist in the verses chosen for our
reflection today was true of every Christian presently alive the Kingdom of God would be in our midst.

The Law of God is the Word of God which enriches the soul and gives life. It is only the childlike in heart and spirit that understand without the wisdom of God to direct our steps we would be lost.

Your Word O Lord is true - and by its light, the path we are to take is revealed. Those who walk in the light of Your Word will never walk in darkness or confusion. 

Only those who know You can tremble in ecstasy knowing that they are loved by God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and would be afraid to do anything that would displease this most ardent and tender Lover, who for some unfathomable reason loves us with a love beyond our finite imagination's grasp. 

Without Your Law of Love etched on our minds, our hearts, and our souls, our lives would be tedious, boring, tiresome, dull, bland, grey, but because we have encountered the Living Word we now understand that nothing can ever give us greater delight than obeying the Law of God who became incarnate for love's sake: 

They are more to be desired than gold,
than the purest of gold
and sweeter are they than honey,
than honey from the comb.

LUKE 10:1-12 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The witness of two carries weight. One alone will find the journey endless, grow weak, will falter, and fall by the wayside. Two side by side strengthen each other, encourage and help each other and where two or more are gathered in Your Name, You are present. 

You appointed seventy-two and sent them in pairs. You desired that they have companionship, bear each other's burden, strengthen each other, and correct each other if one was in error, and together they would vouch for each other by their testimony and their shared experiences.

You also show us how a disciple should go out on a mission. The less he carries that could weigh him down the better. We ought to be aware of the mission field, there are a large number of souls hungry for the Word of God, and there is an absolute necessity of giving it to them without watering down the truth to make it more palatable. There will be pitfalls and dangers on the way for the devil never sleeps. We must carry only that which is necessary for the mission nothing more or less. We give only that which we have received from You and from Your Church and trust the Holy Spirit to supply all we need and all that is lacking in us. 

We need not be concerned about those who reject us for in rejecting the Word the reject You and we can leave them to Your mercy and judgment. May our lives be fruitful as we help to build God's Kingdom in our midst. 

FEAST OF STS. MICHAEL, GABRIEL, AND RAPHAEL, ARCHANGELS - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Give thanks to the Lord, all his hosts,
his servants who do his will. PS 102:21

DANIEL 7:9-10,13-14 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The prophet Daniel was given a vision of heaven and he tries his best to describe what is clearly beyond our ability to grasp and quite indescribable.

He describes the Eternal Father, the Eternal Word, His Son, and the all-powerful Love which is the Holy Spirit who is generated by the aspiration of love between Father and Son. 

God is seated on His throne, He who dwells in unapproachable light - as the prophet describes it, 

His throne was a blaze of flames,
its wheels were a burning fire.
A stream of fire poured out,
issuing from his presence.

Countless angels surround His throne worshipping Him who is worthy of worship. In his vision in which the prophet describes the end of the age, he beheld You, the Son of Man, the Lamb of God, the unalterable, living Word of the Father who, in uttering the Word, caused all things to be. You gave Yourself up without hesitation in obedience to the will of Your Father and in turn, the Father now honors You, raises You high, gives You dominion, power, majesty, confers on You an eternal kingship and lordship whether in heaven, on earth, or under the earth. To You is conferred eternal sovereignty and every angel and every human being, as well as all that lives and breathes, must fall down on their faces before You and worship You as our Lord and our God.

PSALM 138:1-5 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Our salvation comes from You who by the power of the Word
of God all created came to exist. We are created to worship You in this life and to worship You in eternity. This is our glorious vocation in this life and in the life to come to live in Your Presence and together with all the angels and saints offer You joyful and exultant praise, worship, and thanksgiving for redeeming us.

At every Eucharistic celebration, we are given a foretaste of the heavenly banquet, we begin on earth that which will find its fulfillment at the wedding banquet as the Bridegroom claims His Bride and the spiritual nuptials will be consummated in eternal spiritual ecstasy.  

Thank You, Beloved, for all the inexhaustible plenitude of graces You make available through the Sacraments. With the divine aid of the Holy Spirit, we will reach home in safety. 

Thank You for the hope that I have in You - this hope will be realized when I am united with You in eternity. Thank You for Your faithfulness and love that encourage me never to give up no matter how many times a day I fail, stumble, and fall. You are never beyond the sound of my voice and hence You always rush to my aid when I call Your Name. You give me strength for the journey. Thank You.

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

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The Son of Man came to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many. MK 10:45

ZECHARIAH 8:20-23 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The prophecy that Zechariah made to the Jews in his day is fulfilled in ours. God stooped low, very low over sinful humanity and chose one man Abraham and through him, God revealed Himself. The greatest love story of all time is that God so loved the world that He gave us His only Son so whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

The Jews could have been the ones who after having accepted You as the Messiah, would have seen the fulfillment of God's promises through Israel as God intended. However, they, having rejected You, it is the pagans, the Gentiles, who were privileged to hear the Good News, believe it, and receive the great commission to go and make disciples of all nations.

Today, many in every nation who were once lost have heard the Good News and say to Your disciples, “We want to go with you, since we have learnt that God is with you.” 

PSALM 87 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Emmanuel! God with us! How blessed we are to know You, to love You, to worship You, to belong to Your Church built on the holy mountain. All who enter her gates taste and see how good You are. For You are the Bread of Life and all who belong to Holy Mother Church drink deep from Your Cup of Salvation 

The harlotry in the world today is mind-boggling. Whole nations are given over to every conceivable depravity. But You assure us that these nations will stream into the bosom of the Church, recognize that she is their Mother and they are her children, born of water and the Holy Spirit. 

Death and mourning seem our lot but we believe Your Word which assures us that the victory is won. You have triumphed. The head of Satan is crushed and You will lead all God's children dancing and singing to their home in the Church You founded on the Apostles, Peter the rock, and You, the Christ as its Cornerstone.  God is always with us.

LUKE 9:51-56 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

In the last few days, the Gospel passages taken from Luke are a stern and stark reminder to us that God excludes no one. We are the ones that sow seeds of dissension, division, and discord among Christians. We are one Body in You. The baptized are members of Your Body. You came to bring unity and to give us Your peace but we are so caught up with our own ridiculous agendas and programs, and so hellbent on focusing on the things that separate us we forget the one truth that we ought to preach, teach, promote, and live - Love, self-emptying, disinterested Love.

You are on Your way to Jerusalem. You are aware of the terrible fate that awaits You there - rejection, excruciating suffering, torment, and death. Yet You do not flinch for this is why You came into the world - to redeem it by paying the price with Your life. You send messengers ahead of You and when they report back to You that they had met with rejection James and John wanted You to authorize them to destroy the village by calling down fire from heaven.  Instead, You rebuke them and they took a different route through another village.

If we Christians were as gentle as You many more would be attracted to You. We ought never to condemn or despise those who reject You but leave all who refuse to believe in You to Your tender mercy and compassion.

MEMORIAL OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL, PRIEST - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The Son of Man came to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many. MK 1-45

ZECHARIAH 8:1-8 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Every time Your people were taken into exile they suffered greatly and each time the prophets gave them immense hope of returning home with joy, of rebuilding the Temple, and the assurance of God's enduring presence in their midst.

Today, in our age, we too are in exile, but even though our places of worship have been closed for so long we know that You have not abandoned us. You are always in our midst. Your Holy Spirit abides in us. We receive as our own the message of the prophet Zechariah. 

Never are we more aware of the diversity among nations, the differing cultures, languages, customs, and habits, the different faiths, and ways of worship but one thing is clear the world actively promotes a universal culture where God is pushed to the peripheries. Those with wealth and power exercise their authority to silence the voices of reason and wisdom. Life in our times has become expendable as governments make arbitrary decisions about which lives have value and which do not. 

In these dark days, we embrace each one of Your promises for we know that Your Word is true. Our weeping and mourning will pass, joy will be ours in the morning.

‘The Lord of Hosts says this.
Now I am going to save my people
from the countries of the East
and from the countries of the West.
I will bring them back
to live inside Jerusalem.
They shall be my people
and I will be their God
in faithfulness and integrity.’

PSALM 102:16-21,29,22-23 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We yearn from the day when all who are called by Your Name live lives worthy of their calling. We are children of God, Temples of the Holy Spirit, and members of Your Body, but our lives do not reflect our high calling.

May the days of our unfaithfulness come to an end. May the whole world recall the Father's goodness, His infinite love, and His breathtaking plan of salvation that gave us such a wonderful and gracious Savior and Redeemer. May people of every nation stream into Your House and find in the bosom of Holy Mother Church all the treasures within her that God desires to heap on His people.

LUKE 9:46-50 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Our sinful natures and the taint of original sin are constantly apparent in our broken lives. We constantly jostle each other vying for the first place, the place of prominence, the greater honors rather than follow Your example - You came to serve and to give Your life as a ransom for all.

The disciples too argued among themselves about which of them was the greatest knowing their thoughts You responded by demonstrating to them how God perceives greatness by drawing a child to Your side saying, ‘Anyone who welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For the least among you all, that is the one who is great.’ It is a lesson we will all be wise to learn and follow.

Another common problem among us is to hem ourselves within our own circle and look with suspicion at outsiders. We think we are superior, have a monopoly on God and that we belong to a higher category of believers. Not true You say, God bestows His graces on whoever He pleases and often does. Oftentimes He does this to let us know that He excludes no one. Your grace is at work in the whole world and in all of humanity and each time we become aware of it we must praise You for as You rightly point out if anyone is preaching, teaching, and working miracles in Your Name they will not be a threat to those who belong to You. 

TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Your word is truth, O Lord:
consecrate us in the truth. JN 17:17

NUMBERS 11:25-29 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You give Your Holy Spirit on who You will. It is Your gift to all who believe in You, hope in You, trust You - the Holy Spirit helps us to live in a way that is pleasing to God. The wisdom of the Holy Spirit is necessary if we are to navigate the pitfalls of this world that is currently under the dominion of Satan.

But You are always with us - just as God descended in the Cloud so are You present with us in the Holy Eucharist. You give Your Holy Spirit to all who desire it and they are empowered to speak the truth in love so all who hear the truth may believe and be saved.

We ought to rejoice as Moses did when anyone receives a special anointing of the Spirit in order to carry out a specific mission that is given to them instead of reacting as Joshua did. God gives freely to all and it is up to us to open our hearts, our minds, and our whole beings to receive His grace and His Holy Spirit.  

PSALM 19:8,10,12-14 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The Law of the Lord which is the Eternal Word of His love must be etched on our hearts only then can we receive every good and perfect gift that God desires to give us. God's wisdom is necessary if we are to navigate the obstacles that Satan places in our path. Without the help of the Spirit, we will stumble, fall, and be lost.

But if we are familiar with Your Word O Lord, if we have memorized it, if it is ever in our minds and on our lips then we will have an abiding reverence and awe of You. We will tremble lest we do anything to displease and wound You the Heart that loves us so much. Your Word O Lord is Truth and when we abide by the Truth we will abide in You and in Your love.

In the mirror of Your Word, we will be able to see our failings our faults, our sins, our offenses and beg Your pardon, and be cleansed of our sins. You are the righteous judge and You alone can forgive our sins and restore our souls.

Let me never presume on Your love, mercy, and forgiveness rather let me see myself as I am, a sinner in constant need of help, to beg for it, and be confident that You will give me all I ask to live a life of grace. Thank You, Beloved, that I can call out to You at anytime night or day, and You will come to my aid, You will hear my prayers, You will answer me, and You will restore completely my relationship with You and with the family of God.

JAMES 5:1-6 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We are living in a world of excess and many who are wealthy, some obscenely so, and powerful are so blinded by its heady power they are oblivious of the fact that that they are mortal and a day of reckoning will come, as it must to us all.

James, an Apostle, addresses this letter to anyone who is guilty of the sin of callous indifference to those whom they have exploited. More often than not they have amassed their wealth by exploiting the less fortunate who have toiled for them some even at the cost of their lives, for a pittance that barely keeps body and soul together. St. James does not pull punches but tells them in no uncertain terms the fate that awaits all who are indifferent to the cries of others.

Anyone who is guilty of harming the least of God's little ones will stand before the righteous Judge and will have to make full restitution until the last penny is paid.

MARK 9:38-43,45,47-48 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You came to make us one in You and with the Father but it is the work of Satan to divide and exploit. Many who know You are not in full communion with Your Body which is the Church You founded but they do proclaim You and the Good News. They too have a role to play in preaching You and Your message of salvation and hence their voices must not be stifled. You have the power to draw all to Yourself, in Your time. Let us help and encourage one another always.

You also issue a terrible warning to those who are a stumbling block and a hindrance to the preaching and the teaching of the Good News. This is the case in almost all the governments of the world today. They want to stifle Your Word of Truth and while they may prosper and gloat with the power they wield, they will only be unimpeded for a time. Before long they will be judged and will face Your inexorable wrath and just punishment of hell where the fire does not go out, the worms do not die and the living death sentence is eternal.

SATURDAY OF THE TWENTY-FIFTH IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed life through the Good News. 2 TIM 1:10

ZECHARIAH 2:5-9,14-15 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Your Church, Your bride, is hinted at and spoken of by the prophets - we see her dimly through the writings of the prophets who speak of Jerusalem, the holy city, and how God Himself will surround her and protect her.

Jerusalem and the Temple came crumbling down but Your Temple in the New Jerusalem is eternal. The words that the angel spoke are fulfilled in the Church You founded, for You are her Bridegroom.

 “Jerusalem is to remain unwalled, because of the great number of men and cattle there will be in her. But I – it is the Lord who speaks – I will be a wall of fire for her all round her, and I will be her glory in the midst of her.”

You came to us to dwell among us as Emmanuel, and the people of every nation will stream to her, and together we will rejoice and exult at so glorious a Lord, King, Messiah, Savior, and Beloved. She is Yours because Your favor rests with her forever. 

JEREMIAH 31:10-12,13 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

These beautiful verses from the prophet give us hope just as they gave hope to God's people long, long ago. The world is in chaos, the babble of voices has reached a crescendo and wisdom has fled. Evil seems to be having its day as we see sin abound and violence, hate, and discord increase. In these uncertain times, fear rules, and Your Voice is drowned out in the cacophony of harsh sounds blaring around us and feeding into our fears and anxieties. 

In these trying times, the words of Jeremiah are like soothing balm to our souls. You are our Good Shepherd who will guard us. You will seek those who are lost and You will bring safely them back to the fold. 

You paid the ransom and delivered all who have been enslaved and they will return to the House of the Lord with great rejoicing, blessing the Name of the Lord with praise, worship, and thanksgiving. 

You alone have the power to turn our mourning into joy because Your love for us is everlasting. 

LUKE 9:43-45 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

In this world, we are exiles because our home is with You in the Kingdom of God. You never lost sight of Your mission for a moment. You did not allow Yourself to get caught up in the transient adulation of those who admired You for the wondrous signs You performed. They understood that You had power and that God was with You for no one could do what You were doing and not be from God. For Your disciples, though it was a different matter, they enjoyed basking in Your reflected glory so You told them what was to come, and what to expect in time.  

‘For your part, you must have these words constantly in your mind: “The Son of Man is going to be handed over into the power of men.”’ Luke, the evangelist tells us, 'But they did not understand him when he said this; it was hidden from them so that they should not see the meaning of it, and they were afraid to ask him about what he had just said.' How often we too wish to flee from sorrow, from grief, from heartache and heartbreak, from suffering. We desire life to be an endless summer of sunshine but that is not the way of a disciple. Today we are reminded that we must live in the shadow of the Cross, embrace it, and keep our gaze fixed on the Kingdom of God. We were not created for the world but for heaven, and it is a prize that is won only when we are prepared to follow You from Gethsamane, to Golgotha, to the tomb before we can receive a share in the glory of Your resurrection.

FRIDAY OF THE TWENTY-FIFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The Son of Man came to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many. MK 10:45

HAGGAI 1:15-2:9 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The human spirit has a tendency to look at the glory days of the past and yearn for what has gone - but today Your Word reminds us that that is no way to live and if we do we will stagnate and die. The Holy Spirit is at work in us constantly making all things new.

The prophet Haggai comforted the people of God who were downcast because the Temple was destroyed and he assured them that God was at work to give them something new, something not seen before, something that would be far greater and more splendid than anything that existed in the past. 'To work!' the prophet said to the people because God was with them. 

God is always with us and although He does not need our help He lovingly desires our participation in His glorious plans for us. Every promise, every prophecy that He made in the past is fulfilled to perfection in You. All through salvation history God has said to His people, 'I am with you – it is the Lord of Hosts who speaks – and my spirit remains among you. Do not be afraid!' 

You know how fearful we are, Beloved, how easily we lose our peace, how readily we believe that we are swamped by our problems, there is no help in sight and we will never know joy and peace again. But this is a lie. You are Emmanuel, God with us and You ask us today to raise our eyes to You and to look at the marvels God has done for His people.

God's Kingdom is in our midst. God's Temple is set high on Mt Zion, and people from every nation, language, and culture stream to her and find their home in her. God's Temple is Your Living Body and the Holy Spirit dwells in fullness in her. The glory of the new Temple surpasses the old in every way for it is built on living stones. In this House of God is the entrance to the Kingdom of God - here is perfect peace and perfect rest for the God of Peace is its Cornerstone.

PSALM 43:1-4 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Life without hope is death to the human spirit. God's gift to His people is faith, hope, and love. Our hope is born of our faith, and our love of God and neighbor is the fruit of faith and hope.  

Thank You, Beloved, for the gift of faith in You and in Your Eternal Word. We believe and because we believe we will not be shaken no matter how terrifyingly the storm rages around us. There are times when we are overcome by the terrors of the night and the arrows that fly by day, but if we cling to our faith in You, hope will rekindle and we will withstand the onslaught of the Enemy.

You never withdraw Your presence from us but we withdraw from You when we sin or when we allow our fears to so overwhelm us we lose sight of You. We need You, Lord, we are defenseless against the Enemy. You alone can rescue and save us. 

Your Word is Truth and we can walk the Way with courage when we keep our steps from straying away from its powerful Light. Keep us safe in the shelter of Your holy Temple, the place where You dwell in fullness so we will be fed on the Manna that comes from heaven and receive divine life and grace.

May we never cease to praise and thank You for the gift of Your Church and for the safety she provides all the children who are born of her for she has Your guarantee that the gates of hell will never prevail against her.

LUKE 9:18-22 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Today's Gospel passage for our reflection tells us that You were praying alone in the presence of Your disciples - this teaches us that we can pray anytime, anywhere, whether we are alone or with others. Each time we close ourselves to the world and raise our hearts and minds to You in that infinity of the spirit within us we are united more intimately with you than those around us whom we can see, hear, and touch.

You then pose this question to the disciples, 'Who do the crowds say I am?' A disciple is one who, having encountered You personally, lives a radically transformed life. To merely be one among the crowd however is to be woefully ignorant of You.  Only a disciple who lives with You can be familiar with Your teaching, Your Word, Your way of living, and strives to imitate You will be able to respond to Your question directed specifically to us,  ‘But you, who do you say I am?’ as Peter did and say, 'You are the Christ of God.’ 

It was then that You made known Your mission, ‘The Son of Man is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day.’ This is the Good News that brings salvation to the whole world. First, there must be the Cross, there must be a living sacrifice, that makes atonement for the sins of the world, only then can we have the glory of the resurrection in which God graciously gives us all a share.

WEDENSDAY OF THE TWENTY-FIFTH 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

EZRA 9:5-9 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

In the current age in which we live we make the prayer of Ezra our own. We come before You in our nothingness, we fall on our faces before You and we acknowledge that we have sinned grievously against You and against each other. We deserve all the sufferings we are enduring right now. Sin has so darkened our lives they have blotted out Your Presence in us. Our despair increases as our iniquities increase. 

All of us from the greatest to the least are guilty. We are wretched and powerless to rid ourselves of the weight of sins of our collective concupiscence, our world is blanketed in black despair because we refuse to acknowledge our guilt, confess our sins, and beg for mercy and pardon. 

But there is always hope, as even Ezra discovered in his days because there is always a remnant that remains faithful. They can be found everywhere and they are the ones who keep us ever before Your Face by their pleadings, their tears, their sighs, and their sufferings. Because of the faithfulness of a few many will be saved for they will move Your heart with their pleadings and with sighs too deep for words You will have mercy and deliver us from our willful slavery to the flesh, the world, and the devil.

Open our eyes O Lord, deliver us, and help us who believe to labor ceaselessly to build Your Kingdom on earth.

TOBIT 13:2,4,6-8 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

If we are punished it is because we have willfully broken the law. If we are destroyed it is because we have courted and flirted with evil in every despicable way. If we are consigned to eternal hellfire then it is because we have done everything in our power to be consigned to it. 

But You are a God of great mercy and compassion. Your punishment of sinners will not last forever. You will hear the prayers of Your faithful who plead for forgiveness for their own sins and the sins of the world. You are a God who saves and takes no delight in the destruction of sinners. 

You came into the world to seek and save the lost and You will leave the 99 behind in order to find the one that has wandered away from the fold.

While no one can escape Your judgment O Lord, we can also plead for and receive Your mercy. You came to save not to condemn.

Sinners, come back to him,

do what is right before him.
Who knows but he will receive you with pity?

Have pity on us, Beloved, and restore to us the joy of living that we have lost because we have sinned and we will praise You all the days that are allotted to us in this life and eternally in the life to come.

LUKE 9:1-6 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The cure to all the ills in the world is right here in our midst. In the first verse of today's Gospel text, we are told that You called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases, You who called them and appointed them sent them out into the world to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.

Holy Mother Church is rooted and grounded in You, she possesses the fullness of the Holy Spirit, and the power of God and the glory of God are found in her. All that the world is required to do is to stream into her bosom, be embraced by her, and find in her the peace that You came to give the world. 

The Church on her part needs to rely on You completely in order to effectively release the power and the glory of the Holy Spirit. Your instructions are clear. Those in the highest echelons of power and authority in the Church are reminded of Your instructions: ‘Take nothing for the journey: neither staff, nor haversack, nor bread, nor money; and let none of you take a spare tunic.'  

Material possessions weigh us down, make us anxious, inveigle us into desiring more of the world and less of You. We, and more especially Your anointed, need to be stripped of everything that hinders us from living the Beatitudes. Only when we imitate You will we be able to proclaim the Good News accompanied with miracles and healings as You did so many can come to know You, believe in You and be saved.

FEAST OF ST. MATTHEW, APOSTLE & EVANGELIST - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

We praise you, O God,
we acknowledge you to be the Lord.
The glorious company of the apostles praise you, O Lord. Te Deum

EPHESIANS 4:1-7,11-13 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We are prisoners only in so far as we are shackled by chains of love and constrained by our love for You. If this is true of us then our vocation in this life is to conform our lives to the life of grace that we received at our baptism. A Christian is worthy of the name only when we are 'alter Christus' when we live together in charity when we are completely selfless, always gentle, and patient with each other. When we are united as one in the peace of the Holy Spirit. 

The greatest tragedy that plagues Your Body is the disunity among Christians. It is  Satan's modus operandi to divide and conquer and Christians refuse to see that they are mere pawns in his diabolic game. Clueless, willfully blind, and woefully conceited and stubborn they lack the humility to concede to Eternal Truth.  

St. Paul speaks succinctly and unequivocally when he says, 'There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all.'

Every Christian has his or her role to play in building up Your Body and although we are all brothers and sisters each is assigned a task that God has assigned to us and given us the necessary grace to carry it out. To some, his gift was that they should be apostles; to some, prophets; to some, evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers. There is a clear hierarchy. It is God's way whether we agree or not and we must follow it as saints who together build up Your Body which is the Catholic Church. She is the light on the hill and she beckons all God's children to ascend to her, discover that in her God dwells in fullness, so:

'In this way we are all to come to unity in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God, until we become the perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself.'

This is God's way whether we agree or not and we must obey and follow if we desire to share in Your glory.

PSALM 19:2-5 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

How blessed I am that God created me and that I am His child and because I believe in His Word, I am co-heir with You to the Kingdom of God.

Even as God breathed forth His Eternal Word that lay the foundations of the earth and created the first man and the first woman He knew that they would misuse the exquisite gift of free will to choose to do expressly that which He forbade them to do. Thus they lost God's friendship - but not eternally, for God already had a preposterously unbelievable plan to restore what our first parents willfully and tragically lost forever. 

Thank You, beloved Father, for leaving an indelible impression of Your love for us in the world. You pierced time and space to send Your only Son to come into the world in order that we could touch the Face of God in Him. Despite the fact that You knew we would smite Him and kill Him, nevertheless, He was to be the means by which He would pay, with His life, the price for our redemption. 

Today, we see signs of God's love everywhere in the sky, in the beauty of nature, in living things, in all the works of His hands, and above all in the crown of His creation, redeemed humanity. 

The Eternal Word of the Father is the endless lovesong of the Holy Spirit that draws us all back into the Father's bosom. No speech, no word, no voice is heard yet it encompasses the whole earth to the utmost bounds of the world, telling us ceaselessly that God loves us. 

MATTHEW 9:9-13 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Each of us is Matthew sitting by the customs house and involved, obsessed, and consumed by the things of the world. We are unhappy, unfulfilled, and we have this great inner aching void that we try to fill with things that decay and perish; ignorant, unaware, or perhaps deliberately closed to the one Truth that alone can fill and satisfy. 

Today the Church celebrates the feast of Matthew the tax collector, the public sinner, whom You deliberately sought out and invited to follow You. He did and by accepting Your invitation he was transformed in You. You chose him to be an Apostle, one of the 12, who are the foundation stones of the Church You built on Peter the Rock and with You as its Cornerstone. Matthew left behind a sad, lonely life to embrace and live the greatest of all adventures, discipleship with You. 

Today, You extend the same invitation to everyone, and no one is left out for as You told the Pharisees who publicly pointed out Matthew's shortcomings, 'It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick.' It will do us all who self-righteously condemn everyone to hell to pay heed to Your words today, Go and learn the meaning of the words: 'What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. And indeed I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.’

Saints Andrew Kim Taegon, Priest, and Paul Chong Hasang, and their Companions, Martyrs - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Your light must shine in the sight of men,
so that, seeing your good works,
they may give the praise to your Father in heaven. MT 5:16

EZRA 1:1-6 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

No opposition no matter how strong can prevail against the mighty Spirit of God. The king of Persia, moved by the Spirit of God, sent out a decree that all God's people who were exiled were to be commanded to return to their own land to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem. He commanded that his people were to provide the exiles with all that they needed to do so. 

No opposition, no leader, army, no nation, is so powerful that it can withstand the power of the Holy Spirit of God. It is God who changes the course of history as we have seen over and over again. Many are the plans of the wicked but the will and the plan of the Lord our God bring them all to naught.  

So let us not waste time worrying about what people can do to us rather let us know that it is God whom we must obey, love, and serve. It is God alone who saves. No hand raised against God's anointed will succeed. 

PSALM 126 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

It is God who delivers, it is God who saves, it is God who liberates. No matter how strong the chains that hold us enslaved our God breaks the shackles and sets us free. 

Our sins, our bad habits, our lack of self-discipline and will, our inability to resist our weaknesses and to strengthen our will to choose to do that which is good for our souls and pleasing to You enslaves us and makes us wretched. 

But You will set us free if we turn to You and ask You to help us. The greatest sinners can become the greatest sins because You do not give us on us. You can turn the most wretched, evil, person to one who is on fire with the Holy Spirit and is empowered to set the world ablaze with Your love. Truly the love of God is marvelous and You can do great things for us that leave the world astonished at the power of God.

Even if the world were to throw us in the deepest, darkest dungeon, we would still have a song in our heart, praise on our lips, and overflowing joy for with You we are free to soar in spirit to the highest heavens and be united with You in love and peace.

All who receive and gladly carry out Your command in season and out of season to spread the Gospel will shine like stars for not all who are called are receptive to the invitation to make disciples of all nations. Those who do will receive a share in Your glory.

LUKE 8:16-18 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

At my baptism, the Holy Spirit came into my soul and set it ablaze with the love of God. He has lit the lamp of my heart and it is up to me to put it on a lampstand so all who see its light can walk without stumbling. Light dispels darkness. Light reveals that which is hidden. Light gives those who desire it the confidence to walk without the fear of falling down or taking the wrong path.

Every one of Your disciples, without any exceptions, is called to be the light of the world and if for any reason I am ashamed to shine the Light of Truth that is kindled within me by the Holy Spirit, then I will be called to account for my timidity, my cowardice, my lack of faith. When I willfully renounce the gifts that I have been given even the little that I possess will be taken away from me.    

'So take care how you hear; for anyone who has will be given more; from anyone who has not, even what he thinks he has will be taken away.’