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

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

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

1 TIMOTHY 1:1-2,12-14 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

All of us with Paul can confess that but for the mercy of God, we would all be deserving of eternal death and this is the reason for our hope. The mercy of God was won for us on the Cross. Every sinner who approached You with a contrite and repentant heart, no matter how grievously he or she has sinned, will be washed whiter than snow. You deny no one grace, mercy, and pardon and the opportunity to begin over and over again no matter how often we fall.

St. Paul's hatred of Christians stemmed from his sincere belief that he was serving God. So many people of different faiths are convinced they are doing the same when they persecute Your Church in particular and Christianity in general. The vitriol directed against the Church by the world is often unjustified and more often than not diabolic. But if every member of Your Body, like Paul, after encountering You, begins to live a transformed life just as he did, it would hasten the coming of the Kingdom of God. Thank You for Your grace and Your love, Beloved, that saves us. Thank You for the mission entrusted to us to make You known and loved so all may be saved.

PSALM 16:1-2,5,7-8,11 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

When I am anxious, troubled, and afraid when I lose my serenity, I thank You for Your constant assurance that You are with me, my Lord, and my God.

Your Sacred Word and the Psalms bring comfort and healing. They soothe my soul and restore peace once again. Your Word is Life and Truth. Your Word is powerful medicine and never fails to minister to me in every situation meeting every need with exactly what is needed to help me ride the storm without fear for You are with me. 

Thank You for the place that is my own in Your Sacred Heart. It is my refuge in the storm and there I can stay until the wind dies down and the waves are calm once again. 

Thank You for the Holy Eucharist, nothing in all the world can unite me more closely to You than eating Your Flesh, drinking Your Blood, and becoming part of You in truth, if only for a while. 

Thank You for the streams of living grace that flood my soul each time I encounter You in the Sacraments. Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit to whom I can turn to anytime for wisdom and guidance because He makes His dwelling in me. 

Thank You, Lord, for loving me, thank You for the grace to respond to Your love - it is all I need, I shall not be afraid for You are my life and my joy.

LUKE 6:39-42 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

In today's Gospel passage in the Liturgy of the Word, You speak of the absurdity of one blind man leading another as both are certain to fall headlong into a pit. You wanted Your disciples to pay close attention to everything You taught them, everything You did, so they could be like You. Only if they did so would they in turn make disciples worthy of You.  

Hypocrites who say one thing and do the opposite will in turn make disciples exactly like themselves, unworthy. A good disciple is one who is another Christ. If we wish to lead others to You we must first be aware of our own glaring shortcomings and correct them before pointing out faults in others. 

You remind the disciples that a fully trained disciple is not superior to his teacher but is exactly like him. A bad teacher cannot make good disciples. Let us take the time to become aware of our own flaws, faults, and failings lay them out honestly and unflinchingly before You, and ask You for help to overcome them. When we strive to be like You we can hope to make good disciples for You.