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.