TUESDAY OF THE THIRTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children. MT 11:25

ROMANS 8:18-25 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

It is God who ordained that all suffering in this life is endurable when we have hope in the glorious destiny that awaits us. Eye has not seen, nor has ear heard, nor can we imagine the things that God has prepared for His sons and daughters who love Him. But the whole of creation groans as it waits for that day when You will return in glory and make all things new.

Some day, we will be set free from our bodies that are subject to sickness, decay, sin, and death and we will receive a new body and a new spirit in You - one that will never die. All that lives, all that breathes, wait in joyful and hopeful expectation of the Day of the Lord. While we wait, we have Your own Holy Spirit living in us. He helps us every moment of every day to be steadfast in hope as we walk the narrow Way of Truth each day that leads us to everlasting Life.

PSALM 126 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

For as long as we live in the world we will have our share of trouble, sorrow, heartache, and heartbreak. In this valley of tears, we will suffer infirmities of body, mind, and spirit. But as we sojourn from this life to the next, we know that we are on the way to perfect freedom and eternal joy in the City of God, to Mt. Zion, to the place where God dwells.

This is the reason for our hope and our joy in the midst of our tribulations. Weeping lingers through the night of our exile here on earth but we have the glorious hope of waking up to a joyful morning.

Thank You, Father, for the hope that we have because of Jesus, Your Son, who took upon Himself our death in order that we may receive His Life. Thank You, Beloved, for the gift of Your Holy Spirit, without Him we could never make it safely from this life to the next.

LUKE 13:18-21 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Faith is Your gift to us, it is the mustard seed that You left with Your Apostles and Your disciples. They planted it, it took root, and it has grown into a tree. The branches are like mighty arms spread wide open to welcome all who wish to find shelter and build their home in it.

In the midst of an evil and depraved world, Your Church is an oasis of peace, goodness, beauty, and holiness, where Truth makes its home. Even as the works of Satan abound in the world, Your Church is the Ark that will take all who are in it to safe harbor. 

You also compare the Kingdom of God with yeast. Each of Your faithful disciples is like yeast that spreads Your fragrance and together, as we all work towards making You known and loved, adored and worshipped, to the ends of the earth, the whole world will raise holy hands and hearts to God and our prayers of praise and thanksgiving will rise up to the highest heavens as a pleasing fragrance to God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The yeast of the Good News will spread through the whole world.

MONDAY OF THE THIRTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

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

ROMANS 8:12-17 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

St. Paul reminds us today that we have received God's own Spirit and He makes His dwelling place in us. When our spirit is yielded to the Spirit of God in us then we will always choose to live holy lives pleasing to You. We will be able to choose wisely so there is no conflict within us and we will be docile to His promptings.  

You did not leave us orphans, You taught us to call God, Abba, Father, and so we are because we are grafted to You. You raise us up with You to the City where You dwell. 

The Spirit of God is opposed to the spirit of the world and when our spirit is influenced by it our whole lives are in disarray. This is why You said that You had to go only then could You spend the Holy Spirit The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us empowers us to know who awe are, He affirms and confirms us in our relationship with the Father, through You.  

 The Spirit himself and our spirit bear united witness that we are children of God. And if we are children we are heirs as well: heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, sharing his sufferings so as to share his glory. This is our true identity and may we never forget it.

PSALM 68:2,4,6-7,20-21 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Now, in these present times that we live in which is the age of the Holy Spirit, we are able to see the fulfillment of God's entire plan of salvation, the work of our redemption wrought for us on the Cross. Every prophecy, every promise, every wondrous assurance from God is thrown into stark relief when we see it in the light of the Gospels.

Announcing the birth of God's Son to the Blessed Virgin  and inviting her to collaborate with Him, the Angel Gabriel said to her, 'You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.' Long before this blessed could take place the psalmist tells us exactly what You will accomplish for all God's people in this psalm.

You will triumph and all Your enemies will be crushed. Evil will flee, and all who are called by Your Name will exult, dance, sing, and rejoice at the mighty deeds of our God who has saved us. 

Over and over in the Old Testament God commands us to look after the orphan and the widow and not to deny their rights for God Himself is their defender and protector. And we see in the Gospels over and over again Your preferential love for them. May we too never fail them.

Father of the orphan, defender of the widow,

such is God in his holy place.
God gives the lonely a home to live in;
he leads the prisoners forth into freedom.

This God of ours is a God who saves.

Beloved, thank You once again for every one of the glorious Sacraments You instituted. Thank You most especially for the Sacrament of the Eucharist. How blessed and priviledged we are to dine at the Eucharistic table and exchange all that we are for all of You. There is no greater act of praise, prayer, thanksgiving and worship than the Holy Mass where all God's people bless You from the rising of the sun to its setting. Yours O Lord, is a love that saves.

May the Lord be blessed day after day.
He bears our burdens, God our saviour.
This God of ours is a God who saves.
The Lord our God holds the keys of death.

LUKE 13:10-17 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Too often we are as bigoted, narrow minded, and spiritually stunted like the Pharisees, the Scribes, and the religious officials. We are puffed up with pride, full of sanctimonious self-righteousness we insist that the cold, unbending, letter of the law be adhered to without exception in every instance. Today's Gospel teaches us to see people, especially those that are suffering, as God sees them.

Even as You are teaching the people in the synagogue on the sabbath day, Your attention is drawn to a woman there. You were aware that she had been a cripple for eighteen years. We are also told that her infirmity was caused by a spirit that had taken possession of her and and made her weak, bent double, and unable to stand upright. You called her to come to You and said, ‘Woman, you are rid of your infirmity’ You spoke the Word and laid Your hands on her. She was healed instantly and promptly began to glorify God. One would have imagined that great joy would have erupted among the people who witnessed the miracle and they too along with the synagogue officical would have joined her in giving glory to God.

Sadly, that was not the case, he actually became indignant that the sabbath law was broken. One can almost imagine him screeching queroulously in misplaced outrage, ‘There are six days when work is to be done. Come and be healed on one of those days and not on the sabbath.’ 

Your turned to him pinning him with the full blaze of Your righteous indignation and addressing him You said, ‘Hypocrites! Is there one of you who does not untie his ox or his donkey from the manger on the sabbath and take it out for watering?' You shamed them into acknowledging that people in need, the suffering, the marginalized, the forgotten, those on the peripheries are never forgotten by God, and we too ought never to forget them. Every one of us is invited today to do our part in untying the bonds of those who are enslaved in any way and set them free. 

THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

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

JEREMIAH 31:7-9 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Over and over again God's chosen people were attacked and taken into captivity, the Temple was destroyed, were exiled, and suffered for years. But each time, God brought them back home and they returned with great hope, great joy, and great plans to rebuild their nation and their Temple. In every instance, they gave God the glory for their liberation for they knew that it was their faithlessness that caused their captivity in the first place. Often it was generations later that they returned back to Israel and it was their children and children's children who came back with great excitement and many fervent promises to love and worship God faithfully.

God is always true to His promises. God always hears our cries of pain, He sees our tears, He is aware of our suffering and He hastens to console us.

We see how this applies to us in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, as well. We sin and exile ourselves from You. It is only when we realize how unhappy we are, how nothing satisfies, that no amount of pleasure or possessions can fill the yawning chasm of emptiness with us, that we remember You. We recall the joy of being loved by You and the sweet intimacy of being united with You. And we regret our sins, we regret the decisions we made that created a barrier between You and us and You, and we return each of us bearing different kinds of afflictions of heart, mind, body, and spirit.

And You hasten to meet us. You wipe away our tears. You comfort us. You wash and cleanse us. You restore all that we lost. You feed us, strengthen us, and we are made whole once again. Help us, Lord, to never stray again, and when we do never tire of wooing us back again into the fold because we are members of Your Body. You are our Good Shepherd and we are the sheep of Your flock.

PSALM 126 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Each time we go for Confession and we hear the blessed words of absolution, 'Go in peace, your sins are forgiven.' We are as joyful as the Israelites returning from exile.

You take away the taste of ashes from our spirit and You fill us anew with Your own Spirit of love. You deliver us from bondage and set us free again. 

How blessed we are that we have this wonderful remedy for sin. Not only are our sins washed away but You even wash away the memory of them. A truly humble and contrite sinner You never spurn.

Beloved, may we never take Your love and Your compassion for us miserable sinners for granted. Strengthen our resolve to sin no more and do nothing that will destroy our relationship with You. May we never lose the joy of the Holy Spirit.

HEBREWS 5:1-6 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Every priest, every Bishop, every Pope that ever was and will be, receives a share in Your divine priesthood. They are another Christ in the world. They make You visible and tangible to us. It is a special calling made especially to those whom You have chosen to minister to Your faithful and to administer the Sacraments to the members of Your Body, the Church.

They are all sinners, just as we all are, but they are privileged to share in Your priestly ministry. Their personal sanctity or lack of it does not affect their administration of the Sacraments to us. Anointed and consecrated by the Holy Spirit they have the power, in Your Person, to change ordinary bread and wine into Your Body and Blood. They have the power, in Your Person, to forgive sins. 

You too, Beloved, as St. Paul phrases it, 'You are a priest of the order of Melchizedek, and forever.' were given the glory and privilege by Your Father, of being our eternal High Priest, 

MARK 10:46-52 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Unless we are aware of our sins, unless we are aware of our spiritual infirmities, we can never cry out with such abandonment as Bartimaeus did. He came to You. He placed himself on the path that ensured that he would meet You. Once he was aware that You had arrived and would be passing him by he shouted as loudly as he could, 'Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me.’ He cried out repeatedly and even as the crowd tried to shut him up, he shouted louder. 'Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me.’ 

Compare his attitude to ours as we shuffle and mumble, and make excuses for our sins, and convince ourselves that we are not really sinners and we blame our predilection to grave sins as part of our DNA or our genetic makeup. The world today is hell-bent on convincing us all that there is no such thing as sin and hell rejoices at the many souls who are quite happy to believe this greatest of all lies.

It is only when we are convinced that we are sinners that we can jump up like Bartimaeus, when You say, 'Call him here' and we will leave all our iniquities behind as he left his cloak, and will approach You with confidence certain that You will not deny all we ask for. The words You spoke to him You speak to us, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ And like Bartimaeus, we will articulate clearly and succinctly, ‘Rabbuni, Master, let me see again.’ And then we will hear those wonderfully consolingly words that every penitent hears in Confession, ‘Go; your faith has saved you.’ 

May our response always be like his. Each time we leave the confessional may we resolve to follow You ever more closely on the Way that leads to life. 

SATURDAY OF THE TWENTY-NINTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I take pleasure, not in the death of a wicked man,
says the Lord,
but in the turning back of a wicked man
who changes his ways to win life. EZ 33:11

ROMANS 8:1-11 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

In the Sacrament of Baptism, we are grafted into Your Body and we become children of God. As God's children, the Holy Spirit lives in us and helps us to discern the things of the Spirit so that in all things we may be pleasing to God. 

When we give in to the demands of the flesh we sin and we condemn ourselves to death. As children of the Spirit, we must live according to the dictates of the Spirit, not the flesh. The Spirit gives life the flesh death. The more we sin the weaker we become and the more difficult it is to uproot ourselves from the pit of iniquity. 

The sin of Adam condemned us to eternal death but God sent You in our likeness, pure, blameless, without blemish, perfect as only God is perfect, and as the Lamb of Sacrifice, the sins of the whole world were laid on You. You made perfect restitution for our sins because You were like us in all things save sin. You were condemned to death in our place and in exchange, we could share in Your life in the Resurrection.  

Too many in this world prefer a life of the flesh and are given over to the things that are of the flesh. The more we sink into the miry pit of the sins of the flesh the bleaker and more hopeless our lives become. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Anyone who chooses sin chooses death chooses to displease the God of all goodness who is full of compassion, goodness, tenderness, mercy, and love. 

As children of the Light God makes His dwelling place in us through His Spirit and because we are in the Spirit sin and death no longer have dominion over us. God who raised You from the dead has given us a share in Your life in Baptism. 

Thank You, Father, for all You have done for us in Jesus, Your Son. Thank You, Beloved, for the gift of Your Holy Spirit.

PSALM 24:1-6 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

As children of God, we must seek His Face which is visible in You always. We cannot cast aside our sins without the help that comes from the Spirit of God. 

The whole of creation was created to give glory to God and we are part of creation, created by the Father to exult in the work of salvation that was accomplished by You on the Cross. We look at the Cross, we look at Your mangled Body nailed to it and we see the price God paid for our iniquities.

All who believe in You, hope in You, and place all their faith and trust in You can approach the Mountain of the Lord with clean hands and pure hearts through the merits that You won for us.

Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord?

Who shall stand in his holy place?
The man with clean hands and pure heart,
who desires not worthless things.

Only by grace can we approach You who are holy and this grace is obtained only to those who acknowledge their sins and accept the free gift of salvation that You purchased for us by Your suffering, passion, and death.   

LUKE 13:1-9 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You are the God of the last chance. Thank You for not treating us as we deserve but according to Your rich graces and mercies that are unending.

All of us are guilty, all are deserving of death, but by Your merits, we are given any number of chances to accept Your invitation and enter into a glorious relationship with God Himself. Thank You for never giving up on me even though I fall any number of times in a day. Thank You for Your patience with me, Help me remember how kind and gracious You are to me always, and grant me the grace to extend the same kindness and graciousness to everyone I encounter each day.

Stay me with Lord, until I breathe my last breath and then take me to Yourself to remain with You forever.

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

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children. MT 11:25

ROMANS 7:18-25 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

St. Paul explains succinctly the temptations that we face. We are constantly battling our propensity to sin. It is a lifelong battle and one that will end only when we breathe our last breath. 

Being human entails gaining mastery over the sinful tendencies that are constantly gnawing within us. It is a hankering for the fleshpots of Egypt, not unlike the Israelites in the desert on the way to the Promised Land. 

How can we thank, praise, and glorify God, our Father, enough for giving us a solution to the dilemma that we face and battle constantly. No, we cannot face the battle, nor can we be victorious over sin without divine assistance and God gives it to us who are grafted into Your Body. We are victorious in Your victory, we are triumphant over sin and death in the triumph of the Cross and Calvary. We are not doomed to die because we receive the promise of eternal life through You, our Savior and the Redeemer of the world.

PSALM 119:66,68,76-77,93-94 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Wisdom is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. King Solomon
asked for this gift over power and wealth for without it he knew he would not be able to govern his people and without it, we will be unable to govern our lives.

Good and evil are constantly at war within us and all too often the flesh gains mastery over our desire to choose what is good, right, true, holy, and honorable. In the Sacrament of Confirmation, we are confirmed and affirmed in the Holy Spirit of the Father and the Son. Without the help of the Holy Spirit, it would be impossible for us to please You.

Thank You for the wisdom and the guidance of the Holy Spirit indwelling in us that enable us to discern what You desire of us and to choose to do only that which is pleasing to You and to the Father.

Thank You for Your unwavering love even when we sin and for providing the graces and help we need when we approach You in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Thank You for Your saving help and Your consoling love that encourages and strengthens me. Because I am yours keep me faithful, Beloved, to the end.  

LUKE 12:54-59 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

What You say to the crowds in today's Gospel passage from Luke speaks powerfully to the present age as well. In this third millennium, the world has made great strides in every kind of technology and in the advancement of the sciences. We have access to all kinds of knowledge and while much of it is good there is also much of it that is hard, cruel, and senseless. Pursuing knowledge without a conscience leads to dishonorable and evil use of these advancements. The world today has no compunction to destroy even that which is most precious of all, life because it no longer possesses a moral filter. 

With the knowledge we have gained we are able to make all kinds of predictions accurately about many things but You who know all and see all, say to us what You said to the crowds, 

Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the face of the earth and the sky. How is it you do not know how to interpret these times?

We live in a terrifying world where evil is called good and good evil. The lines of truth are blurred until there is no longer truth but only lies, confusion, dissension, disunity, violence, and hatred. You warn us today just as You warned the crowds two thousand years ago.  

‘Why not judge for yourselves what is right? For example: when you go to court with your opponent, try to settle with him on the way, or he may drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the bailiff and the bailiff have you thrown into prison. I tell you, you will not get out till you have paid the very last penny.’

Unless we wake up and pull ourselves out from the slime pits of sin we will find ourselves facing divine wrath. We will have to make full retribution for our willingness to stand by in silence while the perpetrators of evil run amok in the world. 

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

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I am the light of the world, says the Lord;

anyone who follows me will have the light of life. JN 8:12

ROMANS 6:19-23 ©

Yes, Beloved, there were several instances in our lives when we allowed our baser instincts to dictate our actions and we sinned grievously and cut ourselves from You. But thanks be to God for grace that is poured into our souls through the Sacraments. Thank You, Lord, for never giving up on me, never tiring of my propensity to fall constantly, thank You for forgiving me each time I came to You with a repentant and contrite heart. Thank You for the numerous new beginnings You have permitted me. Thank You, Lord, for the assurance that with You there is always forgiveness and pardon for sins no matter how often we fall and how grave our sins.

St. Paul reminds us today that now we no longer are slaves to sin we must grow in holiness, We thank God our Father for giving us so great and glorious a redeemer and Savior in whom we have the promise and fulfillment of eternal life.

PSALM 1:1-4,6 ©

My Soul’s Beloved,

The older we get more often than not the better we understand the purpose for which God created us. The price of our salvation was won for us at Calvary, it is a debt that we cannot repay for there is nothing we have that has any value great enough to pay it. The price of our redemption was obtained at the cost of the life of the Son of God. You lay down Your life for us and took upon Yourself the death that was ours as a result of our sins and our iniquities.

Thank You, for grace that has transformed us and for Your Word that sustains us with its beauty, its power, and the life of the Spirit that strengthens us and renews us. May we, like Mary, ponder Your Word in our hearts, contemplate and meditate on it, and may it become the source of our joy as our faith in Your promises grows.

As long as we are planted in You, as long as the roots of our faith are deeply embedded in You, we will bear good and lasting fruit. Your Word O Lord is a healing remedy for sin.

Keep us save in Your Word and in Your love until the end.

LUKE 12:49-53 ©

My Soul’s Beloved,

You were aware of the power of the Holy Spirit to set the world on fire with His transforming all-consuming love and You desired greatly that that Fire that can only be sent by You was already ablaze. However, there was a crucifixion and a death that had to precede it. There was the horror of the Cross and all the agony that went with it. There was the penalty of sin that had to be paid. Death had to be defeated and its head crushed under Your heel only then could You send the Holy Spirit into the world to begin His transforming work in us.

No, Beloved, not everyone will believe and this is the greatest of all tragedies, that many will refuse the Truth. It takes courage to stand up and embrace the Truth, to speak it boldly no matter the cost, to be prepared to accept persecution, torture, imprisonment, and perhaps even death.

Division is the work of Satan and division is everywhere in homes, in families, in society, in our places of worship, among different faiths, in the workplace, among nations. Grant O Lord, that we who believe may have the courage of our convictions. The Cross ever before us the world always behind us. Amen.

WEDNESDAY OF THE TWENTY-NINTH 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

ROMANS 6:12-18 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Our whole lives must be that of soldiers in battle fighting a battle that cost us everything even our very lives. The Church You founded has understood from the very beginning that when one is prepared to be stripped of everything including life for Your sake and the sake of the Gospel then one can have a foretaste of heaven even while still on earth. 

The Catholic Hall of Saints has produced the greatest giants of faith beginning with the Apostles because they modelled their lives as closely as possible in every respect on You. St. Paul reminds us that we cannot give sin a foothold in our lives. We must root out every sinful habit that feeds on our propensity to sin. We must choose sides, we cannot sit on the fence - we are either for You and so we wage war on ourselves to weed sin from our lives or we are on the side of the ruler of this world. 

It is a lifelong battle and one that is not easy. But we have to make a decision for You and when we do we can rely on You to provide all the help we need always. The Sacrament of Baptism has raised us from death to new life in You. The Sacrament of Reconciliation helps us begin anew each time we fail and sin. The Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist gives us all the grace and strength we need every day to choose life over death. 

St. Paul urges us to, 'Make every part of your body into a weapon fighting on the side of God; and then sin will no longer dominate your life, since you are living by grace and not by law.' We are children of light, we are born of water and the Holy Spirit, yes, we will sin and often because the sin of Adam has weakened us, but we thank God our Father, for You, the new Adam, for freeing us from slavery to sin. We are now slaves of righteousness as we now acknowledge and submit freely to You, as our new Lord and Master who has led us from the darkness of sin into Your own marvellous light.  

PSALM 124 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

How well the psalmist understands our daily and lifelong
battle against our own bodily passions. If You did not make grace continually available to us we would never have the courage to rise again after giving in to the pleasures of the flesh. It is so easy to be caught in the net of worldly pleasure, power, and passion when we do we are swallowed whole by the demons that begin to plague us for there is nothing that the world can offer that can ever satisfy or fill the aching void within us that hungers and thirsts for You. 

You are faithful O Lord, even when we are faithless. The moment we lift our eyes to You and call on You, You hasten to help and save us. 

Because we are Yours You will not permit evil to possess us. We are marked by Your Cross. Our name is written on the palm of Your hand. You have broken the snare of the Enemy. You plunged into the very depths of hell and saved me from the jaws of death. Your Name O Lord is life, Your Name saves, we are consecrated in Your Name. You will not permit even the least of Your little ones to perish.

LUKE 12:39-48 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

No matter what our vocation in life is as parents, teachers, guardians, elders, leaders in the church or in society, we are given stewardship over people. As Your stewards, You trust us to provide for those in our care with all they need. We are all given duties and responsibilities and we will be called to give an account of our stewardship.

We cannot be found sleeping on the job. We cannot give in to the sin of acedia. We cannot leave the onus of training our children in the ways of the Lord to others. This is a sacred duty given to parents. 

The Leaders in the Church are given the responsibility of safeguarding many souls and bringing the flock safely into the fold. If we and they are caught napping the thief will enter to steal, plunder, destroy, and kill and when the Master, the Son of Man, the King of Eternal Glory, arrives at an hour we least expect, we will be summoned into Your presence to give a strict account of our stewardship.

Those of us, who despite knowing what was expected of us, did not fulfill the duties demanded by our state in life will be judged and punished according to the gravity of our sins.

There is a price we will have to pay and a punishment we will have to endure until we make full and complete restitution for our laziness in safeguarding the souls entrusted to our care depending on the extent of our culpability. 

Much is expected from those who know the Truth. 'When a man has had a great deal given him, a great deal will be demanded of him; when a man has had a great deal given him on trust, even more will be expected of him.’  When You return may You find us wide awake and filled with faith, hope, and love.

Memorial of Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests, and Companions, Martyrs - 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

ROMANS 5:12,15,17-21 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Adam sinned and as a consequence of that first sin, all his descendants inherited death. But God our Father created for life, and despite being beguiled by Satan He would give us the antitode to sin. The remedy to sin is far, far greater than the fall, deathly grievous though it was. Sin entered the world through the first man, Adam, and the divine remedy for sin would also come from another Man, the Son of Man and the Son of God.  

The power of the Cross is able to save all humanity from the first to the last, across the globe and across all times and ages. One man was responsible for the fall of the human race and one Man willingly pay the ultimate price for that fall that redeems us all. 

Anyone and everyone who desires Your saving life will receive it. It is freely given to all. It is free because we could not afford to pay the price for our salvation, it cost the life of the only Son of the Living God. Beloved, You exchanged Your life on the Cross for our death. You snatched us from the jaws of hell. We deserved hell and condemnation but the love of God perfected in You through suffering has saved us. The power of the Cross can wash away every sin no matter how grave or how many. A humble, contrite heart You will not spurn.

Your obedience to Your Father's will has saved us. We are redeemed by Your Blood. May we imitate You and yield our will to God in loving submission and we will know true joy in this life and eternal joy in the life to come. 

FEAST OF ST. LUKE, EVANGELIST - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I chose you from the world
to go out and bear fruit,
fruit that will last,
says the Lord. JN 15:16

2 TIMOTHY 4:10-17 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

St. Paul's laments about his friends and companions who deserted him and those who turned against him are the experience of any of Your disciples worthy of the name. Paul had a few friends who stood bravely with him, sharing in his work of evangelization and providing him with all the support he required. Along with all the difficulties and threats to his life that he faced even as a prisoner there was still the ever-present danger of being brought before the tyrannical emperor of Rome who killed Your followers for sport.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Luke, the evangelist, a faithful companion and friend of St. Paul, to giants of the faith. We thank and praise You for all those valiant warriors of the faith from the apostles and Your first disciples, to those in the present age and until the end of time. It is because of the blood of martyrs that the Church You formed from Your side has grown. In her many find shelter, solace, and strength for our pilgrim journey from this life to the next. 

PSALM 145:10-13a,17-18 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

As the Church remembers and celebrates the evangelist St.
Luke, we give You thanks for him and those like him, who through the ages readily lay down their lives for the sake of the Gospel and to spread the Good News with no thought of personal gain.

We thank You, today in particular for St. Luke, and for the power of the Holy Spirit working through them that has given us his Gospel and an account of the Acts of the Apostles after Your Ascension into heaven.

The psalmist celebrates all the giants of our faith like St. Luke, who preached and spread the Gospel in every season despite the threat of persecution, imprisonment, torture, and death. The Holy Spirit working in and through them has given the Church a living legacy of its first birth pangs as it came 

They make known to men your mighty deeds
and the glorious splendour of your reign.
Yours is an everlasting kingdom;
your rule lasts from age to age.

Your friends, O Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.

TWENTY -NINTH SUNDAY 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

ISAIAH 53:10-11 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We can never plumb the depths of the suffering You bore for our sake nor can we ever fathom how God the Father in whose bosom You rested and who loves You and whom You love so forcefully and ardently that the power of that eternal, living, blazing love gives us the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, was prepared to give You up to the most excruciating and humiliating suffering and death in order to save His sinful, disobedient, willful children in order to redeem them from eternal death.

Long before You came into the world the prophet gives us a vivid account of all that You will have to bear as the Suffering Servant for the salvation of the world. Crushed as grapes in a winepress, You were crushed until every drop of Your Blood was shed as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. You were scourged so brutally that Your flesh hung from You like bloodied purple ribbons.

The burning envy and rage of the Devil took over the minds and hearts of those Your enemies who were determined to kill You but not before they shamed You in every conceivable way before they did. Your silence before Your accusers made them even more brazen for they mistakenly believed that they had finally overpowered You. Your very silence reverberated through the ages for it was the silence of submission to the will of Your Father.

All the while the Father was with You and because You were obedient to the last God has raised You high and given You complete and everlasting authority in heaven, on earth, and under the neath. At Your Name, every knee shall bow and every tongue will proclaim to the glory of God the Father, that You are Lord of Lords, King of Kings, and Savior of the world.

By Your stripes, You have healed the world.

PSALM 33:4-5,18-20,22 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We are wonderstruck when we read the Old Testament and the
Psalms in the light of the New Testament, in the light of divine revelation taught by the Master to the Apostles, who in their turn taught the earliest Church Fathers, and whose wisdom given by the Holy Spirit lays bare God's intentions the moment sin entered the world and separated us from Him. 

God never intended for Satan to have the last word because His Eternal Word won the victory. You make daughters and sons of God all who believe in You. All who walk in the light of Your Truth walk in justice, righteousness, and love.

You have crushed the head of the Enemy and have won the victory for us over sin and death. Your Word upholds us and gives us life. Your Body is the food that gives us strength for the journey from this life to the Kingdom of God.

We live in faith, hope, and love for the day of Your glorious return. Thank You for Your Blood that covers us and is mighty protection that shields us for the wiles of the Enemy. Thank You for Your love that overshadows us and keeps us safe for eternity. Thank You for the unwavering hope we have in You who are worthy of all our love, praise, and worship.

HEBREWS 4:14-16 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We thank You for the beautifully reassuring words of the writer of this letter to the Hebrews that remind us that for our sakes You became like us. This means that there is nothing within the human experience that You have not undergone and hence You understand. When we suffer loss, when we undergo temptation, when we are lonely, when times of agony are so great we are crushed and overwhelmed. When we feel the weight of the world's injustice, greed, the disparity between those who have and those who lack what is the most basic to sustain life and dignity we can come to You. We can cry out to You. You will understand for You were like in all things except sin.  

Let us be confident, then, in approaching the throne of grace, that we shall have mercy from him and find grace when we are in need of help.

MARK 10:35-45 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

How often do we approach You like James and John did and make inane requests because we lack vision, wisdom, and understanding of the reasons why God created us, why we are privileged to be called, baptized, and made members of Your Body. James and John together with Peter were closest to You. They were witnesses to some extraordinary miracles one would think that at least they got it, but it was not so.

Today's Gospel reminds us that we like James and John are prone to delusions of grandeur, and often are quite mistaken as to who we are and what it is that God asks of us. They were so off the mark it is mind-boggling. You knew exactly the favor they were going to ask of You even as they approached You. Were You faintly amused? You knew their minds and You must also have been a little disappointed that until then they had not quite understood Your mission.

How often we too are guilty of the sin of self-aggrandizement. We spend ridiculous amounts of time building castles in the air instead of keeping our feet firmly on the ground, busily occupied with building the Kingdom of God where God has appointed us, well aware of all our shortcomings.

James and John indeed drank deep of Your Cup of Suffering, but do I have the courage to do the same? Whatever we do for Your sake and for the sake of the Gospel we do because we have been given the mandate to go out into the world and make disciples of all nations. All that matters in this life is to discern Your will and do it with the help of the Holy Spirit instead of wasting precious time on foolish speculations. 

The way of the world is to shove and push one's way to the topmost position of power unmindful of who one tramples on. You remind us that it must be different for Your disciples. 

'Anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all. For the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’

SATURDAY OF THE TWENTY-EIGHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The Spirit of truth will be my witness;
and you too will be my witnesses. JN 15:26, 27

ROMANS 4:13,16-18 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

God makes Covenants, He assures us of His love and His faithfulness, but He does not explain Himself, we believe in faith, we take God at His Word even if we do not fully understand, even if what God has said does not come to pass in our lifetime. God's Word is true and at a time of His choosing all He has said He will do. This is the kind of faith that is pleasing to God. Faith such as this moves mountains. This is the kind of faith that renders us pleasing to God.

We are descendants of Abraham. We are the joyful recipients of God's free of faith which is the fulfillment of His promise to him: Though it seemed Abraham’s hope could not be fulfilled, he hoped and he believed, and through doing so he did become the father of many nations exactly as he had been promised: Your descendants will be as many as the stars.

PSALM 105:6-9,42-43 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

This is the third millennium since the fulfillment of God's
Covenant to Abraham in the Person of His Son, You, our Lord, and Savior. 

As children of Abraham, our father in faith, we are counted as his descendants, and just as God promised we are as numerous as the stars in the sky and sand on the shore.

God is true to His promises, the first Covenant made with Abraham is fulfilled and perfected in You - the Father's Covenant of irrevocable love with His children. We have this hope, Lord, that all who call on Abraham as their father in faith will someday come to believe in You who are the fullness of Truth and the fulfillment of every Covenant God made through the ages with His people.