THURSDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK IN ADVENT - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

King of the peoples
and cornerstone of the Church,
come and save man,
whom you made from the dust of the earth.

MALACHI 3:1-4,23-24 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We cannot read the Old Testament and not read the New and vice versa - neither will make sense. The New sheds light on the Old and the whole, incredibly mindblowing tapestry becomes visible. Everything that God desired to do is foretold in the Old and the New reveals the perfect fulfillment of all He desired in the coming of His Son, You, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

John the Baptist, the messenger of the Lord, came with the spirit of Elijah to prepare the way for You, the Messiah. Peter, James, and John beheld Your glory briefly at the Transfiguration on the mount, and they also saw Moses and Elijah with You.

You then gave us the Sacrifice of Yourself on the Cross at Calvary becoming the means by which all mankind is purified and made holy and fit to enter into the Holy of Holies, the Sanctum Sanctorum, the very presence of almighty God. You instituted the Sacrament of Holy Orders so men called by You and appointed by You hand down the priestly ordination that You conferred on Peter and the Apostles.

By the power of the Holy Spirit and in persona Christi their words change the simple gifts of bread and wine into Your precious Body and Blood and we receive food providing spiritual nourishment as we journey towards heaven. We need this heavenly manna lest we fall by the wayside and are lost forever. 

PSALM 25:4-5,8-9,10,14 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You have set us free from slavery to sin, to our senses, and to our own disordered will. All those who are enslaved to various addictions will know how hellish it is to be imprisoned by desires over which we have lost self-control. However, when we are instructed by the Holy Spirit, Your Word, and Your Church and abide in the Truth we are able to walk the way that leads to joyful living.  

Lord, make me know your ways.
Lord, teach me your paths.
Make me walk in your truth, and teach me:
for you are God my saviour.

We have a good and gracious God who abides with us and holds our hand every step of the narrow and difficult way. We are safe as long as we don't let go. When we do we will stumble and stray.

The Lord is good and upright.
He shows the path to those who stray,
He guides the humble in the right path,
He teaches his way to the poor.

God has made an eternal covenant of love and faithfulness with His children. We are sons and daughters of God because we have accepted Your friendship and we believe that salvation is found in no other but You.

His ways are faithfulness and love
for those who keep his covenant and law.
The Lord’s friendship is for those who revere him;
to them he reveals his covenant.

LUKE 1:57-66 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

So many Christians pick and choose what they like from the Gospels holding fast to some things while ignoring or treating lightly, others that are equally important and legitimate. We need the whole truth if we are to live whole, holy lives that are fully in sync with the Word of God. 

In this passage, we see how everyone turns to Zechariah to confirm the name of their newborn child even though Elizabeth said that he was to be named John. A husband and father is the head of his household - not because he is superior he is not, they are equal though different because their roles are different. They are in agreement as to what the child's name will be but his voice announces it. God has ordained it so - equal in all things yet different. Without the strength, the protection, the dignity that a man confers on his wife and children all the days of his life chaos will ensue and families will rupture and drift apart. It is not because he is superior but because it is God's wills. The ideal family is when both husband and wife have the same heart, mind, and will as God.

When we obey God's will great blessings and powers are unleashed in our lives just as it was with Zechariah and Elizabeth. His canticle of praise, which is prayed and sung to this day and will be done so till time will end, was inspired by the Holy Spirit prophesying all that God would call his son to accomplish as the Messenger preparing the way for the Messiah, was possible only when he confirmed the name God had chosen for his son and his tongue was unloosed.

The father asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John.’  

At that instant his power of speech returned and he spoke and praised God. All their neighbours were filled with awe and the whole affair was talked about throughout the hill country of Judaea. All those who heard of it treasured it in their hearts. ‘What will this child turn out to be?’ they wondered. And indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.

WEDNESDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF ADVENT - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

King of the peoples

and cornerstone of the Church,

come and save man,

whom you made from the dust of the earth.

1 SAMUEL 1:24-28 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Unlike Hannah, few mothers are willing to offer their children wholeheartedly to God and to His service. She prayed with tears for years for the gift of a child and God granted her her heart's desire. She believed that she received him from the hand of God and she willingly returned him to God to be raised in His temple.

If only we had the spirit of Hannah we too would accept our children as given to us from the hand of God and we would raise them with fear and trembling because we would know that the children given to us are on trust and we would raise them to grow in awe and fear of the Lord.

Our world would not be in such a sorry mess if we were Godfearing parents raising Godfearing children. But the sad truth is that spiritually impoverished parents raise spiritually impoverished children and the world seems ready to self-implode because of willful ignorance. 

May we echo Hannah's prayer today and always as we dedicate and entrust our children to You and to Your service, Lord, 

‘This is the child I prayed for, and the Lord granted me what I asked him. Now I make him over to the Lord for the whole of his life. He is made over to the Lord.’

(Responsorial Psalm)
1 SAMUEL 2:1,4-8 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

As we read Hannah's exultant song of praise on being granted the gift of a child we recognize so much of it echoed in Your own Mother Mary's Magnificat.

Hannah's baby was miraculously conceived since she was barren, whereas Mary's baby was far more miraculous and spectacular because the Babe conceived in her womb was of the Holy Spirit and of God and her Babe was God and the Son of God.

Hannah was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit recognizing how God had looked with compassion as she prayed with intense longing for a child who would take away the shame of her barren womb.

Beloved, let us never forget that all we receive is from the hand of a gracious God and the more we recognize our nothingness and rely on the good of God the more will be filled with His peace, joy, love, and abiding presence in our lives. You, O Lord, never fail those who place all their hope and trust You.

He lifts up the lowly from the dust,

from the dungheap he raises the poor
to set him in the company of princes
to give him a glorious throne.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
on them he has set the world.

LUKE 1:46-56 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Mary's Magnificat teaches us how to turn our gaze away from ourselves and center it on God alone. 

After the Annunciation, we are told that Mary went in haste to visit her cousin for the Angel Gabriel had told her that Elizabeth who was barren had conceived in her old age and was already in her sixth month, adding, 'For nothing is impossible for God.' 

The minute her cousin saw her, the baby in her womb through the power of the Holy Spirit recognized that he was in the presence of God and leaped for joy, and Elizabeth, also inspired by the Holy Spirit, exclaimed with a loud cry:

‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your
womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’

And Mary's response in praise of God is a hymn of triumphant exultation of God who chooses who He will, raises who He wills, blesses who He wills, and crowns who He wills with glory, honor, and grace. Of all the women ever born of Adam and Eve God's gaze rested on Mary, she was God's choice, she was God's handiwork, His masterpiece. There never was and never will be so glorious a creature fashioned by the Triune God so wondrously as Mary, the Mother of God, and our Mother.

Mary stayed three months until Elizabeth's baby, the precursor to the Son of God, and her Son as well, was born.

TUESDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF ADVENT - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Emmanuel,

our king and lawgiver,

come and save us,

Lord our God.

SONG OF SONGS 2:8-14 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

This is how You come to those who hungering and thirsting for You approach the Eucharist to receive You. You are far more eager to come to us than we could fully experience in our mortal bodies the ecstasy of receiving You - God Himself, Body, Soul, and Spirit. We receive You completely and in receiving You for a brief moment in time we have what we will possess eternally. 

I hear my Beloved.
See how he comes
leaping on the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
My Beloved is like a gazelle,
like a young stag.

You, my Beloved, watch us constantly when we respond to the grace that the Holy Spirit eagerly desires to pour into our souls at every worthy reception of the Sacraments, You rejoice. 

See where he stands
behind our wall.
He looks in at the window,
he peers through the lattice.

When we cooperate with grace, when we permit nothing to separate us from Your love, we hear You speak to us tenderly, wooing us gently, into a deeper, more intimate union with You. 

My Beloved lifts up his voice,
he says to me,
‘Come then, my love,
my lovely one, come.
For see, winter is past,
the rains are over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth.
The season of glad songs has come,
the cooing of the turtledove
is heard in our land.

Beloved, when we commit our poor miserable lives to You and acknowledge that without You we are nothing the Holy Spirit helps us to bear good fruit and the sweet fragrance of a life consecrated to You will abound to eternal life with You.

The fig tree is forming its first figs
and the blossoming vines give out their fragrance.

Thank You, Beloved, for loving me unworthy as I am, prone to sin, disobedient and willful, selfish and hard of heart, You never cease to love me even when I am at my worst. You will pursue me, gently inviting me all the time to return to You, my first, last, and only love.

Come then, my love,
my lovely one, come.
My dove, hiding in the clefts of the rock,
in the coverts of the cliff,
show me your face,
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet
and your face is beautiful.’

MONDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF ADVENT - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Key of David, who open the gates of the eternal kingdom,
come to liberate from prison
the captive who lives in darkness.

ISAIAH 7:10-14 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

This is the eternal sign for all people of goodwill from age to age and in every generation, whether we ask for it or not, whether we believe or not, this is God's sign to a sin-weary world, it is a sign prophesied by Isaiah to Ahaz even though he refused to ask for one:-

'the maiden is with child
and will soon give birth to a son
whom she will call Immanuel,
a name which means “God-is-with-us.'

The incarnation is God's response to our rebellion. We severed relations with God, He sought to breach it with You, His Son, whom He sent into the world to become the means by which we are saved.

No more will anyone find themselves alone, forsaken, depressed, lonely, afraid, sick, lost, dejected, rejected, and dying because God has become one of us to take us by the hand and to lead us to the Father, to take us home, one step at a time and You will never leave us or forsake us for You are Emmanuel, God with us.

PSALM 24:1-6 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

By the Eternal Word that issued forth from the mouth of God
and the power of the Holy Spirit, the world and all in it was created, this is why it is right and fitting that people of every language, nation, and culture must praise and worship God. You alone are God and worthy of our love for You, O Triune God is our Creator, our Savior, and our Sustainer. Anchored in God we will never be shaken.

You, Beloved, are our eternal High Priest, You ascend the holy mountain of God, You enter the holy of holies, and there You offer to God the only pleasing and worthy Sacrifice, which is Yourself for the salvation of the world. You O Lord, are the sinless one - the only human being with clean hands and a pure heart, for You are without sin. 

Upon You the Father has bestowed power, might, glory, and majesty - He has raised high above all the angels to sit at His right hand and to rule and to judge. All who seek You, who cling to You, who are called by Your Name will one day behold You face to face. Until then we will seek You in the Church You founded and where You are hidden in our tabernacles and in Bread so we can eat You, consume You and become more and more like You until that glorious day when we will never be separated from You.

LUKE 1:26-38 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

After the fall of Adam and Eve, God did not bewail man's treachery but conceived and put into motion His plan of salvation to breach the chasm that sin created between the Creator and His creatures. And that awesome plan that was conceived in God's heart and mind commenced the long, arduous, painful, frustrating journey to bring that plan to completion God created us and desires our salvation only if we desire it as well. It took millennia for this perfect moment in time and history to occur God created the second Eve, she was conceived immaculately in her mother's womb, and from the moment of her conception until God prepared her to become the Ark of the New Covenant Eithin her God would become the man, she would carry within her peerless immaculate body the Word the priestly staff of Aaron the and the heavenly Manna.

When the Angel Gabriel greeted her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favored! The Lord is with you,’ she trembled in fear not only at the sight of the Angel but even more at the words that he uttered. Why was he addressing her with such great honor, lost in her own feelings of surprise and amazement she scarcely noticed that Gabriel himself looked at her awestruck by what God had done in this pure, peerless, young virgin chosen by God and carefully fashioned by Him to be the Mother of God. 

Gently and with great tenderness he explained to her how God had chosen her to collaborate with Him in the salvation of the world. He said:

 

‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favor. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob forever and his reign will have no end.’ She asked only one, practical question, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ The angels responded, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ Mary always knew that for God who set each of the stars in place and called each one by name, nothing was impossible, for she had grown in the knowledge of God and in the everlasting shadow and presence of God from the moment of her conception.

Your Mother, my Beloved, was created, fashioned, graced, and cradled in the heart of God all the days of her life and You, my Lord, the Father, and the Holy Spirit continue to honor her as God's own handmaid. She who said yes to God all her life now hears God always say yes to her. She approaches You with confidence on our behalf knowing that she who was conceived without sin in order to bring forth our Savior will always be heard. O Mary, conceived without sin pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

FOUORTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READING

I am the handmaid of the Lord:
let what you have said be done to me.

MICAH 5:1-4 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

God's ways are inscrutable. Who can fathom the will of God? Who but God can confound us with His unknowable ways? Who could imagine that anyone least of all God would will His only, most beloved Son, who is God as well, to come into the world as a weak, helpless, human baby, and even more to be born in poverty, born in a stable far away from home. Live a hidden life for 30 long years, and when You make Yourself known to be rejected by Your own people. Hated simply because they could not comprehend the mind and will of God and hence refused to accept You and believe that God's way is indeed not man's ways. So completely were You disregarded that ultimately, to rid themselves of You and the fear You posed of toppling the status quo, they actually staged a phony trial and got You, the Son of God, convicted and executed but not before mocking You and putting You through the most ignominious suffering and torture before You finally gave up Your Spirit to Your Father.

They were not to know that all that they did served God's purpose. The Son of God made perfect and complete atonement for our sins and thus redeemed the world.

Not only did You save us, Beloved, but You are also food and drink for our souls. You Feed us and Your Body and Blood we are healed and made perfect as we prepare for eternal life.

He will stand and feed his flock

with the power of the Lord,
with the majesty of the name of his God.
They will live secure, for from then on he will extend his power
to the ends of the land.
He himself will be peace.

SATURDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Ruler of the House of Israel,
who gave the law to Moses on Sinai,
come and save us with outstretched arm.

JEREMIAH 23:5-8 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

As long as we are in our perishable bodies we are in exile. God's people experienced exile all through salvation history but God also set them free over and over again. The worst kind of slavery is not when there is a hostile takeover of a nation and its people and subduing them, incarcerating them, and depriving them of freedom but it is when we give ourselves over to the sins of the flesh. 

It is impossible to rid ourselves of this kind of slavery, only when we realize that we can do nothing to free ourselves and reach out for divine assistance.   

The world was condemned to a life of slavery to sin and death of the soul until the God of all love and mercy, sent You into the world, not to condemn it but to redeem it.

God's awesome plan of salvation required that You, the Son of God who is the Word of God and by whose power the universe was created was to leave Your throne in heaven and descend into the world clothed in vulnerable human flesh and becoming one like us in all things save sin. You are a Sign of Contradiction to a world that preaches a gospel of the fulfillment of all our selfish desires and encourages the indulgence of all the promptings of the flesh.  There is a cold, cruel, naked, and relentless hostility to all things pertaining to the sacred and divine.

Thank God for hope:

See, the days are coming – it is the Lord who speaks –
when I will raise a virtuous Branch for David,
who will reign as true king and be wise,
practising honesty and integrity in the land.
In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel dwell in confidence.
And this is the name he will be called:
The-Lord-our-integrity.

Thank You, Beloved, for being our hope of salvation and eternal joy.

PSALM 72:1-2,12-13,18-19 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Because we have in You a Brother, a Savior, a Redeemer, a God, who became one of us and understands well our human condition in every respect we can confidently approach You certain that You can and will feel compassion and be moved to pity for us. 

For he shall save the poor when they cry

and the needy who are helpless.
He will have pity on the weak
and save the lives of the poor.

We place all our hope in You Lord for You are our joy and our peace. 

MATTHEW 1:18-24 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The moment we cast aside fear we are able to embrace God's will for our lives as Joseph did. The evangelists narrate how You came to be born and every word is pregnant with divine love and divine providence giving birth to the answer to every longing, every hope, every dream, every joy that the human heart desires - Christ, the Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary.

We thank the Holy Spirit today for the inspiration granted to the Vicar of Christ to announce the Year of St. Joseph. It gave the faithful an opportunity to meditate on the virtues of Joseph who was just an ordinary man like one of us but chosen to be an integral part of fulfilling the most extraordinary plan of God. The more we contemplate Joseph the more we are struck by how once he was made aware of God's plan embraced it wholeheartedly and submitted himself totally to it. He allowed God complete freedom to inspire, direct, and guide him in fulfilling the greatest role ever entrusted to man - the protection and care of the fairest of God's creatures and the raising from infancy to manhood the Son of God. Lesser men would have found it unbearable, unthinkable, undoable but it was his humility and his profound love for his beloved, Mary, that enabled him to surrender his whole life to both Mother and the Babe. Joseph believed what to any normal human being would have been fantasy or madness. His faith in God was childlike, his awe of Mary, the handmaid of the Lord and his bride, and the ardor and purity of his love for her made it possible for him to be used mightily by God to fulfill the divine plan.

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son
and they will call him Emmanuel,
a name which means ‘God-is-with-us.’ When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he took his wife to his home.

We thank You, Lord, for giving us this year dedicated to St. Joseph, Your foster father. The more we contemplate his virtues the greater is our belief that he whom You honored, revered, loved, and obeyed on earth continues to hold and enjoy a privileged place with You, Mary, the Father, the Holy Spirit, and all the angels and saints in the Kingdom of God.

THURSDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Prepare a way for the Lord,

make his paths straight,

and all mankind shall see the salvation of God. LK 3:4, 6

ISAIAH 54:1-10 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Thank You for the prophets and for the Holy Spirit who inspired them to speak to all who read the Word to know the unshakeable love that God has for us.

In this love poem of God to His people, we are assured that God is always doing something new for those who belong to Him. When we stray He gently brings us back. When we sin, He forgives. When we are cold and stubborn He woos us patiently and lovingly back into His arms.

The Church is the New Jerusalem, God renews His sacred Covenant in establishing her, saving her, redeeming her, making her His bride and His Son her Bridegroom. Through You Beloved, in union with the Holy Spirit, Your Church is fruitful. Every hope and dream of God's chosen people are realized in her - God has come to His own, He has been born in her, and there is now an explosion of God's awe-inspiring love conceived in the womb of Mary, the Mother of the Church, as from her God brings forth the Son of Man who is from all eternity the Son of God. 

No longer are we barren but laden with the fruits of the Holy Spirit. No longer are we forsaken for God Himself is our Father, our Bridegroom, our Comforter, and Helper. We who are born of her are children of God.

This is God's everlasting promise to His children:

for the mountains may depart,
the hills be shaken,
but my love for you will never leave you
and my covenant of peace with you will never be shaken,
says the Lord who takes pity on you.

LUKE 7:24-30 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

John was the last of the Old Testament prophets and to him was accorded the privilege of being God's herald of a new era, one in which God would stoop low from heaven and become like us, His creatures. 

John's austere life points to his singleminded purpose in fulfilling the marvelous work entrusted to him. He was fully immersed and absorbed in his ministry which was to prepare the way for the One who was to come and he knew that he was unworthy to unloose Your sandals. 

We are all commissioned by You to preach the good news in the way we live our lives. We are called to witness to the Truth always. How faithful are we? Too often we compromise our witness to the Truth by aligning ourselves with the spirit of the world. John was faithful to his mission to the end even though it cost him his life.

You testified to all who heard You that John was indeed great and that no one born of woman was greater than he and yet there was one greater in their midst the one born of the Holy Spirit. It is also a reminder to each of us that if we are docile to the Holy Spirit, know the Truth and live it, all those who know that without You we are nothing will be counted as greater than he.

WEDNESDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Shout with a loud voice, joyful messenger to Jerusalem.
Here is the Lord God coming with power. IS 40:9-10

ISAIAH 45:6-8,18,21-25 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Thank You for Your Word today that assures us that You are God and You love us unworthy though we are with a love that surpasses all human understanding. Apart from You, we are nothing and yet the Father spared nothing not even You, His only Son, to save us, redeem us, and restore to us what our first parents so wantonly lost.

The Father has loved us so greatly that He has ordained that we are all things in You, His Son. Your victory and Your triumph over sin and death abound to our salvation and enable us to have a share in Your victory and triumph.

We were created for life, not death but death came into the world through the sin of Adam, and eternal life through You, is ours. You are the Father's 'Yes' to the world. In You and through You He makes all things possible for us, His creatures, and His children as well, to have a share in Your glorious inheritance as co-heirs with You. However, salvation comes through You and You alone. No one can come to the Father except through You.

This is why at Your Name, my Lord, and my God, God, our Father has decreed, 

before me every knee shall bend,
by me every tongue shall swear,
saying, “From the Lord alone
come victory and strength.”
To him shall come, ashamed,
all who raged against him.
Victorious and glorious through the Lord shall be
all the descendants of Israel.’

PSALM 85:9-14 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Many in the world recognise that without genuine peace
between nations and peoples within nations, it is impossible for us to co-exist. Despite the best efforts made by world leaders in every age and every generation, the world seems to be more and more entrenched in suspicion and hatred for different groups of people leading to division, chaos, destruction, violence and even death. 

You O Lord are our only hope of peace and yet the world and especially those nations that once declared themselves Christian have rejected You completely and their frenzied zeal in trying to erase every trace of You from the collective conscience of the world is manic. This is why we are currently on the brink of utter anarchy and the bitter division between people widens the chasm every day. 

The liturgy in the season of Advent is like a healing balm on our wounds. As we listen to God's Word our hope is renewed. 

I will hear what the Lord God has to say,
a voice that speaks of peace,
peace for his people.
His help is near for those who fear him
and his glory will dwell in our land.

In You, O Lord God and our Savior, Jesus Christ,

Mercy and faithfulness have met;
justice and peace have embraced.
Faithfulness shall spring from the earth
and justice look down from heaven.

The victory is won. You have triumphed. We believe and we are saved. 

The Lord will make us prosper
and our earth shall yield its fruit.
Justice shall march before him
and peace shall follow his steps.

LUKE 7:19-23 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

There is no hope for a world that denies and rejects You. The Creator placed within us an infinity of longing that nothing and no one but You can fill. Every dream, every hope, every desire, all joy, perfect peace, and serenity is ours for the asking, ours for the taking if only we reached out to You and asked You to come into our lives and make Your home in us. 

Those who wield power in the world are hell-bent on keeping people ignorant of You. They want the world to believe that there is no such thing as transcendent Truth. Truth is a Person, Truth has a Name, it is Jesus.

When John the Baptist who was imprisoned sent two of his disciples to inquire of You, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or must we wait for someone else?’ You did not give them an answer in words rather You pointed to the miracles You had just performed. These miracles proved Your identity and they were the answer to John's question. 

 ‘Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind see again, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, the Good News is proclaimed to the poor and happy is the man who does not lose faith in me.’

God has come into the world, God has visited His people, and the world continues to reject You just as the people of God did 2000 years ago.

Grant courage and fidelity to Your remnant O Lord that through them a 'new springtime of faith' will shoot, bud forth, and bloom once again.

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

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Come, Lord! Do not delay.
Forgive the sins of your people.

ZEPHANIAH 3:1-2,9-13 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

It is no surprise that the days we live in are evil for evil has existed since the fall of a third of the angels and our first parents and Satan will not rest until he drags as many as he can seduce and lure with lies to hell.

The stubbornly deaf and blind who have deliberately stopped up their ears to the truth because they prefer to live defiled lives will bring about their own ruin and will damn themselves eternally. 

But those who repent, who strive for purity of heart will be cleansed by Your Blood and restored to fellowship with God. Yoked to You we will gladly serve You all the days that are allotted to us.

It is the little ones, the humble in heart, the childlike in spirit, the ones who recognize that without You they are nothing, can do nothing, who are beloved of God. But the proud, the haughty, the boastful who are convinced they do not need You, will be crushed, destroyed, and annihilated. Only those who believe in You, the Eternal Word of the Father, will be saved. We are unable to save ourselves but You can and will save all who call on Your Name. All who live in the shelter of Your wings will be unmolested by evil for You Yourself will be our Shepherd and will keep close watch over those who are Yours.  

PSALM 34:2-3,6-7,16,18-19,23 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You will always hear the prayers of those who rely on You for help, those who cling to You in their sorrow, those who trust You to hear and answer and provide all they need. Praise is the sure way to acknowledge God's goodness, His providence, and in praising You the floodgates of grace open and are poured out on us.

The beauty and wonder of living a life of total surrender to You, Lord, is to possess deep within our soul great peace for we know that You hear every cry, every sigh, and answer us and nothing can separate us from Your love.

The unrighteous will be crushed but those who cling to You aware of their poverty spirit and their inability to do anything on their own will have God as their Protector, Defender, Savior, Redeemer, and Friend. You O Lord, are a God who saves all who call on Your Name.

MATTHEW 21:28-32 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Today's parable is directed at those who only pay lip service to You but are unwilling to actually commit themselves to a life of goodness, holiness, and obedience to Your Word. These are the whited sepulchers who make a great outward show of doing God's will while in fact, they do just the opposite. 

The parable that You narrate to the chief priests and elders of the people illustrates this fact. The father asked both his sons separately to go and work in the vineyard one said no but on reflection did as his father asked. The other glibly said yes but did not. John the Baptist, a righteous man and a prophet of God was rejected by the religious hierarchy of the day. They paid no attention to him when he urged them to prepare for Your coming. However, sinners heard him, believed his message, turned to God, and were saved. This alone should have convinced the religious hierarchy of the power of John's message yet, they still rejected him, and ultimately they rejected You, their Messiah as well. 

Many of us are like the son who said yes to his father but did do as his father asked him to. We are baptized, we have received the Sacraments, we call ourselves Christians, but we only make an outward show of our faith whereas our hearts are unconverted and we are far away from You. To us is directed this warning: I tell you solemnly, tax collectors and prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you, while the ones who are Christian in name only are on a perilous road to destruction. 

MEMORIAL OF ST. LUCY, VIRGIN & MARTYR - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Let us see, O Lord, your mercy
and give us your saving help. PS 84:8

NUMBERS 24:2-7,15-17 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Preserve us from false prophets and help us keep our gaze on Peter, Your Vicar on earth. To him is given charge to steer all believers by the North Star, which is You, the Christ, the anointed of the Father, and under His guidance we will all reach our heavenly destination in safety.

No evil has power over the people of God. Balaam was charged to curse God's people but each time he opened his mouth to do so only blessings poured forth. From all that we read in Scripture we can be certain that God's power, God's providence, and God's peace will remain with the people He has chosen for His own. God has saved His people through You.   

He sees what Shaddai makes him see,
receives the divine answer, and his eyes are opened.
I see him – but not in the present,
I behold him – but not close at hand:
a star from Jacob takes the leadership,
a sceptre arises from Israel.’

PSALM 25:4-6,7a-9 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

I make the prayer of the psalmist my own this day and every day:

Lord, make me know your ways.
Lord, teach me your paths.
Make me walk in your truth, and teach me:
for you are God my saviour.

Unless I know Your way O Lord, I cannot follow it. Help me to seek Truth and to hold on to it. You O Lord are the Way, the Truth and when I am prepared to lose all for Your Sake I will be saved and through Your merits, I will receive eternal life.

Beloved, so often in the day I stumble, I am not as upright as I ought to be, I fail constantly but You O Lord, are always beside me to help me along. Thank You for Your mercies that never end. Thank You for Your faithful love - it is Your love O Lord, that You pour out on me that helps me in my struggles. Keep me faithful to the end.

Do not remember the sins of my youth.
In your love remember me.

Lord, make me know your ways.

Beloved, grant me the grace to always reach out and take Your hand that is stretched out to clasp mine. Grant me the grace of true humility so I may never lose sight of the fact that I am a miserable worm and without Your help and strength I will fall by the wayside and be crushed.

The Lord is good and upright.
He shows the path to those who stray,
He guides the humble in the right path,
He teaches his way to the poor.

MATTHEW 21:23-27 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The insecure feel threatened by truth. Truth by its very nature is unshakeable. It stands firm and tall and is a bright light that shows up every error. Satan is the father of lies and all who prevaricate, all who fudge the truth, all who try to blur the lines between truth and lies are his disciples. 

Cowards make a lot of noise and put up a big show of bravado. They threaten and resort to violence because they have no argument that will stand up against Truth but when confronted with it, they shuffle and dither like the chief priests and elders did and they refuse to give a direct answer when they are up against irrefutable Truth. To their childish question to You after You cleared the temple, ‘What authority have you for acting like this? And who gave you this authority?’ You responded with another question, ‘And I will ask you a question, only one; if you tell me the answer to it, I will then tell you my authority for acting like this. John’s baptism: where did it come from: heaven or man?’

The writer of the Gospel tells us that they argued among themselves and concluded that whatever answer they gave would put them in a precarious position. They would lose the moral high ground completely and so they responded inanely, ‘We do not know.’ We can never know the Truth unless we are willing to embrace it completely no matter how high the cost. 

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me.
He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor. 

lS 61:1 (LK 4:18)

ZEPHANIAH 3:14-18 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

This beautiful song of exultation was written in expectation of the coming Messiah who would rule the world with fairness and the people of God longed for the coming of God.

You did come, Beloved, and Your own did not recognize You. You came into the world but the world rejected You. 

As we prepare this Advent and recall the longing of God's people for Your first coming, we, the new people of God, are filled with the same great hunger for Your Second Coming in glory. Grant us a burning zeal to use the time that is allotted to each one of us who is grafted into Your Body to make You known and loved so when You do come again, this time in glory and majesty, You will find the world ready to welcome You with exultant joy. 

And while we wait, my Lord and my God, let us keep busy building Your Kingdom on earth so when You return again to Your own it will be just as Zephaniah has foretold. 

PHILIPPIANS 4:4-7 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The greatest missionary of all time assures me in words inspired by God Himself that I am to be happy always because that is what You desire me to be. To be happy I must be patient with everyone because it is evident to all that You are near - You are with me, in me, around me, above and below me - and because I know this I am at peace and joy fills my soul and nothing can impact or take away my joy.

 Worry, anxiety, stress, and fear eat into the soul and destroy it. Paul assures me that I have no need to worry because if there is anything I need all I have to do is ask You for it and the way that I must do it is with prayer and thanksgiving. At every eucharistic celebration in which I participate daily, I can make all my needs known to You for this is no greater prayer of thanksgiving and praise. And You, my Lord and my God will grant me Your own peace a peace that nothing can disturb, or take away because Your own Holy Spirit will guard my heart and my thoughts in You. Thank You!

LUKE 3:10-18 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

If the world took heed of John the Baptist's advice we would hasten Your Second Coming. Sadly, we live in a world of treachery, greed, selfishness, ignorance, violence, degrading poverty, sickness, and death. If each of us asked the question, 'What must I do?' like the tax collectors and soldiers did, and paid heed to John's response, 

‘If anyone has two tunics he must share with the man who has none, and the one with something to eat must do the same.’  ‘Exact no more than your rate.’ ‘No intimidation! No extortion! Be content with your pay!’ Then we would make a beginning and go on from there to discover the greater mysteries of God's saving love for us.

John's baptism of water was for repentance but by the power of the Holy Spirit, he prophesied a greater baptism. One that those who believed in You and Your Name would receive. He said, 'Someone is coming, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandals; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.' It is a baptism that makes us children of God and members of Your Body, the Church, which is Your Bride.

You will come again, Lord, of this we are certain, and when we do may we be ready, may we be like wheat gathered into Your barn and not the chaff that You will cast into the fire that never goes out.