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.