THURSDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT - 2022

LENT 2022

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son:
everyone who believes in him has eternal life. JN 3:16

EXODUS 32:7-14 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Moses is a type of Christ - all that God had called Him to do has to now be seen through the lens and the light of the Gospels. We read the letters of the New Testament writers who saw this clearly and have left us a rich legacy so we can see for ourselves how the Holy Spirit inspired them to understand these mysteries of our faith.

You came into the earth at a time when the world was in chaos spiritually and God's chosen people were being crushed under the heel of Rome just as they once were crushed under the heel of the Egyptians. At the appointed time God sent His only Son into the world in human flesh to reveal to us once and forever the marvelous love of God for His children.

The world from one generation to the next continues to sin and apostatize and the level of degeneracy keeps descending lower and lower until it would seem that they can sink no lower and we are amazed when they do. The worship of molten calves continues as the world makes idols of the strange gods of wealth, power, the world, and the flesh.  

God's anger blazed out against the stubborn, hard-hearted people in the wilderness and destroyed many of them but in the final days, after sending us a stream of prophets God finally sent us His Son and we treated You no differently, Beloved. 

Moses pleaded successfully for the people then but they continued to stray. Today You are the one, holy, and most powerful intercessor before the throne of God, and Your plea for every sinner is heard and we are saved. God always relents when He sees us, poor sinners, through Your wounds.

JOHN 5:31-47 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You are God's testimony of love to a wounded, fallen world. You stand before God pleading on our behalf and Your Father who sent You into the world to save it has compassion on us for Your sake.

You performed with power great signs and miracles that testified to the whole world that You came from God and were God - but the greatest of all Your Works is the work of our salvation that You wrought on the Cross at Calvary. We believe or we disbelieve at our peril.

What You said to the teachers of the law You say to all who study the Scripture both Catholics and Christians - we cannot have a cafeteria approach to Your Word. Your Word uncompromisingly clear:

‘You study the scriptures,
believing that in them you have eternal life;
now these same scriptures testify to me,
and yet you refuse to come to me for life!

How can we, if we cherry-pick what we choose to believe and discount what does not suit our style of thinking or because we are people pleasers seeking human approval? 

Now is the time for us all to come together as one people of God, united in Creed and united under Peter if not we risk finding ourselves judged by those who prophesied about You long before Your incarnation. 

WEDNESDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT - 2022

LENT 2022

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;
whoever believes in me will never die. JN11:25, 26

ISAIAH 49:8-15 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

If we are steeped in Sacred Scripture, if we stay within the embrace of Holy Mother Church, if we walk in the Way that You walked and obey Your command to follow You, then the salvation that You came to give us is ours.

You came to give us a Kingdom - a Kingdom that was promised to God's chosen people but because they rejected You Your invitation was extended to the whole world. Anyone who believes in You will be given a seat at the banquet table.

You came into the world to show us the Way to the Father's House it is the way of truth, beauty, goodness, and righteousness. The Kingdom of heaven belongs to all who are united with You, all who are members of Your Body, all who are fed at the Eucharistic Table, all who are washed in Your Blood and sealed in Your Holy Spirit. It is these who are marked for eternal life - they will behold the face of God and will live forever.

Even in this life, we can experience the freedom that belongs to the children of God for He has made a Covenant of Love with us in You. Before He laid the foundations of the world He chose us to believe in You and to receive the fullness of life that flows from You.

All who believe can and will be saved. Salvation is Your free gift to everyone who believes sadly not all will accept it. But those who do have Your assurance:

They will never hunger or thirst,
scorching wind and sun shall never plague them;
for he who pities them will lead them
and guide them to springs of water.
I will make a highway of all the mountains,
and the high roads shall be banked up.

And when the world gets too much for us and darkness hides Your Face and we are afraid and cry out to You saying, 

‘The Lord has abandoned me,
the Lord has forgotten me.’

You will reply: 

‘Does a woman forget her baby at the breast,
or fail to cherish the son of her womb?
Yet even if these forget,
I will never forget you.’

JOHN 5:17-30 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

When we know that we are doing God's work, like You we will be fearless in the face of opposition, persecution, suffering, and even death. When we walk on the path of truth and are prepared to die for it then we will behold Your Face. Grace will be granted to us and we will walk in serenity through the valley of death.

You came into the world to make visible the invisible God. You came into the world so we could touch God, taste Him, and become one with Him just as the Triune God is one. You came to teach us who God is. God is love and You became incarnate of the Holy Spirit so we could know the Father as He is Love Incarnate born of the Virgin Mary. The Holy Spirit is the power of that love that draws us into the family of God. Your Sacrifice on the Cross made it possible for us to enter into Your life and share it as You entered into our death and crushed its power over a fallen world.

This is why those who follow false gods, false creeds, a watered-down gospel, and a cafeteria approach to the New testament hate the Church You founded. 

Just as You did nothing on Your Own, Beloved, so the Church does nothing on her own, she does only what she has seen You do, she teaches only what You taught, she hands down through her successors Peter and the Apostles without error that sacred deposit of faith that You entrusted to the Twelve.

The greatest miracle and one that is ongoing is that despite all the grave sins that some members of the Church have committed and continue to commit the Truth, the Beauty, and the Goodness of the Church cannot be tarnished for the fullness of each of these attributes are found in her. The Church is a hospital and some of the worst sinners are found in her, she certainly is not a museum for saints. It is You who keep her, sustain her, abide in her and You will ensure that despite Satan's best efforts to destroy her from without and within the gates of hell will never prevail against her. 

Just as the Father loves You, You love Your Bride, the Church. You gave Yourself up for her and when You return again in glory, Beloved, You will present her to Your Father without wrinkle or stain for she is Yours.

Happy are those who believe for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

For the Father, who is the source of life,
has made the Son the source of life;
and, because he is the Son of Man,
has appointed him supreme judge.

TUESDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT - 2022

LENT 2022

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

A pure heart create for me, O God,
and give me again the joy of your help. PS 50:12, 14

EZEKIEL 47:1-9,12 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We must keep our gaze fixed to the east from where the Son of our Salvation will rise just as Your temple faces the east O Lord and living waters flow from her. It is from the Sacraments that You instituted that we are bathed in the water of renewal and regeneration. This water that flows from You to us cleanses us from all our sins and heals us completely in heart, mind, soul, and spirit.

This is Your Church, Your Body, You are the Rock on which she is firmly established. This is the Rock that was struck and from this Rock gushes forth blood and water, divine mercy for the healing of a broken, sick, and dying world. 

The deeper we wade into the living water of Your mercy, Beloved, the more we will drown in the ocean of Your love, and the more we will become like You. You withhold no good thing from those who declare they are Your possession. We desire to be Yours O Lord, do with us just as You will.

Every Catholic Christian receives immeasurable graces through the Sacraments that make us fruitful with an abundance of good fruit. Through the Sacraments we receive rich graces for which we will one day be called to account for. Grant O Lord, that with the help of Your Holy Spirit we will be good stewards of what You have so generously poured into our laps in full measure, shaken together, and running over. 

‘Wherever the water goes it brings health, and life teems wherever the river flows. Along the river, on either bank, will grow every kind of fruit tree with leaves that never wither and fruit that never fails; they will bear new fruit every month, because this water comes from the sanctuary. And their fruit will be good to eat and the leaves medicinal.’

JOHN 5:1-3,5-16 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Through the Season of Lent, the Church chooses appropriate readings from the Old Testament, the New, and the Gospels to help us recognize the seismic shift that is gradually taking place as You come to the end of Your salvific mission on earth. 

In today's Gospel, we are told of a miracle that was granted to one man from among a crowd of sick people who were blind, lame, and paralyzed and all longed to be healed. But it was this man who had an illness that had lasted thirty-eight years whom You approached and asked, ‘Do you want to be well again?’ His response should have been, 'Yes, I do want to be well.' Instead, full of self-pity he says, ‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is disturbed; and while I am still on the way, someone else gets there before me.’ Nevertheless, You say to him, ‘Get up, pick up your sleeping-mat and walk.’ The man was cured at once, and he picked up his mat and walked away.

It was the sabbath and the man was seen carrying his sleeping mat and walking which was a violation of the sabbath rule. When questioned he said, ‘But the man who cured me told me, “Pick up your mat and walk.’ They asked, ‘Who is the man who said to you, “Pick up your mat and walk”?’ The man had no idea who it was, since Jesus had disappeared into the crowd that filled the place. 

When You saw the man whom You had healed again, You tell him to sin no more or something worse may happen to him. This is a clear indication that our sins have consequences and can impact both our physical as well as our spiritual well-being. Once the man knew Your identity he revealed it to those who had questioned him. The evangelist concludes, 'It was because he did things like this on the sabbath that the Jews began to persecute Jesus.' When we take our faith seriously then we too can expect persecution for the servant is not greater than the Master.

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT - LAETARE SUNDAY - 2022

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I will leave this place and go to my father and say:
‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.’ LK 15:18

JOSHUA 5:9-12 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Grant that we take advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation before the great feast of Easter so we may wash away the stench of Egypt, the foul odor of our slavery to sin from our souls then we can truly, as one Body, rejoice in the glory of Your Resurrection in the hope that we will share in it one day.

Unless we are cleansed of our grave sins we cannot partake of the true manna from Heaven - Your Body and Blood. Without this Eucharistic food, we will wither and die and will be cut off from the Vine eternally.

But if we remain in You, Lord, and You remain in us, we will be fed by You, nourished by You, given life in You, and taste the joys of the Kingdom of Heaven even while we are here on earth.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:17-21 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We are so grateful to Holy Mother Church for this wonderful season of Lent. Of the 12 months given to us each year, we have 40 days devoted to reflecting anew God's unfathomable love for us. 

St. Paul's letter to the people of Corinth and to us reminds us that our old sinful lives are crucified with You and we have now received new life in You. Your Sacrifice reconciles us to the Father. You restored what our first parents lost forever. The Father loves His sinful children so the Sinless One became the means through which we now belong to the family of God.

As children of God, we are each assigned the mission and the responsibility to spread the Good News of salvation. Unless the world knows that they have a Redeemer, a Savior, a Messiah, who has reconciled them to God how can they be saved? We are Your ambassadors, weak, sinful, frail, but these clay vessels contain Your power and through this power, we are able to witness to the Gospel that saves.

LUKE 15:1-3,11-32 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

If You didn't eat with sinners where would I go? You came for me. I have hope of salvation because You came to seek and save the lost. Thank You!

The Eternal Son of the Living God is able to reveal the prodigal love of the Father only because You know Him. He and You are one. 

The people of the world are either like the younger son or the older one. We are either profligate sinners who have no regard for the things that are holy and have neither love nor respect for God or we are sanctimonious, pious, prigs like the older son. Only when we personally encounter God's prodigious love for us can we humbly accept how little we deserve it. 

The character of the father in this parable is a revelation, his exultant joy at the return of his repentant son, even though his reasons for doing so are suspect, still the father cannot wait to restore to him all that he had so callously turned his back on. The son discovers with wonder and awe that his father had never stopped loving him. 

Reflecting on the attitude of the older son it is clear that neither son knew their father because they deliberately chose to exist outside their father's heart. They were both interested in what they could get not what they could give.

At the end of the parable, Beloved, you draw us into this glorious secret - God our Father will always run to meet us no matter what bedraggled state of sin our soul is, and He will forgive and welcome us home.

‘The father said,

 “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”’

SATURDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT - 2022

LENT 2022

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord. PS 94:8

HOSEA 5:15-6:6 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

How is it that we continue to be so stubborn, hard-hearted and repugnant in the face of such tender love pleading with us to return to Him? When did we become satisfied with just going through the motions of worship while our hearts are far from You? How much longer will You tolerate our willful ignorance of You because we are afraid the cost of discipleship is too high and we are quite content living unholy, undisciplined, self-centered lives full of vanity and self-deception? 

All through salvation history we see how God woos His people through blessings and sufferings to get their attention and bring them back to Himself. Our own past teaches us that when we remain close to You we are happy and blessed and when we stray darkness envelops us yet we continue to separate ourselves from You by our sins.

You have done everything to ensure that we are saved, redeemed, sanctified, and blessed so we can reach our heavenly destination safely but we refuse to be led on the narrow path that leads to the Kingdom of God.

Will it take a catastrophe, Beloved, before we will give You our undivided attention? Or will our hearts become softened by Your persistent, tender love that does not give up on us no matter how much we offend You? I know You will never abandon us, Lord, too great a price was paid for our salvation.

What am I to do with you, ---- mine?
This love of yours is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that quickly disappears.
This is why I have torn them to pieces by the prophets,
why I slaughtered them with the words from my mouth,
since what I want is love, not sacrifice;
knowledge of God, not holocausts.

LUKE 18:9-14 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

This parable reveals how perfectly the penetrating gaze of God pierces through the shallow, self-righteous Pharisees' vainglorious prayer that focuses on himself and that of the tax collector who does not dare to lift his face to God but is aware that he is aware confesses his sins in humility to God.

We live in a world full of Pharisees and tax collectors. The former makes a great spectacle of their piety, their almsgiving, and their virtues so all can see and hear them in all their pomp and circumstance and praise them.  They sit in the front rows and are fawned upon obsequiously, while everyone else who is present becomes faceless and is pushed to the periphery. And the Pharisee delightfully laps it all up as his due. 

Sinners on the other hand who confess their sins aware of their weaknesses, their inability to help themselves without divine assistance, and are filled with contrition are forgiven completely and are given all the graces they need. Peace is Your gift to the repentant sinner who is humble and contrite. 

THURSDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT - 2022

LENT 2022

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Now, now – it is the Lord who speaks –
come back to me with all your heart,
for I am all tenderness and compassion. JL 2:12-13

JEREMIAH 7:23-28 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

How is it that we keep forgetting that in salvation history as well as the history of the world each time we turn away from God and the Truth we are doomed to suffer grievously? 

When we put one foot astray, take one step in the wrong direction we are lost, and when we refuse to stop and correct our course we condemn ourselves to be lost for as long as we remain stubborn. 

This is the tragedy of the world we live in. Someone in our past strayed and all who followed were doomed to go down the path of unrighteousness, more often than not due to ignorance.

Just as Jeremiah urged the people to listen to God's voice and do what was right so too the Church constantly invites us to return to You but very few listen. We have no excuse because ignorance is a choice we make - the Truth can be found if we seek it honestly but it is easier to indulge our weaknesses than to discipline our will and obey the Word of God.

We ourselves will invite the annihilation of the world through catastrophes of our own making perhaps then we will wake up but for many of us, it will be too late. For the prophecies of Jeremiah fall on ears that will not hear for our heart are hardened with sin: 

“Here is the nation that will not listen to the voice of the Lord its God nor take correction. Sincerity is no more, it has vanished from their mouths.”

Those who survive will weep and lament and perhaps from the ashes a more godly world will arise.

LUKE 11:14-23 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The Word of God is eternal and Truth is Truth whether or not it is called by other names.

Today, You address those who accuse You of driving out demons with the power of demons. We live in a terrifying world where intelligent people refuse to listen to reason, logic, and plain common sense in order to receive the approbation of the world. The approval of the high and mighty and the powerful of the world means so much to them they are willing to face the ridicule and scorn of those who recognize where their real loyalty lies. They are prepared to lie with satan in order to receive the accolades of a world ruled by ruthless, wicked, godless people.

We may deny the Truth until the cows come home but we will be judged inexorably by Truth in the end if we are determined to call Truth a lie and lies the truth.

Now is the time to decide if we will walk with the angels on the side of Truth and gather in the harvest of righteousness or be counted among those who cause division, sow confusion and scatter the flock.

‘He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters.’

WEDNESDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT - 2022

LENT 2022

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;

you have the message of eternal life. JN 6:6, 68

DEUTERONOMY 4:1,5-9 ©

My Soul's Beloved, 

Living and Eternal Word of the Father, You have revealed to us the Way of God, the Will of God, the Commandment of God, the commandment of love. If we love as God desires us to we will not sin. If we are familiar with Your Word in Sacred Scripture, if it is written on our hearts, we will never be led astray for Your Word will be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.

Lord Jesus Christ, we are baptized into Your Body, we are called by Your Name, We eat Your Flesh and drink Your Blood and we are united with You by bonds of love that can never be broken. Even when we sin You have made provision for us to be healed, made whole, and restored into the family of God through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

What was said of God's chosen people is truer still of the people of the New Jerusalem, for the Word of God abides in her, “No other people is as wise and prudent as this great nation.” 

You O Lord, are a God who is closer to us than our breath. Before we call, You answer. You abide in us. Love such as Your demands that we respond as we ought. Yet we have failed so miserably in raising children to know, to believe, and to live the faith that they too are privileged to receive. Forgive us Lord, and do for them what we have failed to do.

‘But take care what you do and be on your guard. Do not forget the things your eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your heart all the days of your life; rather, tell them to your children and to your children’s children.’

MATTHEW 5:17-19 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Unless we are familiar with the Old Testament we will fail to grasp the contest when we read Your words recorded by the writers of the New Testament. Everything in the Old is fulfilled by You in the New. This is why You say, ‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved.’

Biblical scholars have written reams in the past and will continue to do so in the future about what You meant when You preached, did, or taught something in the context of what is recorded in the Old Testament writings. However, unless they write with the mind of the Church they more often than not will be relying on human wisdom and understanding and there is a distinct possibility that they are in error.

Grant, O Lord, that we stay close to Holy Mother Church, be taught the Truth by the Magisterium who is guaranteed to teach without error on matters of faith and morals. May we, by the grace of God, the Word made Flesh, and the power of the Holy Spirit be counted among those who are considered great in the Kingdom of Heaven because we have kept and taught Your commandments just as You taught them to Your Apostles and who in turn handed it in an unbroken line to their successors. Amen. 

TUESDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT - 2022

LENT 2022

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Now, now – it is the Lord who speaks –
come back to me with all your heart,
for I am all tenderness and compassion. JL 2:12-13

DANIEL 3:25,34-43 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

When we put our trust in ourselves or in people we are certain to be cruelly crushed and disappointed but when we come to You with a contrite and humble heart and place all our hope and trust in You, You will be gracious and hear us. You will accept our prayers, our worship and our thanksgiving. You will deliver us from darkness and fear, from doubt and sadness, and lead us gently into the light of truth, wisdom, peace, and joy.

We are Your people, the sheep of Your flock and we desire to follow You closely. But You know our weaknesses, treat us gently Beloved, with tenderness, mercy, and compassion for You know how easily we get distracted and turn away from the path of life.

May the power of Your Name, that has delivered us O Lord, keep us safe from the snares of the enemy.

MATTHEW 18:21-35 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You have been exceedingly merciful to us, Lord, and when we fail to show the same kindness, compassion, and mercy to those who have wronged us we are required to extend the same mercy to them. 

Too often we set different standards for ourselves and for others. We are more generous with our own faults and failings, we make excuses for ourselves but we are harshly critical and judgemental when it comes to others. 

We have been forgiven a multitude of sins each time we begged for forgiveness. The debt we owe You is so enormous we can never repay it and yet we keep account of the small ways in which others sin against us, we hold grudges, and we refuse to forgive.

You have no patience and will show no mercy to anyone who does not treat others in the way that You treat us.  You are a God who is slow to anger, quick to forgive and abounding in love and we are called to be perfect just as You Lord, and our heavenly Father is holy and perfect.

Grant us a generous outpouring of Your Holy Spirit for without Your help, Lord, we can do nothing.

MONDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT - 2022

LENT 2022

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

My soul is waiting for the Lord,
I count on his word,
because with the Lord there is mercy
and fullness of redemption.PS 129:5, 7

KINGS 5:1-15 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Many of us are like Naaman the leper. We are filled with conceit and mistakenly believe that we can bribe You to receive Your favors. 

Despite the fact that Naaman was a pagan we are told that it was the Lord who blessed him and gave him success in battle. Too often we put You in a box and put limitations by our narrow-minded thinking on what we believe You ought and ought not to do.

Despite all his successes and the high rank he held in his king's court, he was unable to enjoy them because of his affliction. A little slave girl from Israel who had not forgotten her heritage, the power of the God she served, and the prophet of God, Elisha was to be the means through which Naaman would be healed.

Laden with gifts he goes to meet the king of Israel hoping to buy his healing. There is no price we can pay for the forgiveness of our sins - we could not afford it but it is given to us gratis. The king of Israel knew that he had no power to do what Naaman demanded and despaired. But Elisha reminded him that God could do the impossible and send Naaman to him. Naaman arrived with all pomp and circumstance to the door of Elisha only to receive a messenger from the prophet to say to him, ‘Go and bathe seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will become clean once more.’

Naaman was infuriated that he was not accorded the honor he believed was his due. It took the wisdom of his servants to remind him that he would gladly have done something difficult that was asked of him. But all he was actually required to do was so simple and he would be healed.  

How many of us are too arrogant, too conceited to stoop in humility and confess our sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. All it takes is a humble contrite heart to wash away all our sins and be forgiven completely. His servants convinced him to do as he was told, “Bathe, and you will become clean.” He obeyed, immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, as Elisha had told him to do. And his flesh became clean once more like the flesh of a little child.

Thank You, Beloved, that God does not demand anything difficult in order to be forgiven of our sins no matter how many and how grave. All it takes is to go to a priest and just honestly confess our sins and in Your Name, we receive absolution and are made whole once more.

THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT - 2022

LENT 2022

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Repent, says the Lord,
for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. MT 4:17

EXODUS 3:1-8,13-15 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Moses committed murder and has run away from Egypt to escape punishment. He now has a comfortable life he has married and his father-in-law Jethro trusts him and gives him charge over his flock. He has gone into the wilderness to find pasture and has come to a mountain where he sees something mysterious - a bush is on fire but does not appear to be consumed, he draws closer to investigate. What Moses did not know was that  God's presence was in the fire and He was waiting for Moses whom He had chosen from his birth to liberate His people. 

God calls him by his name, 'Moses' and he says, 'Here I am.' You call us constantly, Beloved, and when we hear You we must respond as he and so many holy men and women did. God commands him not to come any closer and to take off his sandals because he is standing on holy ground. Then God reveals to Moses who He is and His plan for Moses to go and deliver His people. 

Moses prefigures You. God sent You into the world to deliver us from slavery and to lead us through the wilderness of our lives with a strong hand, with signs and wonders, through all our mistakes, through every detour we insist on taking, refusing to be led by You until at last, You bring us to the Promised Land, the Kingdom of God. 

When Moses was commanded not to approach too near he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God. But You, my Beloved, invite us constantly to draw nearer and nearer to You. We can touch You, feel Your Presence, we are invited to eat and drink You and You draw us into intimate communion with You when we receive You in the Holy Eucharist.

Thank You, Father, for giving us the gift of Your Son - our Savior, our Redeemer, our hope of Eternal Life. We have a new Name by which all of humanity is saved. 'JESUS!'

1 CORINTHIANS 10:1-6,10-12 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

In the divine plan beginning with God's revelation of Himself to Abraham, the deliverance of His chosen people, through Moses, and after him, the prophets, judges, and kings that followed until You, the Messiah, came into the world to redeem it, it was the Jews who were to receive the inheritance promised to them but they rejected You. 

Despite everything they had witnessed, despite all the prophecies being fulfilled in You, despite all the signs that pointed to them that the hour of their deliverance had finally dawned at Your incarnation and birth, they willfully, deliberately, and coldly turned their backs on their only hope of redemption because You did not fit their preconceived ideas of the coming of their Messiah. 

Every single experience in the desert, in the wilderness, prefigured You, the Eucharist, the Sacraments, and the Church. But the desert was littered with their corpses because they grumbled, disobeyed, and were stubborn. They were impossible to teach and to lead despite all the times when God intervened to feed them, give them drink, and heal them.

Paul concludes that we are to take heed and learn from their experiences:

These things all happened as warnings for us, not to have the wicked lusts for forbidden things that they had. You must never complain: some of them did, and they were killed by the Destroyer.

Let us remember the words of Paul to the Romans and apply it to our time: The man who thinks he is safe must be careful that he does not fall. There is redemption in no one but You, Lord.

LUKE 13:1-9 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We are not to condemn anyone taking into account superficial circumstances as You remind Your followers. When non-believers commit sacrilege and profane what we know and hold to be holy and sacred. They act out of ignorance and You hold us innocent of blame. What Pilate did out of spite and ignorance did not condemn the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. You assure them that this was not the case.

‘Do you suppose these Galileans who suffered like that were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were not, I tell you. No.' Death comes to us all but what we must fear is the eternal death that follows. If we fail to repent we will perish forever. 

This parable is another reminder that You are a God of mercy and compassion. You have done all that is necessary for our salvation all we need to do is to receive all You have to give. But we need to take them for eventually as time will run out for all of us. 

There is always time until finally there isn't any.

SOLEMNITY OF ST. JOSEPH, HUSBAND OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY - 2022

 

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

They are happy who dwell in your house, O Lord,
forever singing your praise. PS 83:5

2 SAMUEL 7:4-5,12-14,16 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

David had a noble desire and the prophet Nathan agreed and told him to go ahead and build a house for the Lord. But often our ways are not Your ways, our plans not Your plans. Your ways are higher and Your plans are everlasting. 

But this is what God assured him, to his offspring would be given the privilege to establish an everlasting Kingdom and his sovereignty over it would be secure.

Today, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of St. Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, foster father of Jesus, protector of the Holy Family, and the universal Church. He comes from the lineage of David. The prophecy of Nathan is fulfilled. 

As the guardian of the Holy Child, and His father on earth, You were accorded singular favors by God the Father and You continue to enjoy them in eternity.

‘I will be a father to him and he a son to me. Your House and your sovereignty will always stand secure before me and your throne be established forever.’

ROMANS 4:13,16-18,22 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Among the many prophets and righteous people in the Bible, St. Joseph is ranked high above them all. All that made Abraham, our father in faith, righteous, can be ascribed to St. Joseph in double measure. The great honor that the Church extends to him is rightly conferred.

Which man apart from his spouse, the Virgin Mary and Mother of our God did the will of God so promptly, obediently, and humbly as St. Joseph? After You and Your Mother, he most perfectly images agape love. He spent his entire life attuned to the voice of God. He spent his life in service to You and Mary, always aware, of the trust God had placed in him and greatly humbled by the privilege accorded to him by God. 

All that St. Paul has written about Abraham in these verses in his letter to the Romans can be safely ascribed to St. Joseph as well. No one in the New Testament comes close apart from Your Mother. Everything about the life of the Holy Family in Nazareth is a contradiction as God's ways generally are.

Lord Jesus, thank You for St. Joseph who is our model for righteous, obedient, and humble living in the service of God and our neighbor.

MATTHEW 1:16,18-21,24 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The evangelist concludes Your genealogy with these words:

Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.

He then goes on to describe for all generations to come details of how You were born. With just a few broad brush strokes he paints a vivid, unforgettable picture that reveals the sterling qualities of St. Joseph.

Here was a man betrothed to the love of his life who is the epitome of purity and filled with every grace and virtue is brought face to face with the truth and all his hopes, plans, and dreams are smashed irrevocably or so he believes, to smithereens. The prophecy that every Jew imbibed with their mother's milk and hoped would be fulfilled in their lifetime has finally come to pass, IS 7:14. Once he became aware that Mary was the virgin who would conceive and bear a son whose name will be Emmanuel, how could he take her as his wife? It was unthinkable. So he resolved to do what any righteous, holy man would do as revealed in the words of the evangelist: Her husband Joseph; being a man of honor and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. 

He had made up his mind that this was what he had to do. To cause Mary as little public shame and dishonor as possible and once he had made him an angel appeared to him in a dream and gave him the most unbelievable, glorious, gift ever given to any human being, after Mary of course. The angel said,

 ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ 

Joseph woke up and one can only imagine how wonderstruck he was Beloved, as, with trembling excitement and awe, he did exactly what the angel of the Lord had told him to do. This was to be the pattern of his life - doing exactly what the Lord told him to until he died in Your arms and in the arms of Mary, Your Mother, and ours.

FRIDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT - 2022

LENT 2022

 DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son:
everyone who believes in him has eternal life. JN 3:16

GENESIS 37:3-4,12-13,17-28 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The life of Joseph son of Israel in so many events in his life prefigures You. He is the beloved son of his father. You are well-beloved of Your Father. Joseph was clothed in a coat of many colors. You are clothed in divinity and are the firstborn of the sons and daughters of God.

The Jews were hated so bitterly by the Egyptians and later on by the Romans and were enslaved for generations. You, Your disciples, and Your followers to this day are hated even more bitterly for they are a sign of contradiction in the world. The persecution of Christians is ceaseless in many countries even more so in nations that were once Catholic and Christian.

Joseph's father sent him in search of his brothers. Your Father sent You to seek, save, and redeem the lost. They hated and envied him and plotted against him. You suffered the same fate at the hands of the chosen people of God. They stripped Joseph of his beautiful coat, You came into the world setting aside Your divinity. Joseph's brothers wanted to kill him but in the end, they sold him to foreigners for 20 pieces of silver.  You too were betrayed and sold by Your own for 30 pieces of silver - the price of a slave. 

After getting rid of their brother, they sat down to eat and got on with their lives pleased at what they had done despite the terrible grief their lies cost their father. But God had great plans for Joseph and for His people whom Joseph would initially save from famine but who would eventually be exiled and enslaved. 

You were sent first to the Jews to save them from slavery to sin not from captivity to the Romans and so they rejected You and because of their rejection, we were privileged to receive from You and through You the great gift of our salvation. 

The brother killed an animal and stained Joseph's coat with its blood as proof of his death. You however were sent into the world as the Lamb of God, the Lamb of Sacrifice whose Blood takes away the sins of the world.

MATTHEW 21:33-43,45-46 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Addressing the chief priests and the elders, You told them a parable about a landowner, a vineyard, and the tenants to whom it was entrusted. At the end of the parable, we learn that the servants of the landlord who came to collect what was due to the landlord were killed so he sends his son, believing that they would treat him with respect but they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him as well. Up to this point in the parable, all is well until You ask them ‘Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ And their sanctimonious answer is, ‘He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him when the season arrives.’

This is when You turn things on their head when You say: Have you never read in the scriptures:

It was the stone rejected by the builders
that became the keystone.
This was the Lord’s doing
and it is wonderful to see?

‘I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’

It is only at this point that realization dawns and they understand correctly that You are speaking about them and they burned with anger and resentment against You. The evangelist says that they would have liked to arrest You but were afraid of the crowds, who looked on You as a prophet.  

How ironic that the Chief Priests and the Scribes did not realize that their attitude confirmed that You were right.

To this day we have divisions among Christians and they continue to splinter into even more groups until there are thousands of denominations. As long as they choose to interpret Your Word according to their own finite understanding they are doomed to continue to do so. 

We are truly grateful for the Chair of St. Peter and for the magisterium. Holy Mother Church alone is given the power to take us to safe harbor.

THURSDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT - 2022

LENT 2022

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their perseverance. LK 8:15


JEREMIAH 17:5-10 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

It is very consoling and at the same time very humbling to know that nothing is hidden from You. We can hide nothing - You know our most secret sins. You know our motives. You know what prompts us to act in a certain way and whether or not we do what we do to please God or people.

Ever since the fall, we attempt to find happiness and fulfillment apart from You. We shrink from discipline and self-denial for the things of the world are so much more appealing to our fallen nature. Too often we spend our whole lives seeking to satisfy the clamor of the senses to the detriment of our souls.

Divine wisdom points out that nothing good, lasting, and true can be gained from the things of the world. Anyone who puts their trust in people is doomed to be disappointed. The flesh decays and the world and everything in it perishes.

Time and time again we are reminded that the wise person chooses to be planted in You. To put down roots deep in You so we can receive all that is necessary for us to live, thrive, flourish, and bear good fruit that will last. 

We have only to look at those who have given their lives over to hedonism and see them spiraling downwards as they embrace the demonic culture that is spreading everywhere in the world.

To those who have ears, the Spirit speaks encouragingly and constantly.

‘A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord,
with the Lord for his hope.
He is like a tree by the waterside
that thrusts its roots to the stream:
when the heat comes it feels no alarm,
its foliage stays green;
it has no worries in a year of drought,
and never ceases to bear fruit.’

We are created for eternity and we alone can make a choice for eternal life or eternal death

‘I, the Lord, search to the heart,
I probe the loins,
to give each man what his conduct
and his actions deserve.’

LUKE 16:19-31 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Indifference is a curse that makes us blind and insensitive to those less fortunate than ourselves. We become so self-involved, so wrapped up in our own little world. So attuned to the clamor of our own appetites we fail to notice those under our very noses who hunger just to be seen.

In today's parable, You speak of a rich man who had everything that this life could offer. He pampered his flesh with all kinds of luxuries denying himself nothing. He clothed himself in the most expensive garments and feasted on rich food every single day. This though was not his sin, he was a wealthy man and was entitled to use what was his as he pleased. What was caused his eternal separation from God was the grave sin of indifference to his neighbor who was at his gate, under his gaze. He went to and fro from his luxurious home several times a day blissfully unaware of Lazarus covered in sores, hungry, thirsty, naked, longing for the scraps that fell from the rich man's table and was denied even that. Dogs were more sensitive to his plight. 

The end for both the rich and the poor is the same - death is a great leveler. Both died the rich man and Lazarus one to eternal damnation and one to eternal joy in the Kingdom of God.

Now as the tables are reversed the condemned man finally notices Lazarus and ironically he now pleads with Abraham to send Lazarus to ease his pain. Wow! In life he was so blinkered he did not notice this miserable, dying man at his gate and now in torment, he actually expects Lazarus to provide him relief.

He finally learns that by squandering the time he had on earth by using it as his personal playground blind and deaf to the needs of the less fortunate he will reap what he has sown.

Concerned for his family, that they who are like him will not end up where he is, he pleads for Lazarus to be sent to warn his brothers. Abraham rightly points out, “They have Moses and the prophets,” said Abraham “let them listen to them.” “Ah no, father Abraham,” said the rich man “but if someone comes to them from the dead, they will repent.” Then Abraham said to him, “If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.”’

Many of us like the rich man, are so preoccupied with ourselves we become blind to others, especially those who will disturb our well-ordered lives. You have given us all we need to help us on our way from this life to the next but many of us reject to heed the call to conversion and hence bring about our own damnation.

The time is now - tomorrow may be too late.

WEDNESDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT - 2022

LENT 2022

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

JEREMIAH 18:18-20 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Once again we see a passage from the Old Testament which foreshadows what You Yourself will experience at the hands of hard-hearted, stubborn, evil people who refuse to recognize the presence of God in their midst.

The prophet Jeremiah preached the truth and pointed out the sins of the king, the priests, false prophets, and the people and they would have none of it. We prefer to live cozily with half-truths comfortable, self-indulgent lives rather than be challenged by the Gospel to be holy and perfect as You O Lord, and our heavenly Father are holy and perfect.

Evildoers have always feverishly plotted against the innocent. They are restless until they have shut them in prisons or murdered them. They mistakenly believe that they have silenced them but it has been proved time and time again that the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians.

This is why when we suffer persecution, are reviled, plotted against, tortured, imprisoned, and even put to death for Your sake and the sake of the Gospel they cannot silence Truth. If the Master suffered so too will His servants for they are not greater than their Master. 

From the time of Your crucifixion and until the ages run their course the prophecy of Jeremiah is our hope, for You now stand in the presence of God pleading with the Father to turn away His wrath from us for the Blood of the Lamb delivers and saves us. 

MATTHEW 20:17-28 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The whole of the Gospel and Your brief life on earth is summarized by these verses and for anyone who wants to be Your disciple and to serve You in any way must always bear these words in mind:  ‘You know that among the pagans the rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’

We are always jostling and elbowing each other so we can be in the front row and occupy the best seats in the house. We want to be recognized, treated with respect, greeted, we want people to make way for us and lead us to seats reserved for us. You remind us that this is the way of the world and we are not to emulate the world for the world is not our home.  

You do not sugarcoat the cost of discipleship. In plain terms, You explain what You will soon undergo in Jerusalem. This is why You were born, why You came into the earth.

‘Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the pagans to be mocked and scourged and crucified; and on the third day he will rise again.’ 

This is terrifying to the disciples who expected places of honor and respect once You established Your Kingdom. Once the others knew that the two were jockeying for places of honor they were indignant and once again, You had to remind them what discipleship was all about.

‘You know that among the pagans the rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’

As Your disciples were are invited to imitate You. We are called to serve to be counted as the last and the least, to be humble.  Everything that the world glorifies and embraces to reach the top is contradictory to those who wish to enter the Kingdom of God.

TUESDAY OF THE SECOND OF LENT - 2022

LENT 2022

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Shake off all your sins – it is the Lord who speaks –
and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. EZ 18:31

ISAIAH :10,16-20 ©

My Soul's Beloved, 

Never has there been a greater need for people of goodwill to lay down their lives even to the shedding of their blood if necessary, to bring the world back to its senses. We are on the brink of annihilation and will be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah. 

Violence, evil, destruction, and death are all around us. The righteous are persecuted, scorned, mocked, reviled, and imprisoned.  The cries of the innocent plead for justice but the merciless stifle their cries until they can be heard no more. 

What terrible punishment must we first endure Beloved, before we cease to do evil and return to You with a contrite heart, a humble spirit, and a willingness to surrender our entire lives to You and be washed clean of our iniquity?

You are always willing to warmly embrace repentant sinners and welcome them home. Grant us all the grace to turn away from our wicked way and to resolve to do good rather than evil. May no one doubt Your willingness to forgive the most heinous sins and give us a new heart, a new spirit, a new life.

Thank You, for the awesome Sacrament of Reconciliation may we come to You in humility and confess our sins and be restored once again as members of the household of God.

MATTHEW 23:1-12 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Nothing is as unattractive as those in positions of leadership who are duplicitous. Nothing is as revolting to the sensibilities of the faithful as rabid wolves who disguise themselves in sheep's clothing to prey on the innocent and the unsuspecting in order to plunder, steal and destroy. 

Nothing can more easily destroy the faith of believers when the very shepherds they look to for guidance in matters of faith and morals are morally bankrupt. Many leave never to return.

Today, it will be most profitable to us all to sit up and take note of Your warning to those entrusted with leading, shepherding, and guiding as bishops, priests, religious, parents, teachers, and all who are responsible in leading and walking with the people of God on the Way to eternal life.

Addressing the people and his disciples Jesus said, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. You must therefore do what they tell you and listen to what they say; but do not be guided by what they do: since they do not practise what they preach. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but will they lift a finger to move them? Not they! Everything they do is done to attract attention, like wearing broader phylacteries and longer tassels, like wanting to take the place of honour at banquets and the front seats in the synagogues, being greeted obsequiously in the market squares and having people call them Rabbi.

Without humility, it is impossible to please God. You teach us servant leadership and unless we model our lives on You we will miss the mark completely. ‘The greatest among you must be your servant. Anyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted.’