FRIDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT - 2022

LENT 2022

 DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. MT 4:4

WISDOM 2:1,12-22 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The upright, the godly, those who walk on the side of Truth and refuse to compromise with the prevalent culture are hated with a hatred that is from hell. It has always been so. Those who dance with the devil find no rest until they do all in their power to crush those who are a living testament to the reality of God. The lies they tell themselves rise up to torment them in the face of those who stand resolute, steadfast, and uncompromisingly on the side of Truth. This is why they are restless, constantly plotting new and devious ways to persecute the righteous. 

All the prophets of old were put to death because they were relentless in preaching the truth. It was to be expected that when the Father sent You into the world, the wicked would do exactly what they did in the past. You were a constant reproach to the religious hierarchy of the day and You were fearless. They hated You and began plotting Your death from the moment You revealed their hypocrisy to the people.  

He claims to have knowledge of God,
and calls himself a son of the Lord.
Before us he stands, a reproof to our way of thinking,
the very sight of him weighs our spirits down;
his way of life is not like other men’s,
the paths he treads are unfamiliar.
In his opinion we are counterfeit;
he holds aloof from our doings as though from filth;
he proclaims the final end of the virtuous as happy
and boasts of having God for his father.

They constantly sought to trap You. They were relentless in their pursuit of You hoping that they would find an 'ah ha' moment when they would finally have You in their power. In the end, they fabricated lies so as to condemn You to death.

Let us test him with cruelty and with torture,
and thus explore this gentleness of his
and put his endurance to the proof.
Let us condemn him to a shameful death
since he will be looked after – we have his word for it.’

But finally, they were routed. They put to death the Son of God and condemned themselves to sorrow, alienation, and exile and so it will be until the time when they find the humility to acknowledge and profess with their hearts, mind, and lips that You are Lord. 

JOHN 7:1-2,10,25-30 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You teach us to be unafraid to witness to Truth. You warn us that if they persecuted You they will persecute us as well. If they imprisoned You, we can expect nothing less, if they scourged You and put You to death we can count it all joy for death does not have the last word.

During these last days of Lent, we continue to accompany You as we reach the end of Your sojourn on earth. We reflect and meditate on all You said and did in these last days - it is Your testament to us. You teach us how to live and to die.  

You spoke openly even knowing full well that Your enemies were everywhere and soon You would give Yourself up into their power. But it would be at a time and at a place of Your choosing. When the hour finally arrives You will allow Yourself to be led as a lamb to the slaughter. 

‘Isn’t this the man they want to kill? And here he is, speaking freely, and they have nothing to say to him! Can it be true the authorities have made up their minds that he is the Christ? Yet we all know where he comes from, but when the Christ appears no one will know where he comes from.’

Too often, Beloved, we know You, we experience Your love, we are aware of Your Presence in and around us but we refuse to acknowledge that You are God and that You were sent by God to reveal the Father's love to us. It is only when we embrace the Truth in its fullness, we will discover that Truth in all its beauty and goodness has always embraced us.