TUESDAY OF THE TENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2022

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Your light must shine in the sight of men,
so that, seeing your good works,
they may give the praise to your Father in heaven. MT 5:16

1 KINGS 17:7-16 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Sometimes You permit the stream of life-giving water to dry up in our lives because You are about to do something new. When that time comes we are to get up as You bid and go where You send us as Elisha did. It was a time of drought. You told the prophet to go to Zarephath and instructed him what to do when they met the poor widow gathering sticks in order to prepare the last meal for herself and her son after which she said they would die.  

Elijah first asked her for a drink of water. Even when we imagine we have nothing there is still something we can give. A little water to refresh another, to revive another, to give new hope and life even if we consider it as too little or nothing. When she went to do as he bid her, he added that she also get him some bread. This is when she made known to him her dire situation. What little she had of meal and oil was just sufficient to prepare their last meal after which they would lay down and die.

When we think that we have reached the end and there is no hope in sight, we are wrong. God is our Jehovah Jirah, our Provider. Elisha insisted that the first give him a small portion of the food she had left and God would reward her. He said that her act of sharing the little she had would result in God heaping blessings on her. And so it was. The miracle of God's unending supply of blessings until needed is granted to us when we open ourselves and give of ourselves and what we have to those in need.

“Jar of meal shall not be spent,

jug of oil shall not be emptied,
before the day when the Lord sends
rain on the face of the earth.”

Too often, Beloved, we hold back from giving of our poverty afraid that there would be nothing for ourselves and those we love, but the truth that You reveal to us is that when we trust You, You will not fail us, ever. 

Jesus, I trust in You.

PSALM 4:2-5,7-8 ©

Beloved, You tell us what we must to in order to be happy:

‘What can bring us happiness?’ many say.
Lift up the light of your face on us, O Lord.

You have put into my heart a greater joy
than they have from abundance of corn and new wine. vs 7-8

MATTHEW 5:13-16 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

As the Church takes up once again, the season of Ordinary
Time, she reminds us in the Gospel chosen for our reflection today at Holy Mass, that we are the salt and the light of the earth.

We are Your signs in a world that has lost its savor for all that is true, good, holy, and beautiful. All that is right and fitting for us to live lives that are filled with peace, joy, and the love of God. 

When we lose sight of who we are as sons and daughters of God, as Your sisters and Your brothers, we become as lackluster and nondescript as the rest of the world. All who are baptized are children of God and as God's children, we are meant to be alter Christus in the world. Too often, Beloved, we desire to imitate the children of the world we are like salt that becomes tasteless and has to be discarded. 

God grant that starting from today, from this moment, I embrace the identity that You give me. Today You say to me: 

‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven.’

Grant O Lord that all who see me see only You in me and give praise to You and to our Father in heaven. Amen.

MEMORIAL OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS


GENESIS 3:9-15,20 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The very moment that we permit our will to take precedence over Yours we cause an immediate rupture in our relationship with You. 

Your eyes are always gazing on us the moment Eve ate of the tree and tempted Adam as well God knew. Adam and Eve hid because they knew they had sinned but no one can hide their guilt from God. 

Calling out to Adam, God said, 'Where are you?' And this is how You seek out every sinner too. You do not abandon us no matter how gravely we have sinned. You come looking for us, and because our broken relationship cannot be healed unless we recognize and admit our sin, and even though we desire to hide our sins, healing cannot begin unless we confess the wrong we have done.

There is no excuse for disobeying Your command - we cannot lay the guilt on anyone other than ourselves. Sin is a choice we make just as obedience is a choice. And there are consequences, serious consequences depending on the nature of our sin. 

Our first parents lost paradise for themselves and their progeny. Eve, our mother, allowed herself to be lured, beguiled, and prompted by Evil to disobey You and what is worse she became the beguiler and tempter to Adam luring him to disobey You as well. He was the head, he could have held firm and not given in, sadly he did and he completed the rupture between God and man forever.

But God, who loves us so much would not let go of the crown of His creation without putting in place a new plan involving You, His Son. He planned a do-over, with a New Eve and a New Adam that would yield so wholly to God a new era would begin that would reconcile us to God through You and through Mary's fiat.

Then the Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this,
‘Be accursed beyond all cattle,
all wild beasts.
You shall crawl on your belly and eat dust
every day of your life.
I will make you enemies of each other:
you and the woman,
your offspring and her offspring.
It will crush your head
and you will strike its heel.’
The man named his wife ‘Eve’ because she was the mother of all those who live.

JOHN 19:25-34 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You poured out Yourself as a libation for the salvation of the whole world. You emptied Yourself completely and looking down from the Cross in the last moments of Your life before giving up Your Spirit to the Father, You saw Your Mother, You saw me, the beloved disciple, and in a world where sin had found a home, You saw our need of a perfect Mother, Your Mother, who like You, spent her whole life in one sustained breath that yielded in perfect submission to the will of the God.

There we were at the foot of the Cross, and seeing my great need of a perfect Mom, who would take me under her mantle and intercede incessantly on my behalf to You, You said to her,

‘Woman, this is your son.’ Then to the disciple, (representing me and all who are called by Your Name), You said, ‘This is your mother.’ Beloved, I have taken Your Mama to be Mine. I have made a place for her in my home. Thank You, Lord, for giving me a Mother who never fails me. When I hurt I run to her and she pleads with You on my behalf and You turn the water in my life to sweet wine.

Thank You, Lord, for making perfect restitution for my sins and for the sins of the whole world and for giving me such a perfect Mom.

SATURDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER - 2022

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I will send you the Spirit of truth, says the Lord;
he will lead you to the complete truth. JN 16:7, 13

ACTS 28:16-20,30-31 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

When we are faithful to Your call You arrange everything to help us to carry out Your mission. You make a way despite any difficult situations we may find ourselves in. You grant wisdom, You provide the words, and You open the hearts and minds of those who hear the Word of God to believe in it.

This is certainly true of Paul. He was brought in chains to Rome as a prisoner and You ensured that he was permitted to stay in his own lodgings under guard. He was relatively free to carry out the mission to be Your witness in Rome.  

Aware that his reputation would have preceded him, and in order to correct any false reports the leading Jews in Rome may have heard about him, he invites them and gives them an account as to why he was sent from Jerusalem to Rome as a prisoner. He declares his innocence and of the evil intent of his enemies to put him to death because of His belief in You and in the Resurrection. He wanted to remove any suspicion they may have of him due to the aspersions cast against his character by his own people. 

He has no hatred for his enemies, rather he loves his fellow Jews and all he desires is for them to know You, believe in You and be saved. All he desires is to fulfill the ministry You entrusted to him according to Your will.

For two years he preaches, teaches, and writes letters to the Christians in the various churches he has established, encouraging the members of the nascent Church to be faithful, to pray always, and to grow in holiness and perfection. 

As Christians, we ought to emulate Paul who was docile to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. When we do, we will love and welcome everyone as he did and we too will receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit to preach the Good News of the Resurrection boldly and fearlessly. 

JOHN 21:20-25 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Today's Gospel reading in the Liturgy of the Holy Mass
concludes with the final verses of John's Gospel. The disciple who leaned on Your breast always identifies himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. He does not name himself because each of us who is called by Your Name is the disciple whom You love. How good it is Lord, to relate to You in this intimate manner.

We ought not to be scandalized when members of Your Body fail spectacularly. All the members of the Church beginning with those who govern her are flawed. The Church is not perfect You are and You give her a share in Your holiness, in Your goodness, and in Your perfection. She is holy and perfect because You, her Head, are holy and perfect. But as individual members of Your Body, we are scarred, we are flawed, we are broken, we are sinners, and if we cut ourselves from You, we will wither and die. 

Peter demonstrates this often. Even though he is the prince of the apostles he too bears the marks of fallen humanity. Seeing the disciple You loved, he wanted to know about Your plans for John, it was none of his business. He was given a task to do and that is all that he ought to have cared about. You put him gently but firmly in place saying, ‘If I want him to stay behind till I come, what does it matter to you? You are to follow me.’ Often we too spend an inordinate amount of time on vain speculation instead of busying ourselves with the task at hand. All that matters, Beloved, in this life, is that we follow You closely.

Rumors about the Church abound like weeds and her demise has been predicted often and with great relish by the ignorant or by those who oppose her. Each of the baptized is the disciple whom You love and will live until You return. And to each of us, You say, 'Follow Me!' 

And finally, to all who hold fast to the notion of Sola Scriptura, the evangelist has a succinct response: There were many other things that Jesus did; if all were written down, the world itself, I suppose, would not hold all the books that would have to be written.

The wealth of the Church's sacred written and oral Tradition is an infinite, inexhaustible treasure, handed down to her from You to the apostles and from the apostles to all their successors. These she guards faithfully and hands it down without error to all her children. She will do this with the help of the Holy Spirit until You return. 

All that You have entrusted to her is eternal and necessary for our salvation. Your Word O Lord, both written and oral is Truth, and through the Church You founded we are consecrated in the Truth. 

MEMORIAL OF ST. CHARLES LWANGA AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS - 2022

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The Holy Spirit will teach you everything
and remind you of all I have said to you. JN 14:26

ACTS 25:13-21 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Festus brought with him from Jerusalem to Caesarea members of the Sanhedrin who were Paul's accusers so he could make a defense against their accusations. Like all politicians, Festus straddles the fence between Jerusalem and Rome as he seeks to gain personal leverage by ingratiating himself with Herod Agrippa while toeing the line with Caesar. 

The charge against Paul according to the Jews was blasphemy. Paul's crime was to teach and preach the Resurrection and for this, the members of the Sanhedrin were prepared to kill him. The world over, to this day, the blood of martyrs is spilled by fanatical religious powers prepared to put to death those who preach and teach the Good News with single-minded passion as Paul and so many before him and after him have done.   

Festus, having determined that it was a matter of religious beliefs that got Paul arrested, suggests that he go to Jerusalem to stand trial there. But Paul refused. The Spirit, having made known to him that he was to go to Rome to continue to be Your witness there, opted to be sent there to be tried as he was a Roman citizen. Through all the circumstances of our lives, we can be sure that Your hand guides us and steers us through all life's vicissitudes until You bring us to our eternal home.

In all the years of Paul's imprisonment in Rome, the Holy Spirit was with him inspiring and empowering him as he glorified and magnified You until he was beheaded.

Help us to bear in mind always, Lord, that we are called to be Your witnesses in the world - nothing else matters but that we glorify You and Your Name no matter the consequence. We can trust You to provide us all the grace and courage we need even to the shedding of our blood.

JOHN 21:15-19 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

In today's Gospel passage for our reflection is the dialogue
between You and Peter. You address him personally and all Your words to him are filled s filled with pathos, tenderness, compassion, and mercy. While Peter's responses reveal that he is no longer the man who once spoke carelessly, recklessly, and thoughtlessly making brash promises filled with bravado. His own personal, colossal failure at a crunch moment brought him face to face with the reality of his own weaknesses and he is distraught, ashamed, and guilt-ridden. 

Beloved, Your justice is always tempered with mercy and for this, we are truly grateful. Peter was chosen for a special mission from the first and God's choice was to stand despite his failure but justice had to be served first. He denied You three times and he had to make a three-fold declaration of love in order for You to forgive, heal, and restore him as the leader of the Twelve.  

Three times You called him by name saying, 

‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?’ He answered, ‘Yes Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He replied, ‘Yes, Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Look after my sheep.’ Then he said to him a third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was upset that he asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and said, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.’

Peter and the rest were given a glimpse into what he would experience as the Chief Shepherd of the flock. The knowledge of how his days would end would be ever before him as he took charge and led the nascent Church after Your Ascension into heaven and Pentecost. It would be a constant reminder to him that no matter what happened to him all that was necessary was for him to follow You loyally, faithfully, and humbly to the end. 

‘I tell you most solemnly,
when you were young
you put on your own belt
and walked where you liked;
but when you grow old
you will stretch out your hands,
and somebody else will put a belt round you
and take you where you would rather not go.’
In these words he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to God. After this he said, ‘Follow me.’

As Your witnesses in the world, Lord, our mission is no different - we are called to give glory to God by our lives and we do this by following You closely on the narrow path that leads to eternal joy with You in the Kingdom of God. 

THURSDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER - 2022

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

With them in you and you in me,
may they be so completely one
that the world will realise that it was you who sent me,
says the Lord. JN 17:21

ACTS 22:30,23:6-11 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Division can be used to our advantage as Paul did when he was hauled before the chief priest and the members of the Sanhedrin for questioning. Some of the Jews who accused him were Pharisees and some were Sadducees; Paul, who was a Pharisee, knew well the differences in some of the doctrines between the two parties and used it to drive a wedge a between them. 

When asked to name the charge made against him Paul announced that he was on trial because he was a Pharisee who believed in the resurrection of the dead and predictably chaos ensued as the two parties came to blows.  

The Pharisees spoke in favor of Paul requesting that he be released saying, ‘We find nothing wrong with this man. Suppose a spirit has spoken to him, or an angel?’ As each party outshouted the other the tribune ordered that Paul be taken away before he was seriously hurt. He was able to get out of a sticky situation by using their divisive doctrines against them.

You came to Paul, comforted him, and he, being always open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, was ready to embark on the next phase of his missionary journey to be Your witness in Rome. 

Beloved, grant that I too may always be docile, gentle, humble, and obedient to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and be prepared like Paul, to do all that is asked of me promptly always. Thank You.

JOHN 17:20-26 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Nothing in all the world is as scandalous as the constant
fragmenting of Your Body that is evident in the constant mushrooming of groups of Christians each forming their own church. As the decadent culture of the current age we live in is embraced by some, the rest of the group will step away to form their own group under a different leader. At the last count, there were 45,000 denominations worldwide and Your Body continues to be fragmented ad infinitum, ad nausem.

And yet, today, as the Church continues to reflect on Your most tender prayer to Your Father in the Liturgy of the Holy Mass, we know that Your Father who always hears You has heard and answered this loving prayer You make to Him for unity with You among Your adopted brothers and sisters.

A dismembered body is a putrefying and dying body no matter how it is gussied up. Denominations continue to fragment, grow weak and die and others take their place only to face the same fate. When O Lord, will wisdom dawn. When will all Christians return to the beginning, look with eyes that are not blinded and ears that are not closed to the dazzling Truth that You entrusted to Your apostles? Your prayer for unity among all the members of Your Body is the answer to a broken, violent, hate-filled, evil world. 

‘Holy Father,

I pray not only for these,
but for those also
who through their words will believe in me.
May they all be one.
Father, may they be one in us,
as you are in me and I am in you,
so that the world may believe it was you who sent me.’

The Church, Your Bride, possesses the fullness of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty, she dazzles with the glory that You bestow on her. It is the glory that You received from Your Father. Only in perfect unity among all Christians as one Body with You, her Head, will the world recognize that the New Jerusalem is here.

‘I have given them the glory you gave to me,
that they may be one as we are one.
With me in them and you in me,
may they be so completely one
that the world will realise that it was you who sent me
and that I have loved them as much as you loved me.’

You continue to plead at the right hand of the Father for this prayer is always before Him and He has answered it and continues to answer it. While many continue to leave the bosom of Holy Mother Church, many more are crossing the Tiber to make their home in her. The power of the Holy Spirit and the incessant prayers of the Church ensures that soon we will all be one, as You Beloved, and the Father are one. Then the whole world will know the Truth that God sent His only Son into the world not to condemn it but to redeem it.

Hasten the day Lord, when all who are called by Your Name will make it known to the ends of the earth, and the whole world will experience the love with which the Father loves You.

MEMORIAL OF ST. JUSTIN, MARTYR - 2022

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

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

ACTS 20:28-38 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Today the Church in her Liturgy of the Holy Mass gives us two farewell addresses for our reflection in the first one St. Paul addresses the leaders and the flock in the Church before he sets sail. He tells them he will never see them again.

Among the many instructions, he gives them are also warnings of the dangers they face from those who are bitterly opposed to You, to the Church, and to Your followers. He warns them to be vigilant for the enemies are not only without but also within. The sad truth is that all that St. Paul said to those who came to say goodbye to him that day, more than 2000 years ago, holds true to this day. He could be speaking to us in our time and we ought to heed his warning for it is just as relevant today as then. 

‘Be on your guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you the overseers, to feed the Church of God which he bought with his own blood. I know quite well that when I have gone fierce wolves will invade you and will have no mercy on the flock. Even from your own ranks there will be men coming forward with a travesty of the truth on their lips to induce the disciples to follow them.’ 

We must be vigilant always, and the sure way to guard against the wiles of the fierce, rapacious wolves is to stay close to Holy Mother Church and trust in You to keep us safe in Your love. 

Prominent leaders in the Church as well as those ordained as shepherds of the flock have misused and abused their power by all kinds of misconduct and the wounds they have caused on Your Body go deep. Many members of Your Body are wounded so gravely that they have cut themselves off from the Vine. 

May we O Lord, never fail to pray for the Church, her leaders, support her in every way, and do all in our power to heal the wounds of those who have been hurt. St. Paul tells us that the way to do this is to ‘exert ourselves to support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, who himself said, “There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.”’

JOHN 17:11-19 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The farewell prayer You addressed to Your Father before You were taken up to heaven is one that the Father has heard and answered. We take heart O Lord, that despite all the trials and tribulations that Catholic Christians and Christians all over the world suffer, evil has no power over us because we are called by Your Name and the power of Your Name will keep us safe to the end. 

In the three short years of Your public ministry, You revealed, taught, and did all that the Father asked You to. Love is more than just a word but operates actively always. Love does not sleep. Love does not waver. Love cannot be put to death because love cannot die. Love, even though it dies, lives. This is what the Father desired You to make known to us by Your incarnation.

Who is lost, Beloved? Those who choose to be lost, like Judas. We have this assurance from You, that no one who remains faithful to You no matter how weak they may be, no matter how often they fall in a day, no matter if they are only clinging to the hem of Your garment by a thread will not be lost for You are a God who saves. We are saved by the power of Your Name, Jesus, meaning one who saves.

You prayed to the heavenly Father for me. I am saved. While it is true my Lord, that wretch that I am I deserve hell, I cling to Your feet and will not let go and in Your great mercy and compassion, You will not permit me to be lost forever.

Not only is every member of the Church called by Your Name, we are covered by Your Blood, we are sanctified by the Holy Spirit and sealed in His love which unites us irrevocably to God, our Father. No one is lost except those who choose to be lost. 

Grant us this grace O Lord, to be always aware that although we are in the world we do not belong to it - we are citizens of heaven and consecrated to You who are the incarnate Truth.