Repent, says the Lord,
for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. MT 4:17
HOSEA 14:2-10 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
Today You assure us that no matter how far we stray, no matter how grievous our sins, we can return to You. For you are God of mercy, kindness, and compassion. You even tell us how we ought to pray when we stray from the path of holiness and righteousness.
If we resolve to return to You turning away from our sins, if we implore You to wash away our iniquity You will fill us with joy once again. Praise will well up in us when we recall all the ways in which You have been gracious to us and blessed us always. You are a God of love and You desire us to know and love You, to obey Your commandments, for only when we live in obedience to Your laws and allow Your Word to be the light that guides and directs our steps, can we experience true joy.
Your love O Lord heals our wounds. When we invite Your Holy Spirit to make His home in us our whole being is radiant with Your light and no one and nothing can steal this joy from us. You never cease to woo us, to cajole us, to invite us to return to You and to live in Your Presence. If we live in You, move in You, and have our being rooted in You then we will flourish.
Too often we are unaware of the idols before which we worship - these idols can even be our own regrets and our failures. We can even permit sorrow to become so all-consuming we fail to surrender everything wholeheartedly to Your sovereign Lordship over us and over those we love.
Thank You for reminding me today that it is You who hear my prayer and care for me. If at all I bear good fruit it is because You care for me and You help me to bear lasting fruit in every season of my life. Beloved, please count me among those who are virtuous so I will not stumble, but when I do fall because I am a sinner, I trust You to take me by the hand, steady me, and help me to continue to walk in the Way of Truth that leads me to Life. Thank You.
PSALM 80(81):6,8-11,14,17 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
In this chaotic world that we live in today if we allow the hideous cacophony of sounds to drown Your voice, we will stop our ears from listening to Your voice and heeding Your warning.
We ought to be mindful always of Your great mercies from the moment of our conception. It is You O Lord, who willed us to be born, who ensured that we were baptized, we were received into the bosom of Holy Mother Church when we became children of God. We are redeemed by You and sanctified by the Holy Spirit and we owe everything to the goodness and graciousness of our God who in You, has blessed us with every grace and blessing in the heavenly places.
There are moments in my life when sorrow, sadness, regret, failure, and the knowledge of my own weaknesses and helplessness overwhelm me, but Lord, there has never been a time when I called You and You did not answer me. There are times when I failed to hear You because I was so consumed and absorbed with my own feelings but You O Lord, were always there.
My Soul's Beloved, may there never come a time when You lament over me because I am stubborn, hard-hearted, and rebellious. Keep me O Lord, and all those I love, as the apple of Your eye, and continue to 'feed us with finest wheat and fill us with honey from the rock.'
MARK 12:28-34 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
When the scribe put this question to You, ‘Which is the first of all the commandments?’ and You replied, ‘This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself.’ It is clear from the scribe's response that there is absolutely no room for ambiguity. Having grasped exactly what the commandment demanded of God's people he added, ‘Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true: that he is one and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.’
And yet, we sinners, knowing full well what the command of God demands from us we prevaricate, we obfuscate the truth we pretend to misunderstand when it comes to giving God the preeminent place in our lives. If we truly love God with our entire being then the proof of that love is visible in how we love our neighbor. Genuine love of neighbor means willing their good always regardless of the circumstances. It isn't easy Lord, but true love never is. We need Your help, we need Your grace, we need You.
No comments:
Post a Comment