SATURDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK IN LENT - 2023

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

MICAH 7:14-15,18-20 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

How blessed and privileged we are to belong to the Church You established. How fortunate and privileged we are not to have to make up our own rules as so many do who pick what suits them to obey and carelessly discard what is good because the prevalent culture dictates that they are irrelevant to our time.  Your flock, the sheep You have chosen to pasture in verdant forest, meadow, and field are Your particular people whom You have called, appointed, and set apart. We are privileged to receive the fullness of all that You came to give us. We are fed on fine wheat and sweet wine from the honeycomb. You fill us with joy and gladness that nothing and no one can steal what You give us unless we ourselves choose to walk away from You who alone are the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

PSALM 102(103):1-4,9-12 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

When sorrow, worry, and fear eat into our souls it is so easy to forget that You are a God of love, mercy compassion, goodness, and tenderness. This is why You desire us to keep our gaze focused on You. As long as we are aware of who You are and the debt of gratitude we owe You who have loved us into being, we will never stray from the path of righteousness.

Sadly, my Lord and my God, we are weak. We allow the world, the flesh, and the devil to lure us and distract us with lies. The fruit of disobedience is separation from You and when we are cast off from You, Lord, we wither and die.

Beloved, grant us the wisdom and the grace to remember always that apart from You we can do nothing. Help us not to wallow in the past, or allow guilt and shame to hold us captive in the present; but rather, let us always remember that we are redeemed, we are sanctified, and an eternal and glorious destiny awaits all who are faithful to the end. 

LUKE 15:1-3,11-32 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The good news for sinners like me is that You came for the sick, the wounded, and the brokenhearted. You deliberately seek me in order to heal me and to restore the inheritance that I foolishly, often, and wantonly reject and turn my back on.   

At different times in my life I am both the older and the younger son. Like the older, I am often full of myself, narrow-minded, lacking in goodness, kindness, understanding, and vision. I fail to recognize that God, our Father, desires to give me a Kingdom because I am so busy looking out for my own selfish interests I refuse to allow God to direct my heart and my sight to the greater goal and the greater good.

Too often, I am like the younger son who, taking Your love for granted, demands that You satisfy my selfish and sinful desires even at the cost of separating myself from You and all that is good, true, wise, and beautiful.

Thank You, Lord, for reminding me today, through this parable of the prodigal love of the Father, that no matter how gravely I have wounded God, no matter how long I wallow in my sins, how far I have wandered from God, He is always looking for my return and when I meet You in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, You welcome me back lovingly, tenderly, mercifully, and restore all that I lost and so much more.

Thank You, Beloved, for the Sacrament of Reconciliation that restores my soul to innocence and makes it possible for me to eat Your Body and drink Your Blood so eternal life may well up in my soul and make it possible for me once again to live a life of joy and grace as a child of God and heir to the Kingdom.