WEDNESDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life. JN 6:63,68

DEUTERONOMY 4:1,5-9 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You are the New Moses, You are the fulfillment of the Law, You are the Word of God made incarnate for the salvation of the world. You O Lord are the power of God and the Wisdom of God. 

This is what Moses said when speaking to the people that God had chosen from all the nations and set apart for Himself, "When they come to know of all these laws they will exclaim, “No other people is as wise and prudent as this great nation.” And indeed, what great nation is there that has its gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call to him? And what great nation is there that has laws and customs to match this whole Law that I put before you today? While this was true when Moses spoke these words to Israel, it is fulfilled in our time and in our age for it is addressed to all who are born in the Church You founded. You O Lord are present in the world these days in a way that God was not present even during the time of Moses, for You O Lord, our God are present in all the tabernacles of the world. 

Wherever there is a catholic church or an adoration chapel anywhere in the world You are present in all Your glory and majesty, heart, mind, soul, body, and spirit. How consoling it is to know that we can come into Your Presence at any time all we need to do is visit You. You wait for us. You long for us. You are constantly inviting us to lay our burdens on You. You encourage us to ask You to help us carry our daily crosses and You will make our yoke easy and our troubles light.

However, we must always keep alive in our hearts and our memory all that God has done for us through You, our Savior, our Redeemer, our Lord, and God. The words of Moses are truer today than they were then. ‘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.’ We have failed O Lord in passing down our faith in all its beauty, fullness, goodness, and truth to our children. Pity us O Lord and fill up our lack. Pour Your Holy Spirit on them Lord and may He lead and guide them into all truth. 

PSALM 147:12-13,15-16,19-20 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We are blessed beyond all imagining to live in this present age. We live at a time when we can see clearly how God has fulfilled every one of His promises from the dawn of creation. Through the fall of Adam and Eve, the call of Abraham, the freedom from exile through Moses the lawgiver, and all through salvation history God has been preparing the human race for Your coming to us in the incarnation.

It is You O Lord who chose us to belong to Holy Mother Church. We are the blessed children born within her and the bars of her gates are strengthened by You. The Eternal Word of the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit abides in her in all its richness and fullness. We are sanctified and called to embrace and enfold the Word in our hearts, to live the Word, and allow the Word to transform us so we can become a light to the nations.

MATTHEW 5:17-19 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Today's Gospel passage reminds us of the grave and great responsibility we have of living the commandments of God in a visible and authentic way in the world. It is imperative that we live our faith in the Law of God with absolute conviction so we can live lives that are whole, holy, and always pleasing to You.

Speaking to Your listeners 2000 years ago You made it emphatically and abundantly clear of the necessity of obeying the Law and the Prophets when You said, ‘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. Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.’

Nothing has changed in all the years since You solemnly uttered these words and they will remain unchanged until Your return. If Your people, who are called by Your Name, faithfully obey the Law of God and keep Your commandments of love, You assure us that You will grant us entrance to the Kingdom of God. More than ever, in our broken world today where wickedness, violence, and evil abound it is imperative that we hold the Word of God close to our hearts and allow the wisdom of God to always direct our will in the way of truth.