DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS
Hail to you, our King!
Obedient to the Father, you were led to your crucifixion
as a meek lamb is led to the slaughter.
Obedient to the Father, you were led to your crucifixion
as a meek lamb is led to the slaughter.
My Soul's Beloved,
Every prophecy in the Old Testament and in particular all that the prophet Isaiah says today is fulfilled in You, and we, by virtue of our baptism, are given a share in Your triple calling as priest, prophet, and king.
You are the Eternal High Priest, the Prophet of Prophets, and the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Father sent You into the world making with us a lasting Covenant that supersedes every other Covenant He ever made throughout salvation history beginning with the fall of Adam and Eve.
God who created us for eternal joy loves His sinful creatures immeasurably and refused to abandon us to death. We were created for life in abundance and He would ensure we received it through You. Thank You, my Lord, and my God for coming into the world and paying the price that bought my salvation at the cost of Yours. Thank You for the brutal passion, the cruel suffering, and the barbaric crucifixion You endured for me. Thank You for praying for me to the end. Thank You for seeing me and loving me while You endured the savagery of the executioners and finding the strength to suffer the insufferable so I would not be lost to death forever.
Because of Your obedience even unto death on the Cross. Because You became less than us in order to redeem us and thus enable us to have a share in Your glory God has raised You high above all and has made You the light of the nations. It is right and fitting that God has ordained that no one can taste eternal bliss, nor can anyone enter the Kingdom of God unless they come through You.
PSALM 70(71):1-6,15,17 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
You are my refuge, my help, my deliverer, my savior, my redeemer, my Lord, my King, and my God. Why then am I so weak that I allow every trouble to fill me with fear and anxiety? My faith is weak. I allow every storm to buffet me and I become fainthearted and sorrowful. Thank You for Your patience and for ministering to me and consoling me. Thank You for Your ever-present help. Thank You for the gift of Your Mother Mary - she is my treasure just as she is Yours. She comforts me and intercedes for me.
Thank You, Lord, for never giving up on me. Thank You for pursuing me even when I ran away from You. Thank You for heeding my prayers and answering me even when the answer was not what I was looking for. Thank You for delivering me from the Enemy.
You O Lord are my hope, my joy, and my peace. From You, I receive perfect rest from this turbulent world of sorrow and sin. From the moment of my conception, You have been with me leading me slowly, tenderly, and surely every step of the way that I journey from here until I reach that place of eternal rest in You. You are my eternal home.
JOHN 13:21-33,36-38 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
Everything is now coming to a climax. You experience every human emotion of dread, sorrow, and sadness while Your whole being shuddered and recoiled inwardly from the barbaric suffering You knew You would have to endure shortly. Of the many things that wound You to the heart and trouble Your spirit greatly is the rejection of the very people God chose and sent You to save and the betrayal of Judas, one of the Twelve - an apostle and a friend.
The overwhelming sadness in Your heart causes You to reveal that one of them seated at the table and sharing the Passover meal with You would betray You. It sent shockwaves around the room prompting Simon Peter to ask the beloved disciple reclining next to You to find out from You who the scoundrel was. 'Who is it, Lord?' he asks and You reply, ‘It is the one to whom I give the piece of bread that I shall dip in the dish.’ Dipping the bread You gave it to the traitor Judas son of Simon Iscariot. His infamy will be remembered eternally. We are told that as soon as You pointed him to the rest Satan entered into Judas. Speaking directly to him You said, ‘What you are going to do, do quickly.’ Now that the hour had finally arrived You were ready. The evangelist tells us he left the room and walked out into the darkness as it was night.
Judas was not to be a part of what was to follow since he had damned himself. You speak intimately to the rest, Your closest friends who would be the means by which the saving word of the Gospel would be preached to the ends of the earth.
Thank You, Lord, for the glory the Father has granted You through the Cross on which You were lifted high drawing all humanity to Yourself and redeeming the whole human race. Thank You for these holy days that are upon us and for the time granted to us to reflect on what You have done for us - thank You for Your abiding Presence in the world through the Holy Eucharist. You have not left us alone. We are never alone. You are Emmanuel, God with us until time shall cease.
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