MONDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTERTIDE - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ,
you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is,
sitting at God’s right hand. COL 3:1

ACTS 19:1-8 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Thank You for the gift of Your Holy Spirit who makes our poor, sin-filled, frail bodies His holy temple, His sanctuary. Sadly, all too often, I live as if I am an orphan and a widow when I know that God is my Father and that as a member of Your Body, I am espoused to You and the love of God empowers me. 

Thank You, Lord, for powerful teachers, and preachers like Paul and Apollos in Your Church, and among the laity who evangelize boldly to the truth that saves. Salvation is found in You alone. Faith is Your gift which is freely given to anyone You will. Believing in You we are saved. Thank You for the gifts of the Sacraments that nurture us and provide all the graces we need as we journey from this life to the life that is to come.

PSALM 67(68):2-7

My Soul's Beloved,

I am praying earnestly for several intentions some of which require a miracle. Thank You for Your assurance in these verses that You are a Living God and that God our Father always provides His children with all they need for He is a good and loving Dad.

Father of the orphan, defender of the widow,

such is God in his holy place.
God gives the lonely a home to live in;
he leads the prisoners forth into freedom.

May my soul sing hymns of praise and thanksgiving while I wait humbly for an answer to all my petitions and prayers at an hour and at a time of Your choosing my Lord and my God. 

JOHN 16:29-33 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

In Your farewell discourse with Your beloved disciples, You made known to them all that was in Your Heart. They would forget everything just as You prophesied the instant that trouble approached and You would need them the most they would scatter leaving You alone and friendless.

‘Listen; the time will come – in fact it has come already –
when you will be scattered,
each going his own way and leaving me alone’.

However, You let them know that even if they desert You, You are never alone. Your Father is always with You. We know that we are members of Your Body so if the Father is always with You, since we are in You, the Father is always with us too. 

Even when Your soul is heavy with all You will endure in expiation of the sins of the whole world, You are still thinking of them and how terrible they will feel once they realize that they abandoned You just as You said they would.

Just as they fell we too fall over and over again and You, You reassure us, my Beloved, that in You we will always find peace. You give rest to our souls when we draw near to You. Thank You for the confident faith and hope we have in You, they are Your gift to us. Thank You also for warning us that in the world we will have trouble. The servants are not greater than their Master and what the world did to You it will do to us too. Let us never lose heart but rejoice to be considered worthy of suffering for You and for the Good News.

You assure us that we are already victorious, we are already triumphant for You O Lord have conquered the world, sin, and death. You have crushed the head of Satan.

‘In the world you will have trouble,

but be brave: I have conquered the world.’