You, O Christ, are the faithful witness,
the First-born from the dead;
you have loved us and have washed away our sins with your blood. REV 1:5
TOBIT 1:3,2:1-8 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
My Soul's Beloved,
We are all exiles in a foreign land for this is not our home, we have no permanent residence here. We belong to You, we belong to God and we are all heaven-bound. Like Tobit, we must help our sisters and brothers as we journey together. We are to walk in the Way of righteousness and truth and help our fellow exiles to do the same. We are to pray for one another, offer the daily trials of our lives in union with Your perfect Sacrifice, and share what we have gladly and generously with those who have little or nothing.
Tobit had a generous heart, a compassionate heart, and his love for his countrymen was not just words but showed itself in action even at grave risk to himself. Too often, my Beloved, I can get so lost in my comfortable life, unlike Tobit I am blind to the needs of those less fortunate than me. Tobit refused to eat until his son Tobias found some poor, loyal-hearted man among his brothers exiled in Nineveh to share his meal. Tobias was a good son, raised by a good father, and his heart was moved to pity when he returned home and reported to his father that one of their own was murdered on the street and his corpse was lying in the marketplace. Tobit rises at once, brings the body home, laid him in one of the rooms in his home so he could bury him. All the joy in the festive meal was gone, recalling the words of the prophet Amos he ate with sorrow:
Your feasts will be turned to mourning,
and all your songs to lamentation.
My Soul's Beloved,
MARK 12:1-12 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
Tobit had a generous heart, a compassionate heart, and his love for his countrymen was not just words but showed itself in action even at grave risk to himself. Too often, my Beloved, I can get so lost in my comfortable life, unlike Tobit I am blind to the needs of those less fortunate than me. Tobit refused to eat until his son Tobias found some poor, loyal-hearted man among his brothers exiled in Nineveh to share his meal. Tobias was a good son, raised by a good father, and his heart was moved to pity when he returned home and reported to his father that one of their own was murdered on the street and his corpse was lying in the marketplace. Tobit rises at once, brings the body home, laid him in one of the rooms in his home so he could bury him. All the joy in the festive meal was gone, recalling the words of the prophet Amos he ate with sorrow:
Your feasts will be turned to mourning,
and all your songs to lamentation.
He mourned the loss of his brother and gave him a decent burial even though his neighbors mocked him for risking his life to do so.
Forgive me, my Beloved, for all the time that I have been guilty of looking away instead of reaching out to others in misery. Give me a compassionate heart that is unafraid to do what I can despite any risks that may be involved in doing so.
PSALM 111(112):1-2,3b-6 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
The psalmist lists all the blessings that are heaped on those who have a reverential fear of the Lord and who take delight in keeping all His commands.
Our world today is a sad testament to parents ignorant of God and His Word and who in turn are raising ignorant, ungodly children. But there are also those holy parents, wise parents who do all that is necessary, trusting in Your providence, as they instruct their children in the Way of the Lord. Their reward is raising upright young children and watching them grow into upright young adults who are a blessing to them and a testament to their selfless sacrifices.
Such families are filled with joy. Blessings abound. The riches of God's mercies are poured into their homes and their hearts and they in turn share their gifts generously.
Have mercy on us O Lord. We have wandered so far away from the paths of wisdom and righteousness, bring us back O Lord so that the numbers of the holy ones increase exponentially. Have mercy O Lord and answer.
Happy the man who fears the Lord.
MARK 12:1-12 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
Unless we begin to give God what is due to God, unless we have a true conversion of heart, unless there is real repentance and contrition, we will find ourselves cast into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The Father has sent You into the world. He gave You up to us and we rejected You, we mocked You, we belittled You, we struck You, we scourged You cruelly as we led You up to the hill of Calvary prodding You mercilessly all the way although You were drained of all strength. Finally, we nailed You to the Cross and we gleefully watched You die ignorant of the fact that we had committed deicide. With every painful, dying breath, You demonstrated to us the price that true love willingly paid in order to redeem us because God believed the price was worth paying.
Thank You, Beloved, by Your stripes we are healed.
Thank You, Father, for giving up Your only, most beloved Son to redeem us.
Thank You, Holy Spirit, for the new life You give us because we are grafted on to Jesus, our Lord, our Savior, and our Redeemer.
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