TUESDAY OF WEEK 24 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

A great prophet has appeared among us;
God has visited his people. LK 7:16

1 TIMOTHY 3:1-13 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

St. Paul speaks in detail about the character of one who is a presiding elder as well as a deacon in the Church. If only our shepherds who are given charge to care for Your flock took seriously the requirements that he lists our Church would be flourishing. Sadly, we live in unhappy times where the faith of a large number of the faithful is weak, and the shepherds constantly give scandal to the little ones. 

Many are wounded gravely by the abuse meted out to them morally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally and have left the embrace of Holy Mother Church. Beloved, we know that in the final analysis, it is You who are our Good Shepherd, and even though the shepherds You have appointed over Your flock fail, You will never fail us. You will keep Your promises to us and the gates of hell shall never prevail against Your Bride, the Church.

PSALM 100(101):1-3,5,6 ©

My song is of mercy and justice;
I sing to you, O Lord.
I will walk in the way of perfection.
O when, Lord, will you come?

I will walk with blameless heart

within my house;
I will not set before my eyes
whatever is base.

The man who slanders his neighbour in secret

I will bring to silence.
The man of proud looks and haughty heart
I will never endure.

I look to the faithful in the land

that they may dwell with me.
He who walks in the way of perfection
shall be my friend.

I will walk with blameless heart.

LUKE 7:11-17 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Today, my Beloved, I am particularly struck by how deeply You were moved when You looked at the grieving widow who had lost her only son and she was on her way to bury him. Parents are shattered when they have to bury a child or one of their children. It is a loss and a grief that will endure for as long as they live. Did You think of Your own Mother as You looked a the grieving widow accompanying the funeral procession of her only son? You spoke to her saying, 'Do not cry' What did she feel when she heard those words? She must have felt comforted when she saw Your great compassion for her. You then went up to the bier, and put Your hand on it, the men carrying it stopped, then, addressing the dead man You said, ‘Young man, I tell you to get up.’ The dead man sat up and began to talk, and You gave him to his mother. She would been ecstatic with joy. One moment her whole world had collapsed and the the next You had restored to her all that she thought she had lost.

Beloved Jesus, You know that I too have lost an infant child, and the grief and loss continue to endure. But there is another greater grief that is just as great if not greater - it is when our children have lost their way. To every parent who has ever shed tears of grief over children whose salvation is at stake and pray to You night and day, we are confident that in time, at some stage in their journey from this life to the next, You will touch them, You will say to them, 'I tell you to get up' and they will. Having been restored once more as members of Your Body, we will all rejoice in eternity as we behold You, our Lord, and our God in the beatific vision eternally.