I have accepted the loss of everything
and I look on everything as so much rubbish
if only I can have Christ
and be given a place in him. PH 3:8-9
ROMANS 6:19-23 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
We cannot praise and thank You enough for all that You accomplished for us in the mystery of Your Passion, Death, and glorious Resurrection. We who were once slaves to the desires of the flesh and sought to satisfy and satiate all its wanton passions, thanks be to God and the grace of the Holy Spirit have now been set free. Thank You for the free gift of our salvation, thank You for freely pouring the love of the Holy Spirit into our hearts. Thank You for taking upon Yourself the punishment that was ours and for paying the price for our sins. It is a debt we can never repay except in a small measure, Beloved, we can offer our own lives to You completely so You can do with us what You will.
May we never go back to being the slaves of concupiscence ever again but may we cling to You, Lord, keep our gaze fixed on You, and keep our hand locked in Yours lest in letting go of You, we stumble and fall. Keep us from grave sin Lord for the sake of Your sorrowful passion and bring us at last, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to the place that God has prepared for us in His Kingdom.
Happy indeed is the man
PSALM 1:1-4,6 ©
Happy indeed is the man
who follows not the counsel of the wicked;
nor lingers in the way of sinners
nor sits in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is the law of the Lord
and who ponders his law day and night.
nor lingers in the way of sinners
nor sits in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is the law of the Lord
and who ponders his law day and night.
He is like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season
and whose leaves shall never fade;
and all that he does shall prosper.
that yields its fruit in due season
and whose leaves shall never fade;
and all that he does shall prosper.
Not so are the wicked, not so!
For they like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the wind:
for the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked leads to doom.
For they like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the wind:
for the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked leads to doom.
Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
LUKE 12:49-53 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
My Soul's Beloved,
Today we are reminded that from the moment of Your incarnation, You burned with zeal to fulfill the mission for which the Father sent You into the world. Our salvation cost the Father the life of His only, well-beloved Son. And not just the laying down of Your life, Lord, but the manner in which it was to be accomplished would have filled You with horror and dread. Yet, even though You knew exactly how it would come about, You were aware of how many strokes of the lash would bite into Your flesh and tear the skin off Your innocent Body, and rivulets of Your precious Blood would stream down it soaking the earth and consecrating it for all time, the murderous blows, the outrageous, blasphemous mockery, the many times You fell on the way to the place of Your crucifixion. The nailing of Your healing hands, and feet that went every way to bring glad tidings to the poor, the sinner, the outcast, the forgotten, to the Cross. Every cry and every shuddering sigh that issued forth from Your purpled lips until You cried out to Your Father with Your last breath - it is finished accomplished the salvation of the whole world.
For thirty long hidden years both Your Mother Mary and Your foster father, St. Joseph were Your comfort and Your rest. Tenderly the ministered to You until the hour arrived for You to begin Your public ministry. You knew that the nation chosen by God, and its people from whom You came forth would reject You so completely that they would be the ones that put You to death. But it was not really they O Lord, it was my sins that crucified You, and in turn, Your death was offered in exchange for my death and I received Your life and hope of eternal joy in heaven.
The fire of Your love that You cast out of the depths of Your heart has set the world ablaze. Hatred, murder, vengeance, violence, and immorality, the work of the Enemy, has also set the world on fire - his works of death are the tares sowed among the wheat but in the end, O Lord, Satan has only won the hour - You our eternal day have won the day. Grant O Lord that the world and all its peoples will believe and may we all be saved.
‘Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on a household of five will be divided: three against two and two against three; the father divided against the son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’
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