It is a blessing for you
when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ,
for the Spirit of God rests on you. 1 PET 4:14
ROMANS 13:8-10 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
All that the human heart longs for is found in You and in Your Word. The Christian world has forgotten what it means to be a disciple of love. Lack of wisdom, lack of understanding, lack of prudence, lack of discernment has brought the whole of Christendom to its knees. The world is in the grip of demonic influences because Christians have cut their roots from You O Lord and now decay and death have replaced the true, the good, and the beautiful.
The horrific crimes that take place unceasingly all over the world. The destruction of lives in the bloody wars that plague the world those that make the headlines and those that don't. Abuse of every kind against the most vulnerable and helpless is the norm. All decency and all goodness have fled.
Grant O Lord that today, those who read this word and especially those who participate in today's celebration of Holy Mass and hear this word of God proclaimed receive it and begin to live it faithfully. Perhaps then, in Your great mercy O Lord, and tender compassion this spark of love in our own hearts, by the power of the Holy Spirit will ignite other hearts as well and we will set the world ablaze with our love of God which will in turn will enkindle sincere love for our neighbour.
You must love your neighbour as yourself. Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbour; that is why it is the answer to every one of the commandments.
PSALM 111(112):1-2,4-5,9 ©
Happy the man who fears the Lord,
who takes delight in all his commands.
His sons will be powerful on earth;
the children of the upright are blessed.
He is a light in the darkness for the upright:
he is generous, merciful and just.
The good man takes pity and lends,
he conducts his affairs with honour.
he is generous, merciful and just.
The good man takes pity and lends,
he conducts his affairs with honour.
Open-handed, he gives to the poor;
his justice stands firm forever.
His head will be raised in glory.
his justice stands firm forever.
His head will be raised in glory.
Happy the man who takes pity and lends.
LUKE 14:25-33 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
LUKE 14:25-33 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
Possessing the Kingdom of God is worth the loss of everything, the lives of all the saints who adorn the Church reveal this truth. They imitated You who are the perfect and ultimate example of self-emptying love as in sublime humility You who are God became a man, one like us in all things save sin. Every Christian has to be a sign of contradiction in this perverse world among perverse people.
Unless a Christian loses his life for Your sake and for the sake of the Gospel he/she will not find it. Unless a Christian like a grain of wheat falls into the ground, dying to itself and its sinful nature, it cannot rise to new life. Unless we renounce our own will and embrace the will of God in all things, not just when it is convenient, will discover that accepting God's will in all things is the only way to be at perfect peace in one's soul.
The terrible weight of our own personal cross crushes us and makes us feel despondent and impatient, we complain ad nauseam and desire that we be rid of it but You who were and are sinless carried the Cross along with the weight of the sins of the whole human race. There is no agony like Yours. No suffering like Yours. There is no sorrow like Yours - it is impossible for any man to do what You did for our redemption but love such as Yours of Your Father and for mankind made it possible. For a while, You took on our human nature in order to pay the price for our salvation. If You had not become the spotless sacrificial Lamb we would have been lost forever.
Great crowds accompanied Jesus on his way and he turned and spoke to them. ‘If any man comes to me without hating his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple. Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
Let us all understand well the cost of discipleship if we don't we will give up mid-way for the road is narrow and difficult but You do not ask us to carry the cross alone. You assure us that if we come to You, You will help us every step of the way from here to eternity. But we must be prepared to give up everything for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Only in loss do we find gain and only in death will we find abundant life.
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