TUESDAY OF THE 2ND WEEK OF ADVENT - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The day of the Lord is near;
Look, he comes to save us.

ISAIAH 40:1-11 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

All who know You, all who are called by Your Name, all who are members of Your mystical Body are blessed beyond belief. We are Your people, the new people of the New Jerusalem, the City of God, the Kingdom of Heaven and You O Lord our the Gate by which all love You and believe in You may enter. You are the Good Shepherd and You keep Your flock safe for eternal life. Those who stray You do not abandon but You go in search of the lost and finding them bring them back to the fold.

You ensure that our food and drink never run out. You feed us with the finest wheat of Your Living Word and You fill our mouth with the sweet wine of life-giving Sacraments. You have washed away our iniquities, You have cleansed us of all our sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. As often as we fall, You do not reject us, but forgive is when we return to You with humble and contrite hearts. You know we are weak and You pity us.

Thank You, Lord, for all the good shepherds in the Church both among the Bishops who are the successors to the Apostles, and among the lay faithful who spend their lives proclaiming the Good News. Keep them safe in Your love and bless their ministry. May their labor bear abundant good fruit and may we who hear them and are blessed, in turn, proclaim the message of love in every season of our lives. 

Go up on a high mountain,

joyful messenger to Zion.
Shout with a loud voice,
joyful messenger to Jerusalem.
Shout without fear,
say to the towns of Judah,
‘Here is your God.’

He is like a shepherd feeding his flock,
gathering lambs in his arms,
holding them against his breast
and leading to their rest the mother ewes.

PSALM  95(96):1-3,10-13 ©

O sing a new song to the Lord,

sing to the Lord all the earth.
O sing to the Lord, bless his name.
Proclaim his help day by day.

Tell among the nations his glory

and his wonders among all the peoples.
Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’
He will judge the peoples in fairness.

Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad,

let the sea and all within it thunder praise,
let the land and all it bears rejoice,
all the trees of the wood shout for joy
at the presence of the Lord for he comes,
he comes to rule the earth.

With justice he will rule the world,

he will judge the peoples with his truth.

Here is our God coming with power.

MATTHEW 18:12-14 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You assure us O Lord that the loving heart of our Father will permit any of His children who go astray to be lost. It is most consoling for us to know that the people we pray for with tears of great anguish and sighs too deep for words are loved even more by God. He sent You to the uttermost bounds of the earth and into the very pit of hell of death to find us, rescue us, save us, and restore us. In this beautiful parable You assure us that You came for sinners, for the lost sheep, no one is beyond Your mercy. 

Many good people in the Church are strong in their love for You and in their faith and would never stray. They may fall, as we all do, for we are sinners, but they rise again and begin anew. But there are those weak, broken, frail, fragile, abused, and sick, who are left behind, or take the wrong path and get hopelessly lost. It is precisely for these that the Father sent You into the world - You came to seek and save the lost and this is why all mothers and fathers, siblings, and friends, and all who love You who pray for the salvation of their loved ones, do so with confidence, for You assure us - that You will go in search of the stray and when You find it, our Father and all in heaven rejoice for it is never the will of our Abba that any of His little ones should be lost.