WEDNESDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light of life. JN 8:12

JEREMIAH 18:18-20 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Ever since the fall Satan has insidiously wormed his way into the hearts and minds of those who are prideful and filled with all-consuming hate and envy of those who are in a covenant relationship with You. Every prophet in the Old Testament faced the murderous hatred of the worldly, the wealthy, and the powerful because they were unafraid to call out their sins publicly but warned them that God would crush them and they would be consigned to eternal death if they did not repent.

The scribes and the Pharisees were no different. They saw You as a threat to the powerful religious positions they held because You exposed their hypocrisy publicly and repeatedly pointed out their duplicitous compromising of the Law of God. They kept the letter of the Law while neglecting its spirit.

In our world today, Lord, nothing has changed. It boggles the mind to see how much worse our world is than Sodom and Gomorrah. The world hates the Church because she is unwavering and uncompromising on matters of faith, morals, and Your Word handed down to her from You to the Apostles and their successors. The rich and unbroken Tradition is handed on from one generation to the next without alteration or change. Whereas the world demands that she change with the ever-changing sinful and immoral culture. The vitriol and pure malice spewed on the Church and the violence and murderous hate shown to those who live the faith publicly only serve to strengthen her. You assure us that if they hate us we ought not to worry for the world hated You first and not only were You hated they put You to death just as they did the prophets before You. The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians - it is the good seed that continues to bear fruit some 30, some 60, and some a hundred.  

Like Moses, You stand in the breach and we will be safe until You return in glory.

PSALM 30(31):5-6,14-16 ©

Release me from the snares they have hidden

for you are my refuge, Lord.
Into your hands I commend my spirit.
It is you who will redeem me, Lord.

I have heard the slander of the crowd,

fear is all around me,
as they plot together against me,
as they plan to take my life.

But as for me, I trust in you, Lord;

I say: ‘You are my God.
My life is in your hands, deliver me
from the hands of those who hate me.’

Save me in your love, O Lord.