FRIDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. MT 4:4

WISDOM 2:1,12-22 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

These verses from the Book of Wisdom point out clearly how those sinners who have given their lives over to Satan are positively rabid in their diabolical hatred of  You, of Your Revelation of Truth, and of Your followers. No institution in the world is hated with such venomous rage as the Catholic Church because she alone stands unmoved by the different cultures that have come and gone and have raised their fists against her demanding she change according to the current popular sinful deranged fad and fashion of the day. Aeons have come and gone but she is unmoved for she is built on the Rock of Peter and You, O Lord our God, are her Cornerstone.

The godless say to themselves, with their misguided reasoning:
Let us lie in wait for the virtuous man, since he annoys us
and opposes our way of life,
reproaches us for our breaches of the law
and accuses us of playing false to our upbringing.
He claims to have knowledge of God,
and calls himself a son of the Lord.

Institutions created by misguided human beings who in their pride rejected the sole authority handed down to Your Bride, the Church, continue splinter ad infinitum ad nauseam and scorn and mock the teachings of Holy Mother Church having themselves kowtowed to, and giving obeisance to an immoral, amoral culture.  

Before us he stands, a reproof to our way of thinking,
the very sight of him weighs our spirits down;
his way of life is not like other men’s,
the paths he treads are unfamiliar.
In his opinion we are counterfeit;
he holds aloof from our doings as though from filth;
he proclaims the final end of the virtuous as happy
and boasts of having God for his father.

Obscene laws are imposed by those in power and are enforced to the fullest extent of force at their command. The aim is to crush Your faithful remnant who heroically refuse to affirm them in their sins. The good are persecuted relentlessly because they have placed all their hope in You. You have assured us O Lord, that if they did not spare You, the Son of God, we too will not be spared. They put You to death and we must expect no less.

Let us test him with cruelty and with torture,
and thus explore this gentleness of his
and put his endurance to the proof.
Let us condemn him to a shameful death
since he will be looked after – we have his word for it.’

We trust You to keep Your faithful remnant safe in the shadow of Your wings O Lord for we have placed all our hope in You.

This is the way they reason, but they are misled,
their malice makes them blind.
They do not know the hidden things of God,
they have no hope that holiness will be rewarded,
they can see no reward for blameless souls.

PSALM 33(34):16,18,19-21,23 ©

The Lord turns his face against the wicked

to destroy their remembrance from the earth.
The just call and the Lord hears
and rescues them in all their distress.

The Lord is close to the broken-hearted;

those whose spirit is crushed he will save.
Many are the trials of the just man
but from them all the Lord will rescue him.

He will keep guard over all his bones,

not one of his bones shall be broken.
The Lord ransoms the souls of his servants.
Those who hide in him shall not be condemned.

The Lord is close to the broken-hearted.

JOHN 7:1-2,10,25-30 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Prudence not fear kept You out of Judaea as You were aware that the Jews were out to kill You and You could not move freely. No one could touch You before the hour appointed by God. However, You did go there quietly and alone before the Jewish feast of Tabernacles but You were recognized by some. You were without Your disciples and the usual crowd that accompanied You so they could not be sure so they discussed and speculated among themselves, ‘Isn’t this the man they want to kill? And here he is, speaking freely, and they have nothing to say to him! Can it be true the authorities have made up their minds that he is the Christ?’ 

Yet, on the heels of this thought came the observation: ‘Yet we all know where he comes from, but when the Christ appears no one will know where he comes from.’ Too often we think we know based on our prejudices, or lies we have been fed. These lies have been preached, shouted from the rooftops, and repeated ad infinitum ad nauseam until they seem true, and generation after generation is deceived into believing these lies. We have only to look at the ever-growing number of Christian denominations each claiming that they know where You came from while rejecting all that the Apostles heard from Your lips, witnessed You do, and carried it all out faithfully with the help of the Holy Spirit. In fact, You knew that without divine assistance they could never recall everything so You assured them, 

‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 

But we need not be downcast, Lord, Your priestly prayer for unity is heard and answered and we must wait and pray as we wait for the dawn of its fulfillment. It has already begun.

Then, as Jesus taught in the Temple, he cried out:
‘Yes, you know me
and you know where I came from.
Yet I have not come of myself:
no, there is one who sent me
and I really come from him,
and you do not know him,
but I know him because I have come from him
and it was he who sent me.’

First will come the great persecution and we must be prepared to suffer as You did before that day arrives. You also assured us that we will receive all the grace, courage, and strength and to die if need be. Thank You!

They would have arrested him then, but because his time had not yet come no one laid a hand on him.