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

1 PETER 2:2-5,9-12 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You have conferred dignity on me. Baptised and grafted into Your Body, I AM a child of God and co-heir with You to the Kingdom of Heaven. You O Lord delight in giving me a share of all that is Yours. From You, we learn that it is in giving that we receive. The more You give us, the more we must give away and the more will we receive - this is the divine principle. Our sinful nature wants to clutch everything selfishly to ourselves but the more we cling to the gifts freely given to us the more bankrupt we become for nothing that we've been given is ours to keep. Just as Your Mother freely pours upon her children all the graces You lavish on her, she delights, in turn, on lavishing those same graces on us. This is why the Church recognizes that she is the mediatrix of all grace. 

Beloved, St. Peter, reminds us of the dignity conferred to all the members of the Church: 

 

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 

Lord Jesus, keep us who are members of Your Body free from sin by the merits that You won for us. Remind the Father of the price You paid for our salvation in perfect obedience to His will Save us all and bring us at last to the place that God has prepared for us in eternity.

PSALM 99(100):2-5 ©

Serve the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing for joy.

Know that he, the Lord, is God.
He made us, we belong to him,
we are his people, the sheep of his flock.

Go within his gates, giving thanks.

Enter his courts with songs of praise.
Give thanks to him and bless his name.

Indeed, how good is the Lord,
eternal his merciful love.
He is faithful from age to age.

Come before the Lord, singing for joy.

MARK 10:46-52 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Today's Gospel passage for our reflection is the healing of Bartimaeus the blind beggar. He represents all of us who are spiritually blind. We are seated at the side of the road begging, unable to help ourselves because we are handicapped by our sins that have made it impossible for grace to penetrate into our souls. We are ailing. We long for You O Lord for our hearts are made for You and they are restless because nothing can satisfy our hunger for You our need for You. We long to restore our relationship with You but the gravity of our sins has created an insurmountable barrier between us that only You can help us overcome. But to make that possible, Lord, it is necessary for us not just to desire it, but to will it. 

Today Lord, we cry out in unison with Bartimaeus, ‘Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me.’ We will not be deterred by those who want to silence us but we will shout even louder, ‘Son of David, have pity on me.’ And when You O Lord, called Baritimaeus saying, ‘Call him here.’ I come to You as well, encouraged by the Church, who constantly speaks to all sinners saying:  ‘Courage, get up; he is calling you.’ Like the blind beggar, I desire to throw off every sin, every unholy attachment, and jump up and come to You. And when I hear You speak to me asking me: ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ My plea is the plea of the blind beggar, ‘Rabbuni, Master, let me see again.’ 

Restore to me and every member of my family our vision once again. Hear my daily prayer imploring You for this grace and gift and say to me now, Lord Jesus the same blessed words of benediction You said to Bartimaeus, ‘Go; your faith has saved you.’ And like him, our sight restored, we will follow You on the Way that leads to Life. Amen.