FRIDAY OF WEEK 7 IN ORDINARY TIME

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Your word is truth, O Lord:
consecrate us in the truth. JN 17:17

JAMES 5:9-12 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

From St. James' Epistle, it is evident that he assimilated Your teachings completely and made it his own. He was one with You in heart and mind and was unafraid to call out sin and name it clearly and succinctly. Sin is sin whether we lie and give it a benign meaning. Poison is not honey and deadly poison will kill even if you drink it despite its sweetness to the palate.    

We are constantly seeking to remove the specks in the eyes of those around us ignoring the glaring logs in our own. We, ourselves, are afflicted and we dare to nitpick the faults of others. You O Lord, are appointed sole Judge by the Father, let us not constantly try to usurp Your place. Rather, grant us the graces we need from the Holy Spirit so we may be filled with His gifts. Help us to understand that in this life we must expect trials and tribulations of every kind. In this valley of tears, we are purified and prepared to the bliss of everlasting life in Your glorious presence.

Finally, he reminds us, quoting You verbatim O Lord, not to speak uselessly and make a lot of empty promises but speak only a little lest we condemn ourselves by our own words.

Above all, my brothers, do not swear by heaven or by the earth, or use any oaths at all. If you mean ‘yes’, you must say ‘yes’; if you mean ‘no’, say ‘no.’ Otherwise you make yourselves liable to judgement.

PSALM 102(103):1-4,8-9,11-12 ©

My soul, give thanks to the Lord

all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.

The Lord is compassion and love.
It is he who forgives all your guilt,

who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave,
who crowns you with love and compassion.

The Lord is compassion and love.

The Lord is compassion and love,
slow to anger and rich in mercy.
His wrath will come to an end;
he will not be angry for ever.

The Lord is compassion and love.

For as the heavens are high above the earth
so strong is his love for those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west
so far does he remove our sins.

The Lord is compassion and love.

MARK 10:1-12 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

As usual vast crowds gathered and often pressed around You these are the hoards of which only a handful desire to amend their lives, listen to You, and obey Your commandments. The rest are there out of curiosity, or compulsion, or even to find fault and discredit You.

The fact that the Pharisees put this question to You knowing that Moses permitted divorce it is apparent that they were not comfortable with the practice of divorce. What other reason could there be apart from testing You and perhaps secretly their conscience was uneasy? You point out first that they were hard of heart and this is why Moses, taking into account their broken human nature, he permitted them to divorce. But immediately after acknowledging what Moses allowed, You make known the will and the heart and mind of God.

‘It was because you were so unteachable that he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. This is why a man must leave father and mother, and the two become one body. They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.’ Back in the house the disciples questioned him again about this, and he said to them, ‘The man who divorces his wife and marries another is guilty of adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another she is guilty of adultery too.’

This is divine doctrine. The Church You founded does not permit divorce. Separation yes and annulment but never ever divorce for the reason that You stated clearly and unequivocally. And yet our non-Catholic sisters and brothers are notorious for fudging and blurring the lines and more often than not willfully misunderstanding Your clear doctrine and wrongly interpreting Your Words to align with whatever fad the culture imposes on a fallen world.

Thank You, Lord for guaranteeing that the Church will steadfastly uphold the Truth come what may on matters concerning faith and morals. The successors of Peter will change through the years but she will hold fast to what You taught and which is handed down to all the children in the bosom of Holy Mother Church in all its pristine truth and beauty. Only in this way can she ensure that all her children will be be saved.