TUESDAY OF WEEK 13 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

My soul is waiting for the Lord,
I count on his word. PS 129:5

AMOS 3:1-8,4:11-12

My Soul's Beloved,

Were it not for You, O Lord had not the Father sent You into the world because He so loved us that He gave us His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life - we would tremble with fear at the words of the prophet Amos.

Over and over again we see in the Old Testament how grievously God's chosen people sinned and did all that was forbidden. They broke the commandments with impunity and they were punished. So often they were destroyed,  taken captives, and exiled, but God always left a poor remnant behind and God always began anew with a few of the little ones that the world thought too small and too unworthy.  

Our present culture is given over to evil and to death. While we may think that the current depravity of the sins of our age is unlike any in the past, the truth is that there are no new sins. As the Word of God tells us in Ecclesiastes What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

Beloved, You bore our sins, You took on Yourself the penalty that was ours. We are redeemed by Your Precious Blood, this is why, O Lord, we know that God will never forsake us but will continue to woo us until we return to Him. We have hope because we have You and through You, my Beloved, we have access to the Father's Heart. Thank You. 

PSALM 5:5-8

You are no God who loves evil;

no sinner is your guest.
The boastful shall not stand their ground
before your face.

You hate all who do evil;

you destroy all who lie.
The deceitful and bloodthirsty man
the Lord detests.

But I through the greatness of your love

have access to your house.
I bow down before your holy temple,
filled with awe.

Lead me, O Lord, in your justice.

MATTHEW 8:23-27

My Soul's Beloved,

I am in the same boat as the disciples - it is the boat in which You are present. It is Peter's Boat. The Father made known through the Holy Spirit that Peter was the one on whom You would build Your Church and You have assured her that the gates of hell shall not prevail against her. Satan and his fallen angels are striving mightily to snatch God's people from Him but evil is defeated, You have conquered. Yes, we are living in the final age and the devil in his death throes seeks to take with him as many as he can before You return in glory and majesty to establish forever Your glorious reign. 

But for now, Beloved, the Bark of Peter is on perilous seas. The waves rise high threatening to swamp the boat, the winds shriek maniacally tossing the boat high and then bringing it violently down and those in her are terrified lest we perish. Many in the boat, Lord, are not living holy lives, we have made compromises with the world, we have not followed Your Commandments, we are often ungodly and we have raised ungodly children by our neglect in raising them in the fear of the Lord. While it may seem that all is lost, Beloved, You are still in the Boat. Asleep or awake You are still with us. You will not let us perish. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, I trust in You. Have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Jesus got into the boat followed by his disciples. Without warning a storm broke over the lake, so violent that the waves were breaking right over the boat. But he was asleep. So they went to him and woke him saying, ‘Save us, Lord, we are going down!’ And he said to them, ‘Why are you so frightened, you men of little faith?’ And with that he stood up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and all was calm again. The men were astounded and said, ‘Whatever kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey him.’