TUESDAY OF WEEK 17 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The seed is the word of God, Christ the sower;
whoever finds this seed will remain for ever.

JEREMIAH 14:17-22

My Soul's Beloved,

What are we without You O Lord? We are nothing, worthless, the further we depart from You the greater we sink into the miry pit of despair, gloom, anxiety, and sadness. What are we without You O Lord, without Your help, without Your abiding Presence in us? Pity us, Lord. For the sake of the remnant who remain faithful and keep their gaze fixed on You. For the sake of the few have pity on the many, I beg You. 

I know that we try Your patience unceasingly and You would be right to just annihilate us as You wiped out Sodom and Gomorrah for we deserve Your just wrath and any punishment that You visit on us. But You know that we are weak. We have done our best O Lord but that best was not good enough to keep our children on the path of righteousness. You are a God of love, compassion, and mercy, and are quick to forgive those who come before You with a humble and contrite heart. 

Lord, we do confess our wickedness
and our fathers’ guilt:
we have indeed sinned against you.
For your name’s sake do not reject us,
do not dishonour the throne of your glory.
Remember us; do not break your covenant with us.
O our God, you are our hope.

PSALM 78(79):8-9,11,13

Do not hold the guilt of our fathers against us.

  Let your compassion hasten to meet us;

  we are left in the depths of distress.

O God our saviour, come to our help.

  Come for the sake of the glory of your name.

O Lord our God, forgive us our sins;

  rescue us for the sake of your name.

Let the groans of the prisoners come before you;

  let your strong arm reprieve those condemned to die.

But we, your people, the flock of your pasture,

  will give you thanks for ever and ever.

  We will tell your praise from age to age.

Rescue us, O Lord, for the glory of your name.

MATTHEW 13:36-43

My Soul's Beloved,

The world is indeed careening headlong into the very depths of hell because it is ignorant of God. Entire nations worship false gods having been deceived by those who distorted the truth. They claimed that their false teaching was divinely revealed and they so tickled the ears and the senses of the weak and the ignorant that they soon gained many followers. The Evil One having lost paradise eternally will not rest until he destroys and takes to hell those whom God has saved and destined for eternal joy in heaven. 

Beloved, original sin has weakened us, and concupiscence is the legacy handed down to us by our first parents. Ignorance, spiritual sloth, and betrayal by those responsible for providing them with nurturing love have resulted in a world being bogged down by very conceivable evil in thought, word, and deed. At first glance, one might believe that the number of the faithful is outweighed in number by those who have embraced the present evil culture that celebrates the sensual, selfish, worship of the world and the flesh. It would appear that the devil has succeeded in sowing darnel among the good seed but that is a lie promoted by the Father of Lies and his followers. The Truth is that victory belongs to You. The devil may have won the hour but You O Lord have won the day. We long for Your return O Lord at the end of the age when the wicked will be separated from the virtuous and be thrown into the blazing furnace while ‘the virtuous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Listen, anyone who has ears!’