FEAST OF ST. MONICA, TUESDAY OF WEEK 21 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2024

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

ECCLESIASTICUS 26:1-4,13-16

My Soul's Beloved,

In a topsy-turvy world with topsy-turvy values here is a dose of truth and reality that most of the world rejects. Many women have bought into the lie that hearth and home are to be despised and the self and the needs of the flesh are to be prized above all else. In the process of proving to the world that anything that a man can do they can do as well they have lost sight of the truth that it is the other way round. Their calling is to do what men cannot do and to do it with grace, dignity, love, and sacrifice. A good woman has the power to be a force for good in the world. 

A good wife, a good mother, a good sister, a good teacher, a good friend, a person who models her life after the Mother of God, who permits the Word made Flesh to dwell in her, who is shaped and formed by the Holy Spirit in thought word and deed and who knows with absolute conviction that God is her Father and with God on her side she is invincible. Such a woman can change the world as she lovingly, docilely, submissively, and quietly shapes the affairs of children who are entrusted to her care and raises them up to be godly and Godfearing men and women who will transform the world and hasten the Kingdom of God on earth.

Mother Mary conceived and bore the Word of God. She was Your first teacher at her breast You heard the Word breathed from her lips by the breath of the Holy Spirit and God was in the love that she poured out on You who Yourself is God. the Word of God, the Incarnate God, the Word made flesh who dwelt among us. She was full of grace, the handmaid of the Lord who took You by the hand and walked with You until You took her by the hand and walked with her into the Kingdom of God.

A perfect wife is the joy of her husband
Happy the husband of a really good wife;
the number of her days will be doubled.
A perfect wife is the joy of her husband,
he will live out his years in peace.
A good wife is the best of portions,
reserved for those who fear the Lord:
rich or poor, they will be glad of heart,
cheerful of face, whatever the season.
The grace of a wife will charm her husband,
her accomplishments will make him the stronger.
A silent wife is a gift from the Lord,
no price can be put on a well-trained character.
A modest wife is a boon twice over,
a chaste character cannot be weighed on scales.
Like the sun rising over the mountains of the Lord
is the beauty of a good wife in a well-kept house.

PSALM 130(131)

Keep my soul in peace before you, O Lord.

O Lord, my heart is not proud

  nor haughty my eyes.

I have not gone after things too great

  nor marvels beyond me.

Keep my soul in peace before you, O Lord.

Truly I have set my soul

  in silence and peace.

A weaned child on its mother’s breast,

  even so is my soul.

Keep my soul in peace before you, O Lord.

O Israel, hope in the Lord

  both now and forever.

Keep my soul in peace before you, O Lord.

LUKE 7:11-17

My Soul's Beloved,

Every mother who weeps, wails, and laments the loss of her child or children who are dead in the spirit is more sorrowful than the poor widow of Nain who had lost her only son. The cries of mothers who know that their children have strayed, have sinned grievously, and are walking in paths that will surely lead to their eternal destruction stay awake at night afraid that they will be separated from their children eternally. 

How great is the sorrow of such mothers?  They shed copious tears, they are inconsolable, and they fall prostrate in spirit and truth before the throne of mercy and grace pleading for the salvation of their loved ones. 

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, Savior and Redeemer, Brother, Friend and Spouse of the Church will You not be moved with pity just as You were moved with compassion when You saw the widow of Nain as she accompanied the funeral bier of her only son? Will You not approach and say to me as You said to her, 'Do not cry". Will You not put out Your Hand and say to each of my children, 'Young man, young woman, I tell you to get up' and restore them to grace, to virtue, to holiness as You restore them to the sacramental life as healthy and fruitful members of Your Body?

Look with compassion on me too, Beloved, just as You looked at the widow, and grant me my heart's dearest, deepest desire, the conversion of each of my children. Thank You, Lord. 

Jesus went to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a great number of people. When he was near the gate of the town it happened that a dead man was being carried out for burial, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a considerable number of the townspeople were with her. When the Lord saw her he felt sorry for her. ‘Do not cry’ he said. Then he went up and put his hand on the bier and the bearers stood still, and he said, ‘Young man, I tell you to get up.’ And the dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Everyone was filled with awe and praised God saying, ‘A great prophet has appeared among us; God has visited his people.’ And this opinion of him spread throughout Judaea and all over the countryside.