STS. CORNELIUS, POPE& ST. CYPRIAN, BISHOP & MARTYR, ON MONDAY OF WEEK 24 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son:
everyone who believes in him has eternal life. JN 3:16

1 CORINTHIANS 11:17-26,33

My Soul's Beloved,

The heart and soul of the celebration of Holy Mass since You instituted it at the Last Supper and consummated the Holy Sacrifice on the Cross on Golgotha, and which You commanded should be done in memory of You until You come again remains unchanged. We celebrate the Lord's Supper in exactly the same manner that You did and the Apostles handed down through their successors just as St. Paul himself received it: 

For this is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you: that on the same night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this as a memorial of me.’ In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.’ Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death. So to sum up, my dear brothers, when you meet for the Meal, wait for one another.

The way that Holy Mass is celebrated in the Latin rite has undergone changes to meet the needs of the faithful but the structure remains unchanged since apostolic times. We can see even from the time of St. Paul how the community was causing scandal:

On the subject of instructions, I cannot say that you have done well in holding meetings that do you more harm than good. 

The point is, when you hold these meetings, it is not the Lord’s Supper that you are eating, since when the time comes to eat, everyone is in such a hurry to start his own supper that one person goes hungry while another is getting drunk. Surely you have homes for eating and drinking in? Surely you have enough respect for the community of God not to make poor people embarrassed? What am I to say to you? Congratulate you? I cannot congratulate you on this.

It is heartbreaking to watch divisions between those who prefer one particular form over another and cause real division by their prideful and painful rejection of what the Church in her wisdom holds fast and lets loose. 

Grant us humility O Lord to consider the needs of those who benefit greatly from a simpler way of celebrating the Holy Eucharist while receiving all its merits, graces, blessings, and benefits for their spiritual well-being.

PSALM 39(40):7-10,17

Proclaim the death of the Lord, until he comes.

You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings,

  but an open ear.

You do not ask for holocaust and victim.

  Instead, here am I.

In the scroll of the book it stands written

  that I should do your will.

My God, I delight in your law

  in the depth of my heart.

Your justice I have proclaimed

  in the great assembly.

My lips I have not sealed;

  you know it, O Lord.

O let there be rejoicing and gladness

  for all who seek you.

Let them ever say: ‘The Lord is great’,

  who love your saving help.

Proclaim the death of the Lord, until he comes.

LUKE 7:1-10

My Soul's Beloved,

There are many members within Your Body, the Church, who rigidly hold on to their views. They are unwilling to even consider that there can be anything good, holy, and beautiful in those they oppose as they are unable to see beyond their own narrow and blinkered vision.

This was not the case with the Jewish elders in Capernaum who came to plead the cause of the centurion whose favorite servant was sick and was near death. They told You about how generous he was to them and how he had even built a synagogue. You willingly agreed to do as they asked and proceeded to go with them to his house which was quite near.

When the centurion heard that You were on the way to him he sent word with his friends saying:

Sir,’ he said ‘do not put yourself to trouble; because I am not worthy to have you under my roof; and for this same reason I did not presume to come to you myself; but give the word and let my servant be cured. For I am under authority myself, and have soldiers under me; and I say to one man: Go, and he goes; to another: Come here, and he comes; to my servant: Do this, and he does it.’ 

We can learn much from those we sometimes despise or look down upon as unworthy because of their beliefs, their faith, and their way of worshipping God which is contradictory to our own. While we hold on unwavering to the truth, we must also know that there is much good in what people of other faiths believe and we must find areas that unite us rather than focus on and scrutinize what separates. This is what You teach us today by praising the faith of the centurion whose faith in You as pointed out was so great and so remarkable because none among those in the Jewish community who believed in You could match the faith of this foreigner.

When Jesus heard these words he was astonished at him and, turning round, said to the crowd following him, ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found faith like this.’ And when the messengers got back to the house they found the servant in perfect health.

24TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The only thing I can boast about is the cross of our Lord,
through whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world. GAL 6:14

ISAIAH 50:5-9

My Soul's Beloved,

You gave Yourself up for me and for the world for this is what Your Father desired. This is how the Father desired to save the world. Love is the emptying of self completely for the good of the other. The Father could have bridged the gaping wound of separation caused by the disobedience of our first parents with just a command but He wanted to know the fathomless depths of His unfathomable love for us and so He gave You up into the hands of the creatures He created. Sin brought about our death. The Father sent You into the world through the incarnation of His only and eternal Word in the virginal womb of Mary. You became one like us in all things save sin. Sin brings death - You took upon Yourself the sins of the whole world and this meant also entering into the death to which we were condemned so we could receive Your life and live.

There is no way for our sinful, selfish, narrow minds to comprehend the goodness, the generosity, the wondrous inscrutable ways of God that gave us so glorious a redeemer, Savior, brother, friend, and Spouse.  Our only response is to strive to love You as You have loved us by loving and serving our neighbor.

I offered my back to those who struck me
The Lord has opened my ear.
For my part, I made no resistance,
neither did I turn away.
I offered my back to those who struck me,
my cheeks to those who tore at my beard;
I did not cover my face
against insult and spittle.
The Lord comes to my help,
so that I am untouched by the insults.
So, too, I set my face like flint;
I know I shall not be shamed.

PSALM 114(116):1-6,8-9

I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living.

I love the Lord for he has heard

  the cry of my appeal;

for he turned his ear to me

  in the day when I called him.

They surrounded me, the snares of death,

  with the anguish of the tomb;

they caught me, sorrow and distress.

  I called on the Lord’s name.

O Lord, my God, deliver me!

How gracious is the Lord, and just;

  our God has compassion.

The Lord protects the simple hearts;

  I was helpless so he saved me.

He has kept my soul from death,

  my eyes from tears

  and my feet from stumbling.

I will walk in the presence of the Lord

  in the land of the living.

I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living.

JAMES 2:14-18

My Soul's Beloved,

The fullness of the Holy Spirit abides in the Church You founded. The Apostles were handpicked by You after You spent the whole night in prayer attuned perfectly to the Father's will. Your choice of Apostles was His choice as well. The Apostles and their successors with Peter and his successors as the chief of the apostles received Your authority. When Peter speaks the matter is ended. The magisterium is the oxygen of the Holy Spirit for He functions by breathing His life, His wisdom, His power, and above all His love which is the love of the Father for the Son and the love of the Son for the Father. 

The sole reason why Christians reject the authority of Peter and the Apostles is because they, knowingly or unknowingly are of the flesh. They then become easy prey for the devil who prowls around the world seeking the eternal destruction and death of souls.

St. James' letter is a particularly annoying thorn in the side of those who pridefully have placed themselves outside the bosom of Holy Mother Church. They do so to their peril.

If good works do not go with it, faith is quite dead

This is the way to talk to people of that kind: ‘You say you have faith and I have good deeds; I will prove to you that I have faith by showing you my good deeds – now you prove to me that you have faith without any good deeds to show.’

MARK 8:27-35

My Soul's Beloved,

Unless I declare with the same heart, mind, and tongue of Peter, ‘You are the Christ’ I can have no part with You. I can preach mellifluously but if I do not embrace Peter's proclamation of who You are and the fullness of revelation that that statement entails, then I am nothing but a fraud. It is something worth contemplating by those outside the Church.

What does it mean for anyone who makes this profession of faith that You are the Christ, especially in today's world? It means that there is a real possibility that they will be crucified by those who reject You. Peter teetered on the brink of self-destruction when he tried to veer You away from Your mission and You called him out for it in no uncertain terms: 

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man was destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and to be put to death, and after three days to rise again; and he said all this quite openly. Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him. But, turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said to him, ‘Get behind me, Satan! Because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.’

Still, he continued to be the one You chose to lead Your Church. You prayed for him and strengthened him. He shared in Your death and also received a share in Your glory and victory as will all the faithful. 

When we say, 'Jesus is Lord' we do so by the power of the Holy Spirit. We cannot say You are Lord and then reject all that You taught, preached, and handed down to us through the Apostles. When we say You are Lord, Beloved, there is also a very real possibility that we will receive a share in Your passion and death, but when we do, then we will also share in Your triumph, Your victory, and Your glorious resurrection into heaven.

He called the people and his disciples to him and said, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.’

FEAST OF THE EXALTATION OF THE CROSS - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

We adore you, O Christ,
and we bless you;
because by your cross
you have redeemed the world.

NUMBERS 21:4-9

My Soul's Beloved,

Who but God the God of love could save us in the way that He did. Who but the God of love would consider such an unfathomable and absolutely mind-boggling way to redeem the world. We are unworthy. We deserve to die. We deserve to be punished for we turned away from God and we do so time and time again. The perfect love of the Father for the Son and the Son's perfect reflection of that perfect love for the Father made it possible for You, O Lord, to say yes to His plan to save a reckless, feckless people from their own ignorance, stupidity, and concupiscence. We are slaves of our flesh, slaves of the world, and slaves of the devil and we set ourselves up to fail colossally time and time again when we refuse to abide in God's love.

The Father took the very thing, the sins of the whole world, that separated us from Him, and laid it on You in all its ignominy, suffering, cruelty, and barbarity. The Great Deceiver, the Enemy of God and man, for a while, was deceived into believing he had won when You were given up to the power of Satan. His triumph and elation were short-lived. It was precisely when Evil thought it had won that God wrought the greatest and most triumphant victory the effects of which routed the devil and his minions and brought about the world's salvation.

Thank You, Father, for the price You were willing to pay in giving up You only, well-beloved Son to death. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for humbly submitting to the Father's will. Thank You, Holy Spirit of God for the love between Father and Son that made the Sacrifice of Love possible.

Abba Father, may not one soul be lost for it is unthinkable that even one soul should perish after the great, scandalous, awful price paid for our redemption. Grant O Lord that every soul receives this grace, to look at You crucified, repent, and be saved.

‘Make a fiery serpent and put it on a standard. If anyone is bitten and looks at it, he shall live.’ So Moses fashioned a bronze serpent which he put on a standard, and if anyone was bitten by a serpent, he looked at the bronze serpent and lived.

PSALM 77(78):1-2,34-38

Never forget the deeds of the Lord.

Give heed, my people, to my teaching;

  turn your ear to the words of my mouth.

I will open my mouth in a parable

  and reveal hidden lessons of the past.

When he slew them then they would seek him,

  return and seek him in earnest.

They would remember that God was their rock,

  God the Most High their redeemer.

But the words they spoke were mere flattery;

  they lied to him with their lips.

For their hearts were not truly with him;

  they were not faithful to his covenant.

Yet he who is full of compassion

  forgave them their sin and spared them.

So often he held back his anger

  when he might have stirred up his rage.

Never forget the deeds of the Lord.

JOHN 3:13-17

My Soul's Beloved,

Nicodemus got to hear from the lips of the Son of God the mind-boggling love of God, His Father, and His plan to redeem the world at the cost of the life of His only, well-beloved Son.

It would have made little sense to Nicodemus when You revealed God's plan to him only after Your glorious Resurrection and ascension into heaven would he have understood what You meant.

God came down from heaven, incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate. This is the Creed we profess and will do so until Your triumphant return in glory to place under Your Lordship both the living and the dead.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
 the Only Begotten Son of God,
 born of the Father before all ages.
 God from God, Light from Light,
 true God from true God,
 begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
 through him all things were made.
 For us men and for our salvation
 he came down from heaven,
 and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
 and became man.
 For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
 he suffered death and was buried,
 and rose again on the third day
 in accordance with the Scriptures.
 He ascended into heaven
 and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
 He will come again in glory
 to judge the living and the dead
 and his kingdom will have no end.

Thank You Abba Father for loving us so much that You did not hold back Your only Son but gave Him up for our sake. Today as the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, we praise, thanks, adore, worship, and profess our love for You for saving us and grafting us into Your Son making us truly Your sons and daughter.

‘For God sent his Son into the world

not to condemn the world,
but so that through him the world might be saved.’

ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, BISHOP & DOCTOR, FRIDAY OF WEEK 23 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

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

1 CORINTHIANS 9:16-19,22-27

My Soul's Beloved,

Preaching the Gospel is not optional it is the whole purpose of my life. How do I preach it? By the life I lead. I am called to be light and salt in the world. My mission is to draw everyone I encounter each day into the Light which is Your light. I am to flavor the world with Beauty, Truth, and Goodness which is Your Word, the Word of the Father, the Incarnate Word, the Eternal Word which is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

St. Paul, the most exemplary of all the Apostles, who was once the greatest enemy of the Church became one of its greatest saints. He truly became alter Christus and this is what we must be as well. Another Christ in the world. 

Beloved, discipline of the will, discipline of the flesh, discipline of the spirit, and total surrender to the will of the Father is the only way in which I can be assured of living joyfully and peacefully in this life with an untroubled conscience and receive the prize of life at the end of my earthly journey.

Thank You, Lord, that I do not have to figure it out on my own, You make available the help I need through the rich graces I receive in the Sacraments. Stay with me, Lord, to the end, lest I fall by the wayside and am trampled and destroyed. I trust in You.

All the runners at the stadium are trying to win, but only one of them gets the prize. You must run in the same way, meaning to win. All the fighters at the games go into strict training; they do this just to win a wreath that will wither away, but we do it for a wreath that will never wither. That is how I run, intent on winning; that is how I fight, not beating the air. I treat my body hard and make it obey me, for, having been an announcer myself, I should not want to be disqualified.

PSALM 83(84):3-6,12

How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.

My soul is longing and yearning,

  is yearning for the courts of the Lord.

My heart and my soul ring out their joy

  to God, the living God.

The sparrow herself finds a home

  and the swallow a nest for her brood;

she lays her young by your altars,

  Lord of hosts, my king and my God.

They are happy, who dwell in your house,

  for ever singing your praise.

They are happy, whose strength is in you,

  in whose hearts are the roads to Zion.

For the Lord God is a rampart, a shield;

  he will give us his favour and glory.

The Lord will not refuse any good

  to those who walk without blame.

How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.

LUKE 6:39-42

My Soul's Beloved,

Every day our world appears to be teetering on the brink of absolute chaos. It is mind-boggling how every sane voice is being silenced and only those voices that distort the truth and promote and celebrate every kind of debauchery are preached ruthlessly and endlessly until the ignorant believe it. Even children are not spared by those whom You have entrusted to safeguard against the Enemy and to nurture in grace and truth.

We are lied to constantly by those who have surrendered their lives to the powers of darkness where the blind are leading the blind, the lame are leading the lame, and the ignorant fool is leading another ignorant fool. In this world of utter chaos, violence, and diabolic madness we are told that unless we submit we have no place in the new world order. Anyone who dares to announce publicly that the emperor is naked is destroyed.

It is time for heroes and martyrs to rise up and You O Lord will raise them up for this world is Yours. It is purchased, redeemed, and sanctified by Your Blood and Your Holy Spirit. Raise up an army O Lord willing to lay down their lives for the truth. Thank You.

Jesus told a parable to the disciples: ‘Can one blind man guide another? Surely both will fall into a pit? The disciple is not superior to his teacher; the fully trained disciple will always be like his teacher. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,” when you cannot see the plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter that is in your brother’s eye.’

MEMORIAL OF THE HOLY NAME OF MARY, THURSDAY OF WEEK 23 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

As long as we love one another
God will live in us
and his love will be complete in us. 1JN 4:12

1 CORINTHIANS 8:1-7,11-13

My Soul's Beloved,

We cannot say we know You without saying we love You - for You have loved us with a love that is everlasting and the magnitude of Your love is on a scale that we can never fathom. Who has ever loved us as You, all we have to do is lift our gaze on the Crucifix and see the extent to which divine love has gone to redeem us and pay the price that freed us from slavery to sin and made us children of God by the water and the blood that flowed from Your side and washed us clean from original sin.

It does not matter one iota whether or not we can quote scripture and verse if we fail to love. Love saves. This is why all that we say, do, think, and are, must be governed, prompted, and dictated by love - the love of God for us and our response to that love. 

We continue in idolatry when we love our bodies, our possessions, our jobs, our loved ones more than we love You and consider everything else well lost rather than lose You.

It is love that makes the building grow. A man may imagine he understands something, but still not understand anything in the way that he ought to. But any man who loves God is known by him.

For us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things come and for whom we exist; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things come and through whom we exist.

PSALM 138(139):1-3,13-14,23-24

Lead me, O Lord, in the path of life eternal.

O Lord, you search me and you know me,

  you know my resting and my rising,

  you discern my purpose from afar.

You mark when I walk or lie down,

  all my ways lie open to you.

For it was you who created my being,

  knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I thank you for the wonder of my being,

  for the wonders of all your creation.

Already you knew my soul,

O search me, God, and know my heart.

  O test me and know my thoughts.

See that I follow not the wrong path

  and lead me in the path of life eternal.

Lead me, O Lord, in the path of life eternal.

LUKE 6:27-38

My Soul's Beloved,

The greater our love the greater will we grow in holiness, goodness, purity, and in all the virtues. We can see this in the lives of all the great Saints whose names illumine the Church and whom she holds up to us as worthy of emulation. The greatest of all these is Mary, the Mother of God and the Mother of the whole human race. She is the New Eve to the New Adam, You O Lord. 

No creature could ever touch the heights of sanctity that was hers. No one could love God as much as she did. She is the greatest of all God's creation - the most sublime in every way for it was God's will that she be 'full of grace'.

The world cannot say that they do not know the Way to the Father for You O Lord have revealed it. You have told us clearly how we can get to the Kingdom of God without perishing on the wayside. We must walk the Way of Calvary, following You as the Blessed Virgin did. We must keep our gaze fixed on God, trusting Him even when we do not understand, just like Mary. She treasured Your words and all the mysteries of her life in her heart and pondered on them. The more she pondered the deeper she was drawn into the mysteries of God's awesome love for her in choosing her and raising her up above all human creatures. It is God's will that all generations in every age and every nation call her blessed because of the marvels that God has wrought in her. Her flesh clothed the Son of God in Your human nature. Her body nourished You who nourishes us in the Holy Eucharist.

If we are to love then after You, she is our best model for she is our Mother, she takes us by the hand, she teaches us the words, she helps us but only if emulate her docility to God. Mary understood that her greatness was not dependent on her but came from God and we will do well to remember that we are nothing. Everything is God and without Him we are nothing.

‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.’

WEDNESDAY OF WEEK 23 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Rejoice and be glad:
your reward will be great in heaven. LK 6:23AB

1 CORINTHIANS 7:25-31

My Soul's Beloved,

The days in this upside-down world we live in are so evil that people are indoctrinated to believe that sexual activity outside marriage is necessary for physical and emotional well-being. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Autonomy over the desires of the flesh demands that we be celibate and even periods of celibacy in marriage are both healthy and necessary. Mastery over our passions helps us exercise discipline in other areas of our lives as well.

The Church is a good mother, she knows the pitfalls of licentious living and the grave harm it does to mind, body, soul, and spirit. We are not animals but children of God and God's commandments are given to us so we may live healthy, happy, and holy lives. 

No one knows when the end of the world will occur but the times we live in are in contradiction to all that is good, holy, noble, and beautiful and we seem to be on the fast track to complete annihilation. The Church is the only institution that has held on to the Truth that saves but the rest of the world has deliberately, systematically, stubbornly, disobediently, and foolhardily veered so far from the Way that it would take the Hand of God to bring it back on course.  

The world laughs scornfully at the Church but unless they come to her and are taught by her it will be destroyed.

Brothers, this is what I mean: our time is growing short. Those who have wives should live as though they had none, and those who mourn should live as though they had nothing to mourn for; those who are enjoying life should live as though there were nothing to laugh about; those whose life is buying things should live as though they had nothing of their own; and those who have to deal with the world should not become engrossed in it. I say this because the world as we know it is passing away.

PSALM 44(45):11-12,14-17

Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words.

Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words:

  forget your own people and your father’s house.

So will the king desire your beauty:

  He is your lord, pay homage to him.

The daughter of the king is clothed with splendour,

  her robes embroidered with pearls set in gold.

She is led to the king with her maiden companions.

They are escorted amid gladness and joy;

  they pass within the palace of the king.

Sons shall be yours in place of your fathers:

  you will make them princes over all the earth.

Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words.

LUKE 6:20-26

My Soul's Beloved,

The Beatitudes are the blueprint for living the divine life while still on earth but they are contradictory to the beatitudes preached and promoted by the world, the flesh, and the devil which preaches a false gospel centered on self-worship, celebrity worship, human worship, and every other form of worship which takes the human heart further and further away from God and divine worship. 

The world, the powerful, and the wealthy are so drunk on their possessions, their name, fame, their sense of entitlement regardless of who they crush and destroy hate the Church with a murderous hatred. It is the same hatred that Your enemies had for You as they plotted to murder You and did not rest until they had done so.

But Your little ones, the anawim of God know that only by living the beatitudes that are modeled on Your life, Lord, can we be happy in this life and eternally happy in the life to come.

Happy are you who are poor, who are hungry, who weep
Fixing his eyes on his disciples Jesus said:
‘How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God.
Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied.
Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh.
Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets.
‘But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now.
Alas for you who have your fill now: you shall go hungry.
Alas for you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep.
‘Alas for you when the world speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.’

TUESDAY OF WEEK 23 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I chose you from the world
to go out and bear fruit,
fruit that will last,
says the Lord. JN 15:16

1 CORINTHIANS 6:1-11

My Soul's Beloved,

In the litigious culture of the 21st century when people are constantly suing each other for personal gain it is good for Christians to reflect on what St. Paul is saying to us today. The world is full of crooked lawyers who abuse the law. More often than not, in the secular world, justice is not always served. This is why as Christians, we have God's law written on our hearts and we must bring our grievances to the ministers in the Church who will help us redress them justly and in the light of God's revelation, wisdom, and charity.

It is truly a scandal to see how Christian families have allowed property disputes to sow evil and sour relationships. St. Paul is right when he upbraids us and reminds us of what is truly important. The salvation of our souls. If Christians lived their faith in the light of the Gospel then peace would surely reign in our families as well as the world.

It is bad enough for you to have lawsuits at all against one another: oughtn’t you to let yourselves be wronged, and let yourselves be cheated? But you are doing the wronging and the cheating, and to your own brothers.
You know perfectly well that people who do wrong will not inherit the kingdom of God: people of immoral lives, idolaters, adulterers, catamites, sodomites, thieves, usurers, drunkards, slanderers and swindlers will never inherit the kingdom of God. These are the sort of people some of you were once, but now you have been washed clean, and sanctified, and justified through the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and through the Spirit of our God.

PSALM 149:1-6,9

The Lord takes delight in his people.

Sing a new song to the Lord,

  his praise in the assembly of the faithful.

Let Israel rejoice in its Maker,

  let Zion’s sons exult in their king.

Let them praise his name with dancing

  and make music with timbrel and harp.

For the Lord takes delight in his people.

  He crowns the poor with salvation.

The Lord takes delight in his people.

LUKE 6:12-19

My Soul's Beloved,

You teach us the necessity of prayer. We are to pray always but even more when we are met with challenges. In times of worry, we are to pray. In times of sadness, we pray. When our hearts are broken, we pray. When the world gets too much for us we pray. When we are required to make important decisions regarding our lives or the lives of others, we pray. In times of joy, we pray. When all is well with us we pray. In sickness, health, happiness, and sorrow we pray. 

You teach us not only the necessity of prayer but the power of prayer. You taught by example. You taught us the Lord's Prayer, which is a blueprint for how we should come before God and praise, worship, give thanks, and make know all we desire through intercession and supplication. 

The greatest and most sublime act of worship, most pleasing to God, our Father, is the Holy Mass. Thank You, Beloved for being the Altar, the Sacrifice, and the High Priest and for making our own poor sacrifice of our lives, united with Your one, holy, perfect, redemptive Sacrifice as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world always acceptable and pleasing to Him.

You chose the Twelve - they are the 12 pillars on which the Church stands and it will not be moved. We have Your guarantee that the gates of hell can never prevail against it. United as members of Your Body, the Church, we will share in Your final, glorious victory when You come again. Maranatha! Lord Jesus, Maranatha!

MONDAY OF WEEK 23 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me. JN 10:27

1 CORINTHIANS 5:1-8

My Soul's Beloved,

St. Paul came to know of one grave case of sexual immorality in the Church in Corinth and he advised the community there how to deal with it. This is how all grave sins that cause scandal must be treated. Why? Because as You have warned and as St. Paul and the Apostles taught by You continue to warn that is we tolerate such sins then we are all in danger of being destroyed. You must know how even a small amount of yeast is enough to leaven all the dough, so get rid of all the old yeast, and make yourselves into a completely new batch of bread, unleavened as you are meant to be. Christ, our passover, has been sacrificed; let us celebrate the feast, then, by getting rid of all the old yeast of evil and wickedness, having only the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

It is time, Lord, for us as the Church and as members of Your Body, to boldly call out sin and to expel those whose moral choices have caused their souls to rot and they will pollute and contaminate the weaker members. Perhaps by being strongly rebuked and expelled they will repent, be cleansed and healed, and be restored once more.

PSALM 5:5-7,12

Lead me, Lord, in your justice.

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.

All those you protect shall be glad

  and ring out their joy.

You shelter them; in you they rejoice,

  those who love your name.

Lead me, Lord, in your justice.

LUKE 6:6-11

My Soul's Beloved,

At Holy Mass this morning the celebrant's reflection on this miracle of the man with the withered right hand gave me a fresh understanding of the real suffering this crippled man had suffered because of his affliction. It was the Sabbath and he was in the synagogue to pray and to listen to the teaching. The scribes and the Pharisees however had ulterior motives for being there. They hoped You would heal the man on the Sabbah so they could accuse You of breaking the law. 

Most of us are right-handed and a strong, functional right-hand makes life so much easier. We greet people with our right hand, write with it, and rely on it to do much of the necessary work. The left hand mostly plays a supporting role and is less dexterous than the right. You would have known all about this man's difficulties because of his affliction and You wanted to restore him to perfect health. You also were well Your enemies were also present and were looking for any opportunity to berate and discredit You before the people.

Addressing the man with the withered hand You said: 

‘Stand up! Come out into the middle.’ 

When he did as You asked, You spoke to the people in the synagogue, ‘I put it to you: is it against the law on the sabbath to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to destroy it?’ 

Of course, they said nothing if they did, they would reveal their true intentions. 

Then he looked round at them all and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He did so, and his hand was better. But they were furious, and began to discuss the best way of dealing with Jesus.

When we are too concerned about what people will think, or what could be the consequences of helping someone if it got us into trouble, we miss opportunities to be the miracle that they need. You did not care what anyone thought so long as You were doing Your Father's will and the Father's work. This work You have now entrusted to us, Your Body. Grant us also the grace, my Lord, to be a blessing and not a curse to those who look to us for strength and courage.

SATURDAY OF WEEK 22 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;
No one can come to the Father except through me. JN 14:6

1 CORINTHIANS 4:6-15

My Soul's Beloved,

You are the Good Shepherd who having gone before us has appointed Peter and his successors to guard Your flock. The world is full of ravenous, murderous wolves who prowl tirelessly seeking to lure those among the flock who are ignorant, foolish, and weak with empty promises, away from the fold. However, You have given Peter the Chief of the Apostles, and the Eleven Your authority and power to crush the devourer who is the Father of Lies and the author of death. This power and authority is handed down so the Church is invincible against the powers of darkness. 

All that St. Paul says about how shabbily the world treats the Apostles called by You to minister to His Bride, the Church, is true. To us, who are the children of Holy Mother Church, have been given all that You have to give, we receive Your very self, for You pour Yourself, Your life, Your Spirit, and Your love into her making each of her children one with You, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. We are indeed blessed to be called children of the Most High because You are our Brother and the Bridegroom espoused to the Church. This does not guarantee that the Church is free from persecution on the contrary no person on the face of this earth is more maligned than the Pope, the Bishops, the priests, and the religious as well as those faithful leaders among the laity. The most outrageous and wicked things are said about them mostly due to ignorance and prejudice but the Church remains unflinching in her mission to hold on to the Truth and to preach it uncompromisingly whether it is palatable to the world and the culture or not. 

Because the Church is the beacon on the hill which shines its light on the world drawing all who desire to climb up to the mountain of the Lord to enter without prejudice, for all who desire her can suckle at her breasts and be strengthened in her for the Day of the Lord that will come as surely as the dawn all the power of darkness are set loose against her. But they will not prevail. You have won. The victory is Yours. And we share in Your glory and in Your victory. Alleluia!

Grant us the wisdom, the courage, and the grace to remain undaunted, unashamed, and unafraid for we are Yours. The battle belongs to You.

But instead, it seems to me, God has put us apostles at the end of his parade, with the men sentenced to death; it is true – we have been put on show in front of the whole universe, angels as well as men. Here we are, fools for the sake of Christ, while you are the learned men in Christ; we have no power, but you are influential; you are celebrities, we are nobodies. To this day, we go without food and drink and clothes; we are beaten and have no homes; we work for our living with our own hands. When we are cursed, we answer with a blessing; when we are hounded, we put up with it; we are insulted and we answer politely. We are treated as the offal of the world, still to this day, the scum of the earth.

I am saying all this not just to make you ashamed but to bring you, as my dearest children, to your senses. You might have thousands of guardians in Christ, but not more than one father and it was I who begot you in Christ Jesus by preaching the Good News.

PSALM 144(145):17-21

The Lord is close to all who call him.

The Lord is just in all his ways

  and loving in all his deeds.

He is close to all who call him,

  who call on him from their hearts.

He grants the desires of those who fear him,

  he hears their cry and he saves them.

The Lord protects all who love him;

  but the wicked he will utterly destroy.

Let me speak the praise of the Lord,

  let all mankind bless his holy name

  for ever, for ages unending.

The Lord is close to all who call him.

LUKE 6:1-5

My Soul's Beloved,

The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. How marvelously freeing is this truth, Lord. To those narrow-minded, bigoted people who are easily outraged because God will not be confined and boxed in by their squinted view of how God should act, You remind those Christians and those who are not Christians that God is far above and beyond human imagination and comprehension. Who are we to dare to say what You can and cannot do. God created all that is both seen and unseen with just One Word. Only the foolhardy, the hypocritical Pharisees, the haughty, and those puffed up with their own inflated idea of their importance will dare to question what God does, how God acts, and how God stoops low, lovingly, tenderly, compassionately, mercifully over the least of His little ones. 

Man's temerity to question what God does and how He chooses to do it is baffling. Who are we to say that God can or cannot do something? How can we dare to say either to God's face or to boldly proclaim that our human understanding is greater than His? The littler we are, the humbler we are, the more aware we are of our own nothingness the more we will experience the love of God, the power of God, and the mercy of God. God is beyond our own puny little imaginings and can do what He will. Why are we jealous if He chooses a young virgin, gives her the great grace of being immaculately conceived since she will be the New Ark of His Covenant with the world, if He chooses to fill her with every grace and virtue, and takes her body and soul into heaven at her death and coronates her as Queen of heaven and the universe? Why are you jealous when God chooses who He wills to do what He wills?

One sabbath Jesus happened to be taking a walk through the cornfields, and his disciples were picking ears of corn, rubbing them in their hands and eating them. Some of the Pharisees said, ‘Why are you doing something that is forbidden on the sabbath day?’ Jesus answered them, ‘So you have not read what David did when he and his followers were hungry – how he went into the house of God, took the loaves of offering and ate them and gave them to his followers, loaves which only the priests are allowed to eat?’ And he said to them, ‘The Son of Man is master of the sabbath.’