Through the Good News God called us
to share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2TH 2:14
WISDOM 2:12,17-20
My Soul's Beloved,
For a while the world is given over to Satan, for just a brief while, and because he is aware that his time is fast coming to a close he has unleashed the full force of darkness, terror, violence, decay, and death on the world. Slowly but surely, little by little, moment by moment, the great deceiver has slinked and slithered into hearts that were closed to God and grace having chosen to separate themselves from the Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. Having opened themselves to evil, they seek ceaselessly to lure as many souls as they can to be enslaved by the Enemy.
Long before God's divine plan to rescue and save us through You, His Beloved Son, the Holy Spirit already made it known to all who have eyes to see, ears to hear, and a mind and heart to understand what You would have to endure at the hands of evil to vanquish the Prince of Darkness forever.
Two thousand years ago this prophecy came to pass and the time of darkness is swiftly coming to a close but until then the devil continues to work feverishly to deceive, to pillage, to murder, and to destroy. Thank You, Lord, for the Church, for the Sacraments, for the community of believers, for faith, for the Holy Father, Bishops, Priests, religious and holy laity - we are light and salt of the earth. We who have already received a foretaste of heaven in the Holy Eucharist have Your assurance that the gates of hell shall never prevail against Your Church, Your Bride.
The godless say to themselves:
‘Let us lie in wait for the virtuous man, since he annoys us
and opposes our way of life,
reproaches us for our breaches of the law
and accuses us of playing false to our upbringing.
‘Let us see if what he says is true,
let us observe what kind of end he himself will have.
If the virtuous man is God’s son, God will take his part
and rescue him from the clutches of his enemies.
Let us test him with cruelty and with torture,
and thus explore this gentleness of his
and put his endurance to the proof.
Let us condemn him to a shameful death
since he will be looked after – we have his word for it.’
PSALM 53(54):3-6,8
My Soul's Beloved,
MARK 9:30-37
My Soul's Beloved,
They came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ They said nothing because they had been arguing which of them was the greatest. So he sat down, called the Twelve to him and said, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.’ He then took a little child, set him in front of them, put his arms round him, and said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’
and opposes our way of life,
reproaches us for our breaches of the law
and accuses us of playing false to our upbringing.
‘Let us see if what he says is true,
let us observe what kind of end he himself will have.
If the virtuous man is God’s son, God will take his part
and rescue him from the clutches of his enemies.
Let us test him with cruelty and with torture,
and thus explore this gentleness of his
and put his endurance to the proof.
Let us condemn him to a shameful death
since he will be looked after – we have his word for it.’
PSALM 53(54):3-6,8
The Lord upholds my life.
O God, save me by your name;
by your power, uphold my cause.
O God, hear my prayer;
listen to the words of my mouth.
For proud men have risen against me,
ruthless men seek my life.
They have no regard for God.
But I have God for my help.
The Lord upholds my life.
I will sacrifice to you with willing heart
and praise your name for it is good.
The Lord upholds my life.
JAMES 3:16-4:3
My Soul's Beloved,
You have given us Your Church if only the whole world were guided by her we would all live as brothers and sisters in perfect harmony. Sadly, within the Church, many are corrupt and St. James enunciates clearly not just the extent of their corruption but how they became corrupt in the first place. He also tells us what makes for holiness, goodness, perfection, peace, and joy.
If only the Church were the City on the Hill that she ought to be then nations would go up to her and be blessed by her. Grant O Lord, that we who are members of Your Body may be ready to give joyful witness to the Truth in a world that is under the dominion of the great liar and deceiver.
Peacemakers, when they work for peace, sow the seeds which will bear fruit in holiness.
Where do these wars and battles between yourselves first start? Isn’t it precisely in the desires fighting inside your own selves? You want something and you haven’t got it; so you are prepared to kill. You have an ambition that you cannot satisfy; so you fight to get your way by force. Why you don’t have what you want is because you don’t pray for it; when you do pray and don’t get it, it is because you have not prayed properly, you have prayed for something to indulge your own desires.
Where do these wars and battles between yourselves first start? Isn’t it precisely in the desires fighting inside your own selves? You want something and you haven’t got it; so you are prepared to kill. You have an ambition that you cannot satisfy; so you fight to get your way by force. Why you don’t have what you want is because you don’t pray for it; when you do pray and don’t get it, it is because you have not prayed properly, you have prayed for something to indulge your own desires.
MARK 9:30-37
My Soul's Beloved,
The greatest virtue we can strive to cultivate and increase is the virtue of humility. It is the mother of all the virtues. Nothing we do no matter how praise-worthy it may seem is meaningless if it is not underpinned and undergirded by this virtue. God is humble He stoops low over His children tirelessly. He willed that You, who are God, become like us in all things save sin. He willed that You, innocence itself, be given up into the hands of sinners to die the death of a criminal. What do we, worthless sinners have to boast of? And if we must boast, as St. Paul says, we ought to boast in You.
Your mission was always before Your eyes. You did not shrink from it but set Your Face like flint to it and prepared Your disciples in advance for all awaited You at the hands of Your enemies but they were too afraid to accept or understand what You were saying to them. We are no different, we too prefer not to dwell on things that are uncomfortable or difficult. Yet it is wise to be prepared for any hardship that we may have to undergo and pray for the grace to accept and submit humbly and patiently to trials.
Instead, like the Apostles we are distracted by trivialities. Jesus, meek and humble of Heart, make my heart like unto Yours. Amen.
They came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ They said nothing because they had been arguing which of them was the greatest. So he sat down, called the Twelve to him and said, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.’ He then took a little child, set him in front of them, put his arms round him, and said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’
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