Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children. MT 11:25
ISAIAH 58:6-11
My Soul's Beloved,
Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Mother Teresa of Kolkata and as we celebrate her life we are invited to emulate her love for the poor, the marginalized, the forgotten, those whom the world uses and abuses and discards like trash and refuse. In the little ones, she saw Your Face, Lord, and in truth, she ministered to You 'hidden in the wretched disguise of the poor'.
Beloved, it is true that we are made in the image and likeness of God, and You O Lord are the perfect image of the invisible God. We cannot see God yet we know Him for we know You, the Son of Man, the incarnate Son of God, the God made Flesh who came among us as one of us, walked among us, suffered like us, was rejected by the world and was put to death in a scandalous and horrific death like a common criminal. You were fully human and fully divine.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, our time on earth is short and in this time we are given a mission that God Himself has appointed us to do. Our mission is to love God above and before all and then to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. You said if we did this we would have kept the whole law. Grant us the graces we need each day to be faith in the present moment and we will be pleasing to You.
If you do away with the yoke,
the clenched fist, the wicked word,
if you give your bread to the hungry,
and relief to the oppressed,
your light will rise in the darkness,
and your shadows become like noon.
The Lord will always guide you,
giving you relief in desert places.
He will give strength to your bones
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water
whose waters never run dry.
PSALM 33(34):2-11
JOHN 4:7-16
My Soul's Beloved,
MATTHEW 25:31-46
My Soul's Beloved,
‘Next he will say to those on his left hand, “Go away from me, with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you never gave me food; I was thirsty and you never gave me anything to drink; I was a stranger and you never made me welcome, naked and you never clothed me, sick and in prison and you never visited me.” Then it will be their turn to ask, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or naked, sick or in prison, and did not come to your help?” Then he will answer, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you neglected to do this to one of the least of these, you neglected to do it to me.”
‘And they will go away to eternal punishment, and the virtuous to eternal life.’
If you do away with the yoke,
the clenched fist, the wicked word,
if you give your bread to the hungry,
and relief to the oppressed,
your light will rise in the darkness,
and your shadows become like noon.
The Lord will always guide you,
giving you relief in desert places.
He will give strength to your bones
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water
whose waters never run dry.
PSALM 33(34):2-11
I will bless the Lord at all times.
or
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
I will bless the Lord at all times,
his praise always on my lips;
in the Lord my soul shall make its boast.
The humble shall hear and be glad.
Glorify the Lord with me.
Together let us praise his name.
I sought the Lord and he answered me;
from all my terrors he set me free.
Look towards him and be radiant;
let your faces not be abashed.
This poor man called, the Lord heard him
and rescued him from all his distress.
The angel of the Lord is encamped
around those who revere him, to rescue them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
He is happy who seeks refuge in him.
Revere the Lord, you his saints.
They lack nothing, those who revere him.
Strong lions suffer want and go hungry
but those who seek the Lord lack no blessing.
I will bless the Lord at all times.
or
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
My Soul's Beloved,
Every great saint like St. Mother Teresa of Kolkata understood with perfect clarity that love is the only antidote to the festering evil in the world. The school of love is suffering. The Cross offers anyone who desires to learn, the greatest and most comprehensive lesson of perfect and unconditional love. True love never wavers, is unflinching and does not count the cost. It is the same yesterday, today, and always. It is not conditional on our feelings, or our inadequacies, love is not about self at all, but finds its meaning, purpose, and fulfillment when it makes a total gift of self wholly and unconditionally by pouring itself out as a libation for the beloved.
The Saints were struck dumb with wonder, awe, and absolute humility once they understood God's measureless love and spent the rest of their lives loving God as He ought to be loved. Nothing was too hard. No suffering too great. No sacrifice beyond their ability to make it. When we say we love God it means nothing unless, for love of You, we love our neighbor. We see You reflected in them and love them as tenderly, compassionately, and graciously as You love us.
My dear people,
since God has loved us so much,
we too should love one another.
No one has ever seen God;
but as long as we love one another
God will live in us
and his love will be complete in us.
We can know that we are living in him
and he is living in us
because he lets us share his Spirit.
God is love
and anyone who lives in love lives in God,
and God lives in him.
we too should love one another.
No one has ever seen God;
but as long as we love one another
God will live in us
and his love will be complete in us.
We can know that we are living in him
and he is living in us
because he lets us share his Spirit.
God is love
and anyone who lives in love lives in God,
and God lives in him.
MATTHEW 25:31-46
My Soul's Beloved,
I have today, I have only this present moment. As the great St. Augustine advises I must, 'Trust the past to God's mercy, the present to God's love, and the future to God's providence.' All I have is the present moment to live in awareness of Your love for me the only meaningful response to this great love of God is to love those around me for Your sake. Nothing pleases You more than when I selflessly serve my neighbor.
Today I must decide if I desire to be placed among the sheep or the goats. Today, while I am still able, I must look beyond myself, my needs, and my flesh. Today I must choose You as the holy men and women who have gone before me. Today I must model my life on Yours and I must embrace the cross given to me, gladly. Without the cross and without suffering, sacrifice, and without the union of my will to the divine, I will hear the judgment pronounced for or against me and I will go with You to eternal joy or to eternal damnation, Today is the day tomorrow is guaranteed to no one.
‘Then the King will say to those on his right hand, “Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome; naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me.” Then the virtuous will say to him in reply, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you; or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome; naked and clothe you; sick or in prison and go to see you?” And the King will answer, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.”
‘Next he will say to those on his left hand, “Go away from me, with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you never gave me food; I was thirsty and you never gave me anything to drink; I was a stranger and you never made me welcome, naked and you never clothed me, sick and in prison and you never visited me.” Then it will be their turn to ask, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or naked, sick or in prison, and did not come to your help?” Then he will answer, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you neglected to do this to one of the least of these, you neglected to do it to me.”
‘And they will go away to eternal punishment, and the virtuous to eternal life.’
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