The Son of Man came to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many. MK 10:45
ECCLESIASTES 3:1-11
My Soul's Beloved,
All too often, it is only in hindsight that we begin to understand how all the events, in our lives, our lived experiences form and complete the entire mosaic of our lives. The choices we made, those that were inevitable, those that were imposed on us. Our mistakes, and failures, are sins of commission and omission, the things we were hell-bent on doing knowing that our choices imperil our immortal souls, and yet we were too weak to resist concupiscence. The good we did when we obeyed the promptings of the Holy Spirit, the choices we made that were divinely inspired, and our faithfulness when we cooperated with grace. The good, the bad, the ugly the heartbreak, the anguish, the joy, the laughter, the innocence, the delight we experienced, and the plunging into the dark dungeons of hopelessness and despair when we chose to walk the way of unrighteousness. All in the end, when we finally make a choice, an act of the will to walk in the Way of Life and Truth, and You supply all the graces we need to strengthen our will and to be faithful, only then we can begin to glimpse that You, O Lord, are God and You do the impossible in using all for Your glory. You O Lord can draw good from the worst situations and choices we have made and this, when we finally understand it, gives us reason for joy and reason to hope. Thank You, Lord.
A time for giving birth,
a time for dying;
a time for planting,
a time for uprooting what has been planted.
A time for killing,
a time for healing;
a time for knocking down,
a time for building.
A time for tears,
a time for laughter;
a time for mourning,
a time for dancing.
A time for throwing stones away,
a time for gathering them up;
a time for embracing,
a time to refrain from embracing.
A time for searching,
a time for losing;
a time for keeping,
a time for throwing away.
A time for tearing,
a time for sewing;
a time for keeping silent,
a time for speaking.
A time for loving,
a time for hating;
a time for war,
a time for peace.
What does a man gain for the efforts that he makes? I contemplate the task that God gives mankind to labour at. All that he does is apt for its time; but though he has permitted man to consider time in its wholeness, man cannot comprehend the work of God from beginning to end.
Blessed be the Lord, my rock.
Blessed be the Lord, my rock.
He is my love, my fortress;
he is my stronghold, my saviour
my shield, my place of refuge.
Lord, what is man that you care for him,
mortal man, that you keep him in mind;
man, who is merely a breath
whose life fades like a passing shadow?
Blessed be the Lord, my rock.
LUKE 9:18-22
My Soul's Beloved,
Today You ask me, 'Who do you say I am?' You do not say 'Who do the crowds say I am rather You say, who do you say I am? You are interested in knowing whether or not I truly know who You are at this moment in my life.
Beloved, with Peter I profess what I believe about You, what I know of You from my lived experience of You and Your very real presence in my life, You are the Christ of God. The older I grow the more certain I am of Your identity. In this sojourn, I have passed from darkness to light, from sorrow to joy, from sin and shame to contrition, repentance and forgiveness and restoration. I have walked the way of the cross often, I have stumbled often, I have fallen often, I have given into temptation often. I have sinned over and over again and each time You pursued me resolutely and relentlessly. You picked me up. You healed my bruises and my wounds. You have wiped away my tears. You have reprimanded me and punished me when I need to be punished but You have also consoled me and blessed me. You have taught me that it is far, far better to obey God's commands with docility and promptly, and in doing so I have discovered that walking the narrow way becomes a challenge that is satisfying in every way.
As I grow older my spirit grows young. The older I get the more I understand that while death is certain I need not fear it for it is the doorway to eternal life. Only if You stay with me Lord until my last breath can I hope with confidence of beholding You face to face eternally. Stay with me Lord, stay with me.
It was Peter who spoke up. ‘The Christ of God’ he said. But he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone anything about this.
‘The Son of Man’ he said ‘is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day.’
‘The Son of Man’ he said ‘is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day.’
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