THURSDAY OF WEEK 24 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord. MT 11:28

1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-11

My Soul's Beloved,

Members of Your Body, the Church, have cut themselves from the Vine to form innumerable splinter groups. These in turn keep fragmenting because they lack humility a precursor to disobedience. 

Pride and disobedience are what got Satan and his legion thrown out of hell and he successfully tempted our first parents to commit these same sins by beguiling them into believing that they were in competition with God.

Beloved, You did not command Your Apostles to write anything, You commanded them to teach and to preach faithfully everything You taught and preached. Faith comes from hearing the word of God preached and taught according to Your mind and heart. Who knew these better than the ones who lived with You? Despite the corruption that has always plagued the Church she has not veered course one iota for she has Your guarantee that the gates of hell will never prevail against her.

The Church for over two millennia has contemplated, meditated, and has been fed and nourished by the Word of God and the whole of divine revelation beginning with Creation and the call of Abraham until Pentecost when the Church received the power of the Holy Spirit who will abide in her in fullness until You return in glory. This is why, on all matters concerning faith and morals the Church teaches without error. 

This is what St. Paul too affirms in his letter to the Corinthians. He preaches and teaches exactly what the Apostles and disciples did. 

Brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, the gospel that you received and in which you are firmly established; because the gospel will save you only if you keep believing exactly what I preached to you – believing anything else will not lead to anything.

Well then, in the first place, I taught you what I had been taught myself, namely that Christ died for our sins, under the scriptures; that he was buried; and that he was raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared first to Cephas and secondly to the Twelve. Next he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died; then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles; and last of all he appeared to me too; it was as though I was born when no one expected it.

PSALM 117(118):1-2,15-17,28

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good.

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,

  for his love has no end.

Let the sons of Israel say:

  ‘His love has no end.’

The Lord’s right hand has triumphed;

  his right hand raised me up.

I shall not die, I shall live

  and recount his deeds.

You are my God, I thank you.

  My God, I praise you.

I will thank you for you have given answer

  and you are my saviour.

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good.

LUKE 7:36-50