The Lord has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives. LK 4:17
1 CORINTHIANS 3:1-9
My Soul's Beloved,
I have walked with You and You with me all my life. You have been my anchor, my mainstay, but I have not always been faithful. I have left Your side deliberately and willfully beguiled by the world, the flesh, and the devil. Yet You did not give up on me. You pursued me relentlessly and now Lord, finally when my hair is grey I stay close to You and I desire nothing more than to be clasped to Your Sacred Heart, to hide in Your Sacred Wounds, to find my home to Your Heart through Your wounded side and never to be parted from you again.
Grace has brought me to You, Lord, grace has drawn me, grace has wooed me, grace has taken me by the hand and placed it in Your my Beloved, my Lord, my King. You opened my heart and my mind to the things that are good, holy, beautiful, and worthy, and You nourished me with Your Word, as well as Your Flesh and Blood in the Holy Eucharist. Yet, Lord, I am still weak and Paul's description of the people of Corinth is also a description of me. After all these decades walking with You one would imagine that I have grown in maturity, in faith, in holiness, in goodness but this is not true. I still fall. I am still wayward. I am often immature in the choices I make. I lack discipline. I give in too easily to the flesh and its demands.
Help me, Lord. I have recourse in none by You. Grant O Lord in the time remaining to me that I am formed more and more, with the help of Your Holy Spirit into Your image and likeness. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, even though I make this prayer fearfully I make it nevertheless, do what is needful to make my heart like Thine.
PSALM 32(33):12-15,20-21
LUKE 4:38-44
My Soul's Beloved,
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
They are happy, whose God is the Lord,
the people he has chosen as his own.
From the heavens the Lord looks forth,
he sees all the children of men.
From the place where he dwells he gazes
on all the dwellers on the earth;
he who shapes the hearts of them all;
and considers all their deeds.
Our soul is waiting for the Lord.
The Lord is our help and our shield.
In him do our hearts find joy.
We trust in his holy name.
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
My Soul's Beloved,
I am like Simon's mother-in-law sick with a high fever - sick at heart, sick in my spirit, sick in my mind - sad and gloomy thoughts have enveloped my being and have robbed me of joy and gladness. Many are praying for me and mine, Lord, they are asking You to do something for me. Hear their prayers of supplication O Lord, and lean over me in Your mercy, tenderness, compassion, and above all, Your overwhelming love for Me. Let the Shadow of Your Presence cover me, touch me, take me by the hand, and rebuke all that ails me and my precious loved ones to depart from us and then O Lord, in the power of Your Holy Spirit grant us the grace to rise up immediately and serve.
You spent that whole day healing the sick, laying hands on them, and curing them, You drove out evil spirits and it was nearly dawn of the next day when the people left. Exhausted, You did not seek rest in a bed but desired to rest in the bosom of Your Father. You prayed to Him and His love for You revived, refreshed, and renewed You to continue on the mission for which He sent You. The people of that place wanted to hold on to You but You would not let them because You were aware that Your time was short and the work urgent, ‘I must proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God to the other towns too, because that is what I was sent to do.’ And he continued his preaching in the synagogues of Judaea.
As I near the end of my days on earth as well, Beloved, fuel my spirit with the urgency to do all that God wills for me and accomplish all that God desires me to before You call me home to Yourself. Be merciful to me O Lord so I may not stand before You with empty hands.
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