The kingdom of God is close at hand:
repent and believe the Good News. MK 1:15
PROVERBS 30:5-9
My Soul's Beloved,
It is wise to have just enough to satisfy us and not to be preoccupied and obsessed about accumulating and possessing anything that the world has to offer for everything temporal is passing, only the eternal remains. We were made for You, Lord, and only in You will we be happy. If we spend our lives chasing people, pleasure, possessions we open ourselves to heartache, heartbreak, and disappointment. People will let us down even those who love us simply because they too are human and sinners as we are. People will break the promises they make. People will disappoint us because they are constrained and limited by how much they have to give. It is understandable because they are human and just as broken, and sinful as we are.
You alone, O Lord, are the same yesterday, today, and always. You are the alpha and the omega, Your are the Living Word of God, the Eternal Word of the Father, heaven and earth will pass away but Your Word O Lord will stand. You are enough. Having You O Lord we need nothing for You will supply all we need out of Your riches in glory.
Give me grace sufficient for the day, Lord, and the grace to say always and in all circumstances, "Not as I will, O Lord, but as You will." Grant me the grace to choose the narrow path, pick up my cross daily, and follow You.
Two things I beg of you,
do not grudge me them before I die:
keep falsehood and lies far from me,
give me neither poverty nor riches,
grant me only my share of bread to eat,
for fear that surrounded by plenty, I should fall away
and say, ‘the Lord – who is the Lord?’
or else, in destitution, take to stealing
and profane the name of my God.
do not grudge me them before I die:
keep falsehood and lies far from me,
give me neither poverty nor riches,
grant me only my share of bread to eat,
for fear that surrounded by plenty, I should fall away
and say, ‘the Lord – who is the Lord?’
or else, in destitution, take to stealing
and profane the name of my God.
PSALM 118(119):28,72,89,101,104,163
Your word is a lamp for my steps, O Lord.
My soul pines away with grief;
by your word raise me up.
The law from your mouth means more to me
than silver and gold.
Your word, O Lord, forever
stands firm in the heavens:
I turn my feet from evil paths
to obey your word.
I gain understanding from your precepts
and so I hate false ways.
Lies I hate and detest
but your law is my love.
Your word is a lamp for my steps, O Lord.
LUKE 9:1-6
My Soul's Beloved,
When we set out on a journey we carry all that we may need and often more than we require just in case. We want to be prepared for any eventuality. In today's Gospel, we reflect on what You taught Your Apostles about trust in Your providence and relying on God to supply all our needs.
It is easy to see Lord that the Church, while doing more good than all the institutions in the world put together, is all too often guilty of excess by some of her Bishops, priests, and religious. This is a blot and a stain on her character for she must follow and imitate You, her Head in every way.
If we are to be the Church that You founded, on Peter and his successors, if we are to be the City of God set on Mt. Zion where the whole world goes up to worship God, then we need to heed and follow Your instructions. Now is the time. Now is the hour. This is the day. The longer we delay the more swift, the greater and more crushing will be the punishment that will bring the Church to her knees and all of us in it, both shepherds and sheep, who have abandoned the Way, the Truth, and the Life. For the sake of Your sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world. But if we do Lord, then we will set the world on fire with the power and love of the Holy Spirit and hasten Your second coming as the whole world will fall on its knees and declare that You are Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. He said to them, ‘Take nothing for the journey: neither staff, nor haversack, nor bread, nor money; and let none of you take a spare tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there; and when you leave, let it be from there. As for those who do not welcome you, when you leave their town shake the dust from your feet as a sign to them.’ So they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the Good News and healing everywhere.
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