SATURDAY OF WEEK 28 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The Spirit of truth will be my witness;
and you too will be my witnesses. JN 15:26, 27

EPHESIANS 1:15-23

My Soul's Beloved,

The great mysteries of our faith were revealed to St. Paul by the Holy Spirit and he in turn has revealed it to us. All who believe in You, Lord, and in the great, glorious,  work of salvation that the Father wrought in and through You, His Eternal and only Son in the power of the Holy Spirit, leave us wonderstruck and in awe that God so loved us, unworthy sinners, He was prepared to give You up into the hands of the enemy to redeem and save us from the slavery and treachery of sin. We deserve death there is no argument about it. All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All of us have disobeyed. All have deliberately, willfully, and callously turned away from our loving Father and wandered far from home to places where decay, destruction, and death thrive.

No matter how far we desire to run away from the Father He refuses to turn His Face away from us. He pursues us relentlessly, lovingly, tirelessly, and woos us unceasingly with tenderness and compassion. He has made it possible for us to be saved even when living a life of utter debauchery and slavery to evil, to repent and be saved even with our last breath. 

The love of God in You, my Beloved, is visible, palpable, and available to all regardless of who we are. All are invited to come to the table of the Lord and be nourished. All are invited to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. All who so desire can be washed in the Blood of the Lamb and even though our sins are as scarlet our souls can be cleansed of every sin no matter how grave.

Beloved, You lay down Your life for us. You descended into hell and tasted the death that was our inheritance so we could receive Your abundant life. Because You were obedient and gave Yourself up to the scandal of the crucifixion in atonement for the sins of the world, the Father has raised You higher and above all. He has given You a Name that is above every other name and He has seated You in glory and power at His right hand, far above every Sovereignty, Authority, Power, or Domination, or any other name that can be named not only in this age but also in the age to come. He has put all things under his feet and made him, as the ruler of everything, the head of the Church; which is his body, the fullness of him who fills the whole creation.

How foolish are those who are lukewarm, cafeteria Christians who deny themselves a seat at the Eucharistic Table of the Lord because they are proud, hard-hearted, and stubborn. They make God in their image and likeness refusing to accept that God is far above their squint-eyed, personal interpretations of His Word and His Work.

The bride unites her prayers for unity with that of her Bridegroom and the Father has heard and answered. There will be one flock and one Shepherd.

PSALM 8:2-7

You gave your Son power over the works of your hand.

How great is your name, O Lord our God,
through all the earth!
Your majesty is praised above the heavens;
on the lips of children and of babes
you have found praise to foil your enemy,
to silence the foe and the rebel.

When I see the heavens, the work of your hands,

the moon and the stars which you arranged,
what is man that you should keep him in mind,
mortal man that you care for him?

Yet you have made him little less than a god;

with glory and honour you crowned him,
gave him power over the works of your hand,
put all things under his feet.

You gave your Son power over the works of your hand.

LUKE 12:8-12

My Soul's Beloved,

There is nothing sadder in all the world and in heaven as well that Your Body O Lord is fragmented. Just like the devil was given permission to tempt Job, God's righteous servant, so too is the devil permitted to rage, roar, and rampage across the world in these last days before Your glorious second coming. His time is short and he knows it and all the powers of darkness, death, violence, vile evil, and terror, are unleashed on a deliberately blind, deaf, and ignorant world. There is no love, life, joy, hope, or peace apart from You, my Lord, and yet many foolishly seek it anywhere and everywhere else than in You.  

You have shown us the way to everlasting life and joy and it is not an easy way. It is a life of denial, of sorrow, of loss, of dying to self daily, of picking up our cross daily and following You closely. There is no other way, Lord, if there was the Father would have revealed it. This is the price every child of Adam has to pay. We have inherited the consequence of the sin of our first parents which is death. But You O Lord, in obedience to the Father's will entered our humanity through Your incarnation in the womb of the immaculate Virgin and becoming one like us in all things save sin, paid the price to release us from eternal slavery and damnation.

Pride continues to be the downfall of so many who refuse to even consider that God has saved us through You and there is no salvation apart from You. But thanks be to God, the steadfast witness and the blood of martyrs through the centuries, even to this day and in the future, who prefer death rather than deny You, will continue to be the seed that brings forth a great harvest of Christians. Many will believe because of their testimony of blood. 

Lord Jesus, if we are called to martyrdom grant us the grace we need to go to our death with courage and joy.

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘I tell you, if anyone openly declares himself for me in the presence of men, the Son of Man will declare himself for him in the presence of the angels. But the man who disowns me in the presence of men will be disowned in the presence of God’s angels.
‘Everyone who says a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
‘When they take you before synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say, because when the time comes, the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say.’