We praise you, O God,
we acknowledge you to be the Lord.
The glorious company of the apostles praise you, O Lord.
EPHESIANS 2:19-22
My Soul's Beloved,
There is no privilege and gift greater than being born into a Catholic family and being raised in the Catholic faith and because this is true my accountability is greater. Much is demanded of me for much is given to me. If, as a Catholic, I take the greatest gift given to me for granted then I will suffer greatly not only in this life but in the life to come until I have paid fully for taking the gift of faith, freely given to me, lightly or for granted.
The minute a Christian or any human being of any faith begins to wonder or question if their faith is true or if there is something more, then the burden and the responsibility to seek answers sincerely with an open heart and mind, until they arrive at the truth, rests on their shoulders. They cannot shrug away any doubts they may have. If they make excuses or seek compromises out of fear or any other reason, they will be accountable. They will be liable to strict, stern judgment, and punishment. However, they need only ask the Holy Spirit for help and He will come to their aid, and with great and unmistakable signs, He will lead them to the Truth. Only the truly ignorant who had no way of knowing will be judged lightly
Every one of us is created to belong to the family of God. Those who belong have been given a mission to preach and teach the Good News by the witness and testimony of their lives. This duty is laid on us for the privilege and gift of being Catholic. I have a distinct identity as a member of the household of God and God desires that I spend my life drawing others to believe and to belong for this is the will of the Father. May I never take this gift of grace for granted, Beloved but share the joy of being espoused to You so others too may desire what I have received.
You are no longer aliens or foreign visitors: you are citizens like all the saints, and part of God’s household. You are part of a building that has the apostles and prophets for its foundations, and Christ Jesus himself for its main cornerstone. As every structure is aligned on him, all grow into one holy temple in the Lord; and you too, in him, are being built into a house where God lives, in the Spirit.
PSALM 18(19):2-5
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
LUKE 6:12-19
My Soul's Beloved,
PSALM 18(19):2-5
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God,
and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up the story
and night unto night makes known the message.
and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up the story
and night unto night makes known the message.
No speech, no word, no voice is heard
yet their span extends through all the earth,
their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
LUKE 6:12-19
My Soul's Beloved,
In today's Gospel passage, we see how You are beginning to establish Your Church. It was not done lightly. It was not a decision You took on Your own. No. You spent the whole night in the hills, in isolation, in union with Your Father, listening to His Heart, resting on His Bosom, allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal to You who Your Father desired to be the 12 Foundation Stones on which You would build Your Church. Once You knew the heart and mind of Your Father it was day. You came down to where Your disciples were. You called them to You and from these, You picked the Twelve.
Each is called by name beginning with Simon whose name You changed to Peter, (Rock) for he was to hold the primacy of place among Apostles. We then have the names of the rest ending with Judas Iscariot who will, for all time, be labelled the traitor. You then came down with the Twelve and the rest of the disciples where a large crowd had gathered, these signify the whole world, waiting for the Good News to be announced to them. And You show them what the Church You founded must busy herself with. The Church has always been a hospital for sinners not a museum for saints and this is why all are welcome. All will be healed, fed, nourished, cleansed, strengthened, and made whole, and together the Church will glorify God in You, His Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. We, the Church, Your Bride will be busy doing the work of God entrusted to her until You, our Bridegroom return in glory and majesty to claim her for Yourself eternally.
Jesus went out into the hills to pray; and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. When day came he summoned his disciples and picked out twelve of them; he called them ‘apostles’: Simon whom he called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot who became a traitor.
He then came down with them and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon who had come to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. People tormented by unclean spirits were also cured, and everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him because power came out of him that cured them all.
He then came down with them and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon who had come to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. People tormented by unclean spirits were also cured, and everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him because power came out of him that cured them all.
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