Through the Good News God called us
to share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2TH 2:14
EPHESIANS 6:1-9
My Soul's Beloved,
The ways of the world are not the ways of God. This is a sinful, fallen world and the way we live, our culture, and our values are of the flesh, the world, and the devil. Yes, Lord, You have redeemed the world, You have sanctified and consecrated it with Your Blood and we are renewed, regenerated, made anew through the waters of Baptism. However, we are weakened by original sin and we have to battle constantly against concupiscence.
St. Paul gives us godly wisdom on navigating the perilous waters of the world so we will not drown and perish. As children of the light, we are to keep ourselves from being tainted by the culture that celebrates and prioritizes the desires of self above the needs of others. We are called to live a life of servanthood and service in every walk of life whether we are parents, children, teachers lawyers, doctors, priests, religious, employers, or employees. We are to treat everyone as we want to be treated. You came to serve not to be served and to give Your life as a ransom for many. We will be judged on the law of God and not of man for the laws of God are eternal and life-giving, but the ways of the world are sterile and bring nothing but sorrow, decay, destruction, and death.
Work hard and willingly, but do it for the sake of the Lord and not for the sake of men. You can be sure that everyone, whether a slave or a free man, will be properly rewarded by the Lord for whatever work he has done well. And those of you who are employers, treat your slaves in the same spirit; do without threats, remembering that they and you have the same Master in heaven and he is not impressed by one person more than by another.
PSALM 144(145):10-14
The Lord is faithful in all his words.
All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,
and your friends shall repeat their blessing.
They shall speak of the glory of your reign
and declare your might, O God,
to make known to men your mighty deeds
and the glorious splendour of your reign.
PSALM 144(145):10-14
The Lord is faithful in all his words.
All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,
and your friends shall repeat their blessing.
They shall speak of the glory of your reign
and declare your might, O God,
to make known to men your mighty deeds
and the glorious splendour of your reign.
Yours is an everlasting kingdom;
your rule lasts from age to age.
The Lord is faithful in all his words.
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and loving in all his deeds.
The Lord supports all who fall
and raises all who are bowed down.
The Lord is faithful in all his words.
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and loving in all his deeds.
The Lord supports all who fall
and raises all who are bowed down.
The Lord is faithful in all his words.
LUKE 13:22-30
My Soul's Beloved,
My Soul's Beloved,
As the liturgical year comes to a close and we draw near to the season of Advent the Church reminds us that we are not created for the world but for heaven. While there is time yet we are invited to repent, to turn away from sin, and return to You. For as long as it is today, Lord, You woo us tenderly. You seek us relentlessly, You pursue us tirelessly and lovingly. You abide in Your Church, in the Sacraments You instituted. We have only to sigh in sorrow, longing, and repentance for our sins and You hasten to our side providing all we need to make a new beginning.
In the three years of Your public ministry, You laid the foundation and built Your Church on the Rock of Peter, the Twelve, and their successors. You are the Cornerstone that will not be moved and Your Bride receives her life and her fruitfulness from You and the Holy Spirit. This is the will of the Father that the whole world, saved by You, gives You glory, honor, worship, and adoration and proclaims unceasingly from the rising of the sun to its setting that You O Lord, are God to the glory of the Father.
Beloved, as long as it is day You will seek us and call us by name but time will come to an end for every one of us. When it does, and we close our eyes in the sleep of death and find ourselves at the gates of heaven, O Lord, may we not find ourselves locked out and we hear the terrible voice of the Bridegroom saying to us, “I do not know where you come from. Away from me, all you wicked men!”
You O Lord are full of compassion, slow to anger, and rich in mercy but for only as long as the day lasts. Hear our prayers for ourselves and those we love and the whole world that we may all be saved and together praise, worship and glorify You, face to face, eternally.
‘Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself knocking on the door, saying, “Lord, open to us” but he will answer, “I do not know where you come from.” Then you will find yourself saying, “We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets” but he will reply, “I do not know where you come from. Away from me, all you wicked men!”
‘Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves turned outside. And men from east and west, from north and south, will come to take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.
‘Yes, there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.’
‘Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves turned outside. And men from east and west, from north and south, will come to take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.
‘Yes, there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.’
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