THURSDAY OF WEEK 32 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I am the vine,
you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me, with me in him,
bears fruit in plenty,
says the Lord. JN 15:5

PHILEMON 7-20

My Soul's Beloved,

How sweetly and tenderly St. Paul writes to his friend Philemon urging him to forgive and receive back into his household his runaway slave, Onesimus. He tells his friend that he is willing to pay for any loss incurred due to the loss of his slave but reminds him that he owes him a debt of gratitude and this debt ought to cancel any loss that he suffered. He tells him how helpful and useful Oneseimus has been, how he has become like a son to him, and how he would like to keep him however, he will not do so without his friend's consent. 

St. Paul writes that Onesimus is now a Christian and as a Christian, he is now on equal terms with his former master for they are now brothers in You. 

Just as St. Paul pleads with his friend Philemon on behalf of Onesimus so too do You, O Lord, plead for us who are both slaves and sinners before Your Father. You remind the Father that You paid the debt we owed. You freed us. We are no longer slaves but members of the family of God. 

Thank You, Lord.

I know you have been deprived of Onesimus for a time, but it was only so that you could have him back for ever, not as a slave any more, but something much better than a slave, a dear brother; especially dear to me, but how much more to you, as a blood-brother as well as a brother in the Lord. So if all that we have in common means anything to you, welcome him as you would me; but if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, then let me pay for it. I am writing this in my own handwriting: I, Paul, shall pay it back – I will not add any mention of your own debt to me, which is yourself. Well then, brother, I am counting on you, in the Lord; put new heart into me, in Christ.

PSALM 145(146):7-10

He is happy who is helped by Jacob’s God.

It is the Lord who keeps faith for ever,
who is just to those who are oppressed.
It is he who gives bread to the hungry,
the Lord, who sets prisoners free.

It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind,
who raises up those who are bowed down.
It is the Lord who loves the just,
the Lord, who protects the stranger.

The Lord upholds the widow and orphan
but thwarts the path of the wicked.
The Lord will reign for ever,
Zion’s God, from age to age.

He is happy who is helped by Jacob’s God.

LUKE 17:20-25

My Soul's Beloved,

Like the Pharisees, there has been and will always be speculation on when and how the world will end and about Your second coming in glory and majesty to establish Your everlasting Kingdom among us. The more important and relevant question is how am I preparing for it? I must first work to establish the Kingdom in my own heart. When I am completely conformed to Your will the Kingdom is within me, 'The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.'

Lord, You make it possible, here and now, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to make Your Kingdom present. When we allow the Word to take root in our hearts, when we live the Word of Truth, when we allow the Word of Truth to direct our thoughts, our speech, and our actions irrespective of the consequence, when we are ready to lay down our lives for the sake of the Gospel then the Kingdom of God is among us.

Thank You, Beloved, for Your abiding presence not only in the Holy Eucharist, in tabernacles and Adoration Chapels around the world but also within us especially, when we receive You worthily in Holy Communion. In this wondrous Sacrament of Love, while still on earth, we receive a foretaste of the Kingdom of God when You come to us and abide with us. 

He said to the disciples, ‘A time will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man and will not see it. They will say to you, “Look there!” or, “Look here!” Make no move; do not set off in pursuit; for as the lightning flashing from one part of heaven lights up the other, so will be the Son of Man when his day comes. But first he must suffer grievously and be rejected by this generation.’