MONDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF ADVENT - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Let us see, O Lord, your mercy
and give us your saving help. PS 84:8

NUMBERS 24:2-7,15-17

My Soul's Beloved,

If only the scales dropped from the eyes of the world and every man, woman, and child saw You clearly Lord all would come to the knowledge of Truth and be saved. If we only had eyes to see we would see God's plan and purpose for our salvation clearly etched in Sacred Scripture both the Old and the New. But our minds are dull. Our vision is dim. Our hearts are occupied with things that perish and there is no room for the One who has come into the world not to condemn but to redeem it.

Abba Father, how much longer must we wait until, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the fire of Truth will blaze across the world and destroy all that is not of God? The world seems to slip further every moment into the bottomless abyss where the worms do not die and the fire does not go out. 

Have mercy on Your people O Lord, the sheep of Your flock, the sheep that Your right hand has tended and saved. Grant O Lord that the Jubilee Year that is almost on the threshold will usher in a new era where the world turns its gaze back to You and acknowledges You as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Let this be the age O Lord when we return to the Truth and we will experience Your reign of peace as all come to the knowledge of truth and are saved.

'A hero arises from their stock,
he reigns over countless peoples.
His king is greater than Agag,
his majesty is exalted.’
I see him – but not in the present,
I behold him – but not close at hand:
a star from Jacob takes the leadership,
a sceptre arises from Israel.’

PSALM 24(25):4-6,7a-9

Lord, make me know your ways.

Lord, make me know your ways.
Lord, teach me your paths.
Make me walk in your truth, and teach me:
for you are God my saviour.

In you I hope all day long
because of your goodness, O Lord.
Remember your mercy, Lord,
and the love you have shown from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth.
In your love remember me.

The Lord is good and upright.
He shows the path to those who stray,
He guides the humble in the right path,
He teaches his way to the poor.

Lord, make me know your ways.

MATTHEW 21:23-27

My Soul's Beloved,

Every one of us, without exception, can discern good from evil and truth from lies as it is indisputable for the law of the Lord is written on every human heart. However, because we do not wish to acknowledge the truth because then we will have to live it, abide by it, and order our lives around it, we prevaricate, we fudge, we quibble, and we pretend not to know the answer to an unambiguous question just like the chief priests and elders. Bristling with rage at Your total disregard for the status quo the demanded to know, ‘What authority have you for acting like this? And who gave you this authority?’ You replied by posing another question  ‘And I will ask you a question, only one; if you tell me the answer to it, I will then tell you my authority for acting like this. John’s baptism: where did it come from: heaven or man?’ 

My Beloved, all who desire to live a life of concupiscence, and they are legion, will respond as falsely as the chief priests and elders did. We know the truth, the truth that will surely set us free if we had the courage to proclaim it from the rooftops. Unfortunately, we prevaricate, we fudge, and we pretend because we know that taking a stand on the side of truth will cost us perhaps more than we care to to pay. And so like the chief priests and the elders we say, ‘We do not know.’ and to our eternal loss, we miss the opportunity for a real encounter with the Son of God.

‘And I’ replied Jesus ‘will ask you a question, only one; if you tell me the answer to it, I will then tell you my authority for acting like this. John’s baptism: where did it come from: heaven or man?’ And they argued it out this way among themselves, ‘If we say from heaven, he will retort, “Then why did you refuse to believe him?”; but if we say from man, we have the people to fear, for they all hold that John was a prophet.’ So their reply to Jesus was, ‘We do not know.’ And he retorted, ‘Nor will I tell you my authority for acting like this.’