Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children. MT 11:25
ECCLESIASTICUS 35:2-15
My Soul's Beloved,
Anything that we offer God by way of sacrifice is like the sacrifice of Cain, unworthy and unacceptable for nothing good comes from us apart from You. In us, O Lord, is all that is evil, concupiscence, selfishness, we are hard of heart and ungenerous in spirit. But there is a glorious, marvelous, most excellent way by which the sacrifice of our lives can be made pleasing, fragrant and most acceptable to God. This is the only way, and it is accessible to every one of us who desires to please God. We unite the sacrifice of our life with the one, holy, perfect, and only acceptable and worthy Sacrifice of the Son of Man and the Son of God on the Cross of Calvary.
O Lord my God, any effort we make on our own strength to keep the commandments, to make sacrifices, to give alms, to offer praise and thanksgiving will always be tainted by our self-seeking, bargaining with God, and false assumptions that anything we offer God is worth anything. All the good we possess is given to us from You as gifts. On our own and of our own all we have to offer are our sins, faults, failings, weaknesses, frailties, disobedience, and a lawless spirit. Any effort we make will always fall short, like the sacrifice of Cain.
When we, as God's children grafted into Your Body, come to the Father to offer our Sacrifice of Thanksgiving and Praise, we do not come empty-handed, we unite the imperfect sacrifice of our lives with Your holy, perfect, once-for-all Sacrifice on Calvary. This is the only pleasing and acceptable way to God. All grace, all virtue, all perfection flows from the Cross to us and feeds us, cleanses us, nourishes us, strengthens us, and empowers us to make the arduous journey as pilgrims from this life to the next.
Do not appear empty-handed in the Lord’s presence;
for all these things are due under the commandment.
A virtuous man’s offering graces the altar,
and its savour rises before the Most High.
A virtuous man’s sacrifice is acceptable,
its memorial will not be forgotten.
Honour the Lord with generosity,
do not stint the first-fruits you bring.
Add a smiling face to all your gifts,
and be cheerful as you dedicate your tithes.
Give to the Most High as he has given to you,
generously as your means can afford;
for the Lord is a good rewarder,
he will reward you seven times over.
Offer him no bribe, he will not accept it,
do not put your faith in an unvirtuous sacrifice;
since the Lord is a judge
who is no respecter of personages.
PSALM 49(50):5-8,14,23
I will show God’s salvation to the upright.
‘Summon before me my people
who made covenant with me by sacrifice.’
The heavens proclaim his justice,
for he, God, is the judge.
who made covenant with me by sacrifice.’
The heavens proclaim his justice,
for he, God, is the judge.
‘Listen, my people, I will speak;
Israel, I will testify against you,
for I am God, your God.
I accuse you, lay the charge before you.
I find no fault with your sacrifices,
your offerings are always before me.
for I am God, your God.
I accuse you, lay the charge before you.
I find no fault with your sacrifices,
your offerings are always before me.
Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God
and render him your votive offerings.
A sacrifice of thanksgiving honours me
and I will show God’s salvation to the upright.’
and render him your votive offerings.
A sacrifice of thanksgiving honours me
and I will show God’s salvation to the upright.’
I will show God’s salvation to the upright.
MARK 10:28-31
My Soul's Beloved,
Peter and the apostles heard Your call, 'Follow Me!' and leaving everything behind to do so. They were married, had families, had commitments, friends, and a life that was familiar and dear to them, yet, when You invited them they did so immediately. Now Peter asks the question, which was in all their minds and perhaps came to them often and troubled them. This is understandable because they were human. It is a question we too wrestle with. Discipleship costs us something for some, maybe everything. It takes faith and courage to say, 'Yes, Lord, here I am, I come to do Your will.' And yet it is in answering Your call, putting our hand to the plough and not looking back that we gain a Kingdom.
It is a great privilege to be called, and those who respond generously, lovingly and live out their vocation faithfully to the end will receive a reward way beyond anyone's wildest expectations. But sadly not everyone is generous enough or has faith enough to say yes to offer their whole life in serving and feeding Your lambs and Your sheep.
At that time Peter began to tell Jesus, ‘What about us? We have left everything and followed you.’ Jesus said, ‘I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not be repaid a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land – not without persecutions – now in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life.
‘Many who are first will be last, and the last first.’
No comments:
Post a Comment