Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their perseverance. LK 8:15
GENESIS 18:1-10
My Soul's Beloved,
Like Abraham, let us always be attentive to Your coming, Lord. It was the hottest part of the day, and he was seated at the entrance of his tent. No one would have faulted him if he were lying down in the cool of the inside of his tent. But his soul kept him alert and waiting; it was as if his spirit knew that God was about to visit him.
As soon as he saw the three men standing before him, he bowed low to the ground and worshipped. Then, addressing the three men as Lord, he implored them to rest awhile, eat, and be refreshed before they continued their journey. They accepted his hospitality, and Abraham went eagerly to prepare a feast for them, choosing only the finest and best and spreading the food before them.
While they ate, he stood attentively before them as a servant ready to attend to their needs. They then asked about his wife, Sara, and assured him that at the same time the following year, they would come and visit him again and by that time she would have given birth to a son.
Beloved, our whole lives must be attuned to Your love and to Your will for us. We must keep our gaze fixed on You so we know what it is that You ask of us, and do it at once. Your will must be our food and drink, only then will we experience the peace that You came to give. A peace beyond understanding. A deep, unwavering, unfaltering awareness of the goodness and faithfulness of God in all the circumstances of our lives. To accept all things, whether good or bad, knowing with certainty that it is all part of the journey of our lives, and through it all, believing in faith that You have the power to draw good from every experience, every sorrow, every trial, every trouble. You will always bless those who are prepared to give their all in serving You, with unimaginable graces and unbelievable generosity.
Give me a heart that never stops to count the cost and give my all to You just as You gave Your all for love of me.
The Lord appeared to Abraham at the Oak of Mamre while he was sitting by the entrance of the tent during the hottest part of the day. He looked up, and there he saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them, and bowed to the ground. ‘My lord,’ he said, ‘I beg you, if I find favour with you, kindly do not pass your servant by. A little water shall be brought; you shall wash your feet and lie down under the tree. Let me fetch a little bread and you shall refresh yourselves before going further. That is why you have come in your servant’s direction.’ They replied, ‘Do as you say.’
Abraham hastened to the tent to find Sarah.’ ‘Hurry,’ he said ‘knead three bushels of flour and make loaves.’ Then running to the cattle Abraham took a fine and tender calf and gave it to the servant, who hurried to prepare it. Then taking cream, milk and the calf he had prepared, he laid all before them, and they ate while he remained standing near them under the tree.
‘Where is your wife Sarah?’ they asked him. ‘She is in the tent’ he replied. Then his guest said, ‘I shall visit you again next year without fail, and your wife will then have a son.’
PSALM 14(15):2-5
The just will live in the presence of the Lord.
Lord, who shall dwell on your holy mountain?
He who walks without fault;
he who acts with justice
and speaks the truth from his heart;
he who does not slander with his tongue.
He who does no wrong to his brother,
who casts no slur on his neighbour,
who holds the godless in disdain,
but honours those who fear the Lord.
He who keeps his pledge, come what may;
who takes no interest on a loan
and accepts no bribes against the innocent.
Such a man will stand firm for ever.
He who walks without fault;
he who acts with justice
and speaks the truth from his heart;
he who does not slander with his tongue.
He who does no wrong to his brother,
who casts no slur on his neighbour,
who holds the godless in disdain,
but honours those who fear the Lord.
He who keeps his pledge, come what may;
who takes no interest on a loan
and accepts no bribes against the innocent.
Such a man will stand firm for ever.
The just will live in the presence of the Lord.
COLOSSIANS 1:24-28
My Soul's Beloved,
My Soul's Beloved,
We live in a world that offers us a stream of distractions, unbelievable comfort, time-saving devices, travel to exotic destinations, tempting us with sinful indulgences, convincing us that it is all part of living life to its fullest. We have time for every craving of our flesh, but no time for the God who created us. We abhor silence and quiet. We do not want to listen to the still voice inside us where You reside in our soul, wooing us gently and tenderly to experience the sweetness of Your love.
For the Apostles, St. Paul, and Christians in earlier centuries, suffering for the faith was not only the norm, but they welcomed it with joy. They knew You, Beloved, better than any of us can claim to know You in our age, even though we have all the tools available at our fingertips and there is no justifiable excuse for our ignorance of You. Then they heard the Apostles and disciples teach and preach, and their hearts were touched, and they believed and, believing they in turn went out to make disciples of all nations. They were ready to suffer all kinds of hardships, privations, persecutions, torture, imprisonment, and death. But we are too soft. Too self-indulgent.
Sadly, concupiscence rules our lives. We have allowed the world to peddle lies, and we readily believed these lies. We have failed as Christians in every way that it is possible to fail as parents, religious leaders, and world leaders. Our eagerness for soft living has given Satan and his followers a foothold, and slowly but surely, we see how evil is spreading its tentacles like a putrid cancer and taking over every Christian institution. It is not too late to wake up and take back what You have given us - the gift of Yourself and of the Holy Spirit. It is never too late. Raise up new disciples on fire with love and zeal for the Truth, and may we be ready to lay down our lives for Your Sake and for the sake of the Gospel.
It makes me happy to suffer for you, as I am suffering now, and in my own body to do what I can to make up all that has still to be undergone by Christ for the sake of his body, the Church. I became the servant of the Church when God made me responsible for delivering God’s message to you, the message which was a mystery hidden for generations and centuries and has now been revealed to his saints. It was God’s purpose to reveal it to them and to show all the rich glory of this mystery to pagans. The mystery is Christ among you, your hope of glory: this is the Christ we proclaim, this is the wisdom in which we thoroughly train everyone and instruct everyone, to make them all perfect in Christ.
LUKE 10:38-42
My Soul's Beloved,
Give me the heart of both Martha and Mary. The servant heart of Martha, whose joy was to welcome You and serve You, and the quiet and contemplative heart of Mary, whose joy was to sit at Your feet and listen to You. Grant me the grace to know when it is appropriate to be busy in service and when it is necessary to sit quietly in silence and allow the Holy Spirit to minister to me.
Grant me this grace, not to allow distractions to take my attention away from You when I am seated with You, and when I am busy, it is always appropriate to keep the eyes of my soul fixed on You, doing every simple or great task well for love of You. May I never become resentful when called to serve. To be ready to deny myself as and when called to do so readily, promptly, and joyfully. To give my attention to serving another, rather than when required to do so, instead of grumbling inwardly and harboring feelings of being put upon. And when it is time to set everything aside, no matter how pleasurable the occupation is with which I am indulging myself, to do so wholeheartedly and with delight giving up my whole being - heart, mind, soul, body and spirit to worshiping You, my Lord and my God, who are worthy of all my love always. You are always the better part, Beloved, and may I always choose You and not be so foolish as to give in to the desires of my flesh that tempt me and rob me of being wholly and completely encompassed and absorbed by You and Your love.
Jesus came to a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. She had a sister called Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet and listened to him speaking. Now Martha who was distracted with all the serving said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered: ‘Martha, Martha,’ he said ‘you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her.’
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