The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me. JN 10:27
EXODUS 11:10-12:14
My Soul's Beloved,
As we journey through this valley of tears as pilgrims making our way to our heavenly home, which is the Kingdom of God, we need food for the journey, or we will perish on the way. Before the people of Israel could leave the place of their exile, God commanded that they eat the passover meal. God gave Moses clear instructions as to the kind of lamb that was to be chosen, how it was to be prepared (it was to be roasted whole), and how it was to be eaten. He also instructed them on what they were to wear while eating it. The blood of the lamb was to be sprinkled on the doorposts and the lintel; this was imperative, for the angel of death that passed through would spare the lives of the firstborn sons when he saw the blood on the door.
Every feast and ritual celebrated in the Old Testament finds its meaning and fulfillment in the New. The Old Testament veils the glory of God, the love of God, the wonder of God's humility, compassion, and faithfulness, which is unveiled in the New Testament when God walked among us as a Man. You, Beloved, are God's revelation of Himself to us.
The fullness of God's Truth, Beauty, and Goodness finds its home in the bosom of Holy Mother Church, founded on the Rock of Peter and whose Cornerstone is You, my Lord. Here, the Church offers us eternal life, the Sacraments which help us who are exiles, make our way through this valley of tears, this narrow and difficult way, the way of sorrow, the way of the cross which purges and purifies us and fits us to inherit the crown that awaits the faithful in the Kingdom of God.
Moses and Aaron worked many wonders in the presence of Pharaoh. But the Lord made Pharaoh’s heart stubborn, and he did not let the sons of Israel leave his country.
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:
‘This month is to be the first of all the others for you, the first month of your year. Speak to the whole community of Israel and say, “On the tenth day of this month each man must take an animal from the flock, one for each family: one animal for each household. If the household is too small to eat the animal, a man must join with his neighbour, the nearest to his house, as the number of persons requires. You must take into account what each can eat in deciding the number for the animal. It must be an animal without blemish, a male one year old; you may take it from either sheep or goats. You must keep it till the fourteenth day of the month when the whole assembly of the community of Israel shall slaughter it between the two evenings. Some of the blood must then be taken and put on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where it is eaten. That night, the flesh is to be eaten, roasted over the fire; it must be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled, but roasted over the fire, head, feet and entrails. You must not leave any over till the morning: whatever is left till morning you are to burn. You shall eat it like this: with a girdle round your waist, sandals on your feet, a staff in your hand. You shall eat it hastily: it is a passover in honour of the Lord. That night, I will go through the land of Egypt and strike down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, man and beast alike, and I shall deal out punishment to all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord! The blood shall serve to mark the houses that you live in. When I see the blood I will pass over you and you shall escape the destroying plague when I strike the land of Egypt. This day is to be a day of remembrance for you, and you must celebrate it as a feast in the Lord’s honour. For all generations you are to declare it a day of festival, for ever.”’
PSALM 115(116):12-13,15-18
The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.
‘This month is to be the first of all the others for you, the first month of your year. Speak to the whole community of Israel and say, “On the tenth day of this month each man must take an animal from the flock, one for each family: one animal for each household. If the household is too small to eat the animal, a man must join with his neighbour, the nearest to his house, as the number of persons requires. You must take into account what each can eat in deciding the number for the animal. It must be an animal without blemish, a male one year old; you may take it from either sheep or goats. You must keep it till the fourteenth day of the month when the whole assembly of the community of Israel shall slaughter it between the two evenings. Some of the blood must then be taken and put on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where it is eaten. That night, the flesh is to be eaten, roasted over the fire; it must be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled, but roasted over the fire, head, feet and entrails. You must not leave any over till the morning: whatever is left till morning you are to burn. You shall eat it like this: with a girdle round your waist, sandals on your feet, a staff in your hand. You shall eat it hastily: it is a passover in honour of the Lord. That night, I will go through the land of Egypt and strike down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, man and beast alike, and I shall deal out punishment to all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord! The blood shall serve to mark the houses that you live in. When I see the blood I will pass over you and you shall escape the destroying plague when I strike the land of Egypt. This day is to be a day of remembrance for you, and you must celebrate it as a feast in the Lord’s honour. For all generations you are to declare it a day of festival, for ever.”’
PSALM 115(116):12-13,15-18
The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.
How can I repay the Lord
for his goodness to me?
The cup of salvation I will raise;
I will call on the Lord’s name.
O precious in the eyes of the Lord
is the death of his faithful.
Your servant, Lord, your servant am I;
you have loosened my bonds.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;
I will call on the Lord’s name.
My vows to the Lord I will fulfil
before all his people.
for his goodness to me?
The cup of salvation I will raise;
I will call on the Lord’s name.
O precious in the eyes of the Lord
is the death of his faithful.
Your servant, Lord, your servant am I;
you have loosened my bonds.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;
I will call on the Lord’s name.
My vows to the Lord I will fulfil
before all his people.
The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.
MATTHEW 12:1-8
My Soul's Beloved,
My Soul's Beloved,
All those who are opposed to Catholicism, and most especially Protestants who are blind guides and constantly nitpicking Catholic doctrinal beliefs and practices. They are like the Pharisees in today's Gospel passage; they observe the disciples who were hungry picking ears of corn and eating them on the Sabbath, rushing to make rash judgments, and condemning without understanding. Too often, those who oppose the Catholic Church are blind, deaf, and haughty, and this attitude prevents them from humbly and sincerely asking questions to understand Church teaching and practices. Only those who seek with an open heart and a childlike spirit will find the wonder, the mystery, the incomparable beauty, and divine life that can be found in the bosom of Holy Mother Church.
In the Catholic Church alone is found the fullness of the mercy of God and comes from a right understanding of Your incarnation, life, passion, death, resurrection, and glorious ascension into heaven.
Guard us against pride, Lord, and may we be powerful witnesses to the faith we are privileged to have received by the authenticity of our lives as Catholics.
Jesus took a walk one sabbath day through the cornfields. His disciples were hungry and began to pick ears of corn and eat them. The Pharisees noticed it and said to him, ‘Look, your disciples are doing something that is forbidden on the sabbath.’ But he said to them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he and his followers were hungry – how he went into the house of God and how they ate the loaves of offering which neither he nor his followers were allowed to eat, but which were for the priests alone? Or again, have you not read in the Law that on the sabbath day the Temple priests break the sabbath without being blamed for it? Now here, I tell you, is something greater than the Temple. And if you had understood the meaning of the words: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the blameless. For the Son of Man is master of the sabbath.’
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