Jesus said: ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one can come to the Father except through me.’ JN 14:6
ISAIAH 66:18-21
My Soul's Beloved,
Once again, my Lord, You confirm what You always assure me of - You will bring people from every nation home so all can worship You, the Father, and the Holy Spirit, the Triune God, in spirit and in truth. Thank You, Lord, for not wearying of me but for comforting me always and revealing tirelessly that it is the will of God that all His children come to know You, His beloved Son, and through You come to know Him who created us all for glory in and through You.
Beloved, You sent the Twelve on a mission to the ends of the earth to people of every land and nation, culture and language, those who never heard of You, giving them the authority to preach the Good News and to baptize all who believe. Today, Lord, that mission is fulfilled. The Good News has been preached to the farthest ends of the earth, and praise and worship are offered to You from the rising of the sun to its setting.
However, Beloved, the work is not finished yet. Evil thrives. Satan and his demons are working feverishly to destroy those who are weak in their faith, for he knows his time is coming to a close and his power will soon be ended. Bless us, O Lord, and strengthen us in our faith so that when the hour arrives, we will stand up fearlessly for the Truth even to the shedding of our blood and the laying down of our lives just as You did, for the salvation of the world.
The Lord says this: I am coming to gather the nations of every language. They shall come to witness my glory. I will give them a sign and send some of their survivors to the nations: to Tarshish, Put, Lud, Moshech, Rosh, Tubal, and Javan, to the distant islands that have never heard of me or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory to the nations. As an offering to the Lord they will bring all your brothers, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, on dromedaries, from all the nations to my holy mountain in Jerusalem, says the Lord, like Israelites bringing oblations in clean vessels to the Temple of the Lord. And of some of them I will make priests and Levites, says the Lord.
PSALM 116 116(117)
Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News.
O praise the Lord, all you nations,
acclaim him all you peoples!
Strong is his love for us;
he is faithful for ever.
Have you forgotten that encouraging text in which you are addressed as sons? My son, when the Lord corrects you, do not treat it lightly; but do not get discouraged when he reprimands you. For the Lord trains the ones that he loves and he punishes all those that he acknowledges as his sons. Suffering is part of your training; God is treating you as his sons. Has there ever been any son whose father did not train him? Of course, any punishment is most painful at the time, and far from pleasant; but later, in those on whom it has been used, it bears fruit in peace and goodness. So hold up your limp arms and steady your trembling knees and smooth out the path you tread; then the injured limb will not be wrenched, it will grow strong again.
LUKE 13:22-30
My Soul's Beloved,
Through towns and villages Jesus went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem. Someone said to him, ‘Sir, will there be only a few saved?’ He said to them, ‘Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed.
‘Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself knocking on the door, saying, “Lord, open to us” but he will answer, “I do not know where you come from.” Then you will find yourself saying, “We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets” but he will reply, “I do not know where you come from. Away from me, all you wicked men!”
‘Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves turned outside. And men from east and west, from north and south, will come to take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.
‘Yes, there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.’
The Lord says this: I am coming to gather the nations of every language. They shall come to witness my glory. I will give them a sign and send some of their survivors to the nations: to Tarshish, Put, Lud, Moshech, Rosh, Tubal, and Javan, to the distant islands that have never heard of me or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory to the nations. As an offering to the Lord they will bring all your brothers, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, on dromedaries, from all the nations to my holy mountain in Jerusalem, says the Lord, like Israelites bringing oblations in clean vessels to the Temple of the Lord. And of some of them I will make priests and Levites, says the Lord.
PSALM 116 116(117)
Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News.
O praise the Lord, all you nations,
acclaim him all you peoples!
Strong is his love for us;
he is faithful for ever.
Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News.
HEBREWS 12:5-7,11-13
My Soul's Beloved,
HEBREWS 12:5-7,11-13
My Soul's Beloved,
The older we get, the more we understand that suffering is a necessary part of life. It reveals to us the truth that it is only through suffering that we grow in wisdom and understanding. Suffering when received and endured in the right spirit helps us rid ourselves of those things in our lives that bring death, not life. All too often, when we are grief-stricken, when we suffer loss of any kind, when we have to endure sickness, or the death of a loved one, we complain, we become angry at You, and we grumble as the Israelites did in the wilderness. But time and God's mercy teach us the wisdom of enduring all our trials patiently.
Let us keep our gaze on the crucifix, especially in times of suffering. When we do, we will begin to understand that we must first walk through the valley of tears, choose the narrow, difficult path if we are to emerge victorious. Suffering gets rid of the dross in our lives and purifies us so we can one day be permitted to enter and remain in Your Presence forever.
Have you forgotten that encouraging text in which you are addressed as sons? My son, when the Lord corrects you, do not treat it lightly; but do not get discouraged when he reprimands you. For the Lord trains the ones that he loves and he punishes all those that he acknowledges as his sons. Suffering is part of your training; God is treating you as his sons. Has there ever been any son whose father did not train him? Of course, any punishment is most painful at the time, and far from pleasant; but later, in those on whom it has been used, it bears fruit in peace and goodness. So hold up your limp arms and steady your trembling knees and smooth out the path you tread; then the injured limb will not be wrenched, it will grow strong again.
LUKE 13:22-30
My Soul's Beloved,
This is why I worry for the salvation of those I love - that they are simply unwilling to understand the gravity of their sins and the serious lack of time to repent, beg for forgiveness, and be healed, strengthened, and made whole so they can be saved. Too many of us take our salvation for granted; we believe that the God of mercy and compassion will not judge us too harshly. Yet, we are indifferent, ignorant, and unwilling to know what God requires of us and do it. We expect eternal life in bliss with God, and yet the truth is that nothing unclean can enter His Presence.
Our salvation is not guaranteed by the things we do out of fear, or habit, the number of prayers we recite, the novenas we make, the works of mercy we perform, our participation in the various organizations in our parish, if we do these merely to be seen, like the scribes and Pharisees, and praised. There is no way to be saved except through carrying our cross and following You daily, hourly, moment by moment, to Calvary. Each of us has a route mapped out that will take us from Gethsamene to Golgotha, and by God's infinite love, grace, and mercy to receive and share in Your glorious resurrection and ascension into heaven.
The uncomfortable and unpalatable truth is that many are called, but few are prepared to heed the call and do all that God's will demands. Keep us humble, keep us little, keep us childlike, keep us sincere, and above all, O Lord, keep us yoked to You, for without You, Lord, we will perish by the wayside.
Through towns and villages Jesus went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem. Someone said to him, ‘Sir, will there be only a few saved?’ He said to them, ‘Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed.
‘Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself knocking on the door, saying, “Lord, open to us” but he will answer, “I do not know where you come from.” Then you will find yourself saying, “We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets” but he will reply, “I do not know where you come from. Away from me, all you wicked men!”
‘Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves turned outside. And men from east and west, from north and south, will come to take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.
‘Yes, there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.’
Well written Sis as always and so easy to understand our journey here on earth. May all who read understand what is truly expected of us to hear the Lord say “Good and faithful servant you may enter the heavenly abode”
ReplyDeleteThank you and Amen my sis, 'May we all meet merrily in heaven' as St. Thomas More said to his family before he was martyred.
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