I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;
No one can come to the Father except through me. JN 14:6
COLOSSIANS 1:21-23
My Soul's Beloved,
As long as we are in sin and willfully continue sinning gravely, we remain aliens and enemies. We are cut off from Your Body, and we risk dying without repentance and being separated from You eternally. Thank You, Lord, that each of us, at some moment in time in our lives, receives the grace of conversion. You come to us, perhaps not as dramatically as You appeared to Saul, and recognizing You, we desire to know You better and to give our whole life to You. For some of us, this experience occurs early in our lives, and for many of us, it is either when we are adults or when we reach our sunset years. In any case, Lord, You constantly woo us from the path of eternal separation from You to the Way that leads to salvation and everlasting joy with You.
Salvation is not experienced in isolation. We are all members of Your Body, and we are invited to pray for one another without ceasing. We are called to help those who are weak. We are to preach the Good News in season and out of season, so many will come to know the truth and be saved. This is our mission, Lord, that You have entrusted to us. You provide the grace to carry it out. Grant that we do so faithfully, and in the end, we will receive the joy of beholding You face to face in the beatific vision forever.
Not long ago, you were foreigners and enemies, in the way that you used to think and the evil things that you did; but now he has reconciled you, by his death and in that mortal body. Now you are able to appear before him holy, pure and blameless – as long as you persevere and stand firm on the solid base of the faith, never letting yourselves drift away from the hope promised by the Good News, which you have heard, which has been preached to the whole human race, and of which I, Paul, have become the servant.
PSALM 53(54):3-4,6,8
I have God for my help.
O God, save me by your name;
by your power, uphold my cause.
O God, hear my prayer;
listen to the words of my mouth.
But I have God for my help.
The Lord upholds my life.
I will sacrifice to you with willing heart
and praise your name for it is good:
One sabbath Jesus happened to be taking a walk through the cornfields, and his disciples were picking ears of corn, rubbing them in their hands and eating them. Some of the Pharisees said, ‘Why are you doing something that is forbidden on the sabbath day?’ Jesus answered them, ‘So you have not read what David did when he and his followers were hungry – how he went into the house of God, took the loaves of offering and ate them and gave them to his followers, loaves which only the priests are allowed to eat?’ And he said to them, ‘The Son of Man is master of the sabbath.’
Not long ago, you were foreigners and enemies, in the way that you used to think and the evil things that you did; but now he has reconciled you, by his death and in that mortal body. Now you are able to appear before him holy, pure and blameless – as long as you persevere and stand firm on the solid base of the faith, never letting yourselves drift away from the hope promised by the Good News, which you have heard, which has been preached to the whole human race, and of which I, Paul, have become the servant.
PSALM 53(54):3-4,6,8
I have God for my help.
O God, save me by your name;
by your power, uphold my cause.
O God, hear my prayer;
listen to the words of my mouth.
But I have God for my help.
The Lord upholds my life.
I will sacrifice to you with willing heart
and praise your name for it is good:
I have God for my help.
LUKE 6:1-5
My Soul's Beloved,
My Soul's Beloved,
You are Lord, You are God, You are the Son of the Eternal Father, You are the wisdom of God, the power of God, and the love of God. You are King of Kings, and You rule the heavens and the earth. You are the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. You are first, last, and forever. You are the Lawgiver, You are the Author of Life. You are the Savior and Redeemer of the world. Your rule over all is all-encompassing. While You are Lawgiver, You are not bound by them, and as God and the Son of God, You can do as You will, when You will, and however You will.
The Pharisees, the scribes, the religious authorities of the day, and the Sanhedrin, understood perfectly well that everything You said with authority and the signs and wonders You performed did fit perfectly all the prophecies concerning the coming of the long-awaited Messiah, and they were having none of it. They saw You as a threat to the comfortable status quo in which they were the masters who lorded it over the rest. However, You would not hesitate to call them out on their hypocrisy, and they hated You for it. For God, it is always the poor, the childlike, the little ones, the anawim of God who would find in You a champion, a brother, and a friend. Let us never forget empathy and concern for those in need, and remember that the law must never be used to bludgeon the weakest among us into submission.
One sabbath Jesus happened to be taking a walk through the cornfields, and his disciples were picking ears of corn, rubbing them in their hands and eating them. Some of the Pharisees said, ‘Why are you doing something that is forbidden on the sabbath day?’ Jesus answered them, ‘So you have not read what David did when he and his followers were hungry – how he went into the house of God, took the loaves of offering and ate them and gave them to his followers, loaves which only the priests are allowed to eat?’ And he said to them, ‘The Son of Man is master of the sabbath.’
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