Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children. MT 11:25
ROMANS 7:18-25
My Soul's Beloved,
How well St. Paul phrases the struggles that we go through. We are our own worst enemy. We know what is good, especially we who have been baptized into Your Body. Our hearts and our spirit yearn to do what is right, good, true, noble, beautiful, and pleasing to You, but concupiscence renders us weak and powerless, and we are inclined to give in to the baser instincts that give us temporary pleasure.
We are drawn to and impressed by the lives of holy men and women, and we desire to emulate these giants of the spiritual life. Sadly and all too often, we allow the fleeting attractions of the world and the flesh to tempt us from what we know to be right. However, Lord, we know that grace is always at work for Your Holy Spirit makes His dwelling place in us and will never abandon those who are washed in Your Blood and sealed in Your Spirit. Thank You, Lord, for redeeming me and for providing all I need to journey safely from this life to the next. My Lord, I trust in You.
I know of nothing good living in me – living, that is, in my unspiritual self – for though the will to do what is good is in me, the performance is not, with the result that instead of doing the good things I want to do, I carry out the sinful things I do not want. When I act against my will, then, it is not my true self doing it, but sin which lives in me.
In fact, this seems to be the rule, that every single time I want to do good it is something evil that comes to hand. In my inmost self I dearly love God’s Law, but I can see that my body follows a different law that battles against the law which my reason dictates. This is what makes me a prisoner of that law of sin which lives inside my body.
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body doomed to death?
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
PSALM 118(119):66,68,76-77,93-94
Lord, teach me your statutes.
Teach me discernment and knowledge
for I trust in your commands.
You are good and your deeds are good;
teach me your statutes.
Let your love be ready to console me
by your promise to your servant.
Let your love come and I shall live
for your law is my delight.
I will never forget your precepts
for with them you give me life.
Save me, for I am yours
since I seek your precepts.
I know of nothing good living in me – living, that is, in my unspiritual self – for though the will to do what is good is in me, the performance is not, with the result that instead of doing the good things I want to do, I carry out the sinful things I do not want. When I act against my will, then, it is not my true self doing it, but sin which lives in me.
In fact, this seems to be the rule, that every single time I want to do good it is something evil that comes to hand. In my inmost self I dearly love God’s Law, but I can see that my body follows a different law that battles against the law which my reason dictates. This is what makes me a prisoner of that law of sin which lives inside my body.
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body doomed to death?
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
PSALM 118(119):66,68,76-77,93-94
Lord, teach me your statutes.
Teach me discernment and knowledge
for I trust in your commands.
You are good and your deeds are good;
teach me your statutes.
Let your love be ready to console me
by your promise to your servant.
Let your love come and I shall live
for your law is my delight.
I will never forget your precepts
for with them you give me life.
Save me, for I am yours
since I seek your precepts.
Lord, teach me your statutes.
LUKE 12:54-59
My Soul's Beloved,
All too often, we are better able to read the signs of the world around us but are blind to the spiritual signs that serve as guideposts to help us navigate the roadblocks that hinder our walk with You. We prefer to remain spiritually blind because acknowledging them would trouble our conscience, and we would have to make choices that we do not wish to. Like St. Augustine, our prayer is, "Lord make me chaste but not yet." And yet, O Lord, You are patient with us. You do not punish us as we deserve, but gently and compassionately woo us into turning away from sin and self and to You and to life in You.
Lord, as long as You generously give us time here on earth, grant us the grace to use it to prepare ourselves for eternal life with You. If we fail to do so, then we will have none to blame but ourselves if we have to suffer severe punishment and purification before we can behold You and live with You forever.
Jesus said to the crowds: ‘When you see a cloud looming up in the west you say at once that rain is coming, and so it does. And when the wind is from the south you say it will be hot, and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the face of the earth and the sky. How is it you do not know how to interpret these times?
‘Why not judge for yourselves what is right? For example: when you go to court with your opponent, try to settle with him on the way, or he may drag you before the judge and the judge hand you over to the bailiff and the bailiff have you thrown into prison. I tell you, you will not get out till you have paid the very last penny.’
‘Why not judge for yourselves what is right? For example: when you go to court with your opponent, try to settle with him on the way, or he may drag you before the judge and the judge hand you over to the bailiff and the bailiff have you thrown into prison. I tell you, you will not get out till you have paid the very last penny.’
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