The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts. HEB 4:12
ROMANS 1:16-25
My Soul's Beloved,
Cut off from the true Vine, we will wither and die. We see this in our world today. Unless we remain in You and Your Word is alive in us, unless we yield to You in loving humility, acknowledging that without You we are only fit for the scrap heap, we will perish in our sins. Salvation is the Father's free gift to the whole world - this is why He sent You, His beloved Son, into the world not to condemn it but to save it. Unless we accept that You are Lord and confess it not just in words but in the way we conduct every aspect of our lives, guided by the Beatitudes, we can have no part in You.
Salvation came into the world through the people chosen by God, but because they rejected You, we the Gentiles are privileged to receive it and become heirs to the Kingdom of Heaven. However, Lord, the fullness of Truth, Beauty, Life, Light, and Grace are found only in the Church You founded with You as its Cornerstone and Peter, the Rock on which it is built. Apart from the Church and the life-giving Sacraments You instituted, corruption will eventually set in, and their institutions, built on human wisdom, which is sand, will be washed away.
We pray earnestly and daily, O Lord, that all will hear the Good News as preached and taught by Peter, and Your priestly prayer to Your Father, which He has already answered, will come to fulfillment soon. We long for the coming of Your Kingdom, O Lord. Grant us not to grow weary but to continue to live the Gospel in every season.
I am not ashamed of the Good News: it is the power of God saving all who have faith – Jews first, but Greeks as well – since this is what reveals the justice of God to us: it shows how faith leads to faith, or as scripture says: The upright man finds life through faith.
The anger of God is being revealed from heaven against all the impiety and depravity of men who keep truth imprisoned in their wickedness. For what can be known about God is perfectly plain to them since God himself has made it plain. Ever since God created the world his everlasting power and deity – however invisible – have been there for the mind to see in the things he has made. That is why such people are without excuse: they knew God and yet refused to honour him as God or to thank him; instead, they made nonsense out of logic and their empty minds were darkened. The more they called themselves philosophers, the more stupid they grew, until they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for a worthless imitation, for the image of mortal man, of birds, of quadrupeds and reptiles. That is why God left them to their filthy enjoyments and the practices with which they dishonour their own bodies, since they have given up divine truth for a lie and have worshipped and served creatures instead of the creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen!
PSALM 18(19):2-5
The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God,
and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up the story
and night unto night makes known the message.
No speech, no word, no voice is heard
yet their span extends through all the earth,
their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
LUKE 11:37-41
My Soul's Beloved,
The anger of God is being revealed from heaven against all the impiety and depravity of men who keep truth imprisoned in their wickedness. For what can be known about God is perfectly plain to them since God himself has made it plain. Ever since God created the world his everlasting power and deity – however invisible – have been there for the mind to see in the things he has made. That is why such people are without excuse: they knew God and yet refused to honour him as God or to thank him; instead, they made nonsense out of logic and their empty minds were darkened. The more they called themselves philosophers, the more stupid they grew, until they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for a worthless imitation, for the image of mortal man, of birds, of quadrupeds and reptiles. That is why God left them to their filthy enjoyments and the practices with which they dishonour their own bodies, since they have given up divine truth for a lie and have worshipped and served creatures instead of the creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen!
PSALM 18(19):2-5
The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God,
and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up the story
and night unto night makes known the message.
No speech, no word, no voice is heard
yet their span extends through all the earth,
their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
LUKE 11:37-41
My Soul's Beloved,
All too often, I am like the Pharisee; I, too, have a critical and fault-finding spirit, I make false judgments without knowing the facts, and freely condemn all those who fall short of my standards. However, I give myself a generous margin, making excuses for my own faults and weaknesses, which are legion. I am guilty of scrutinizing people's words and actions, and quite often, to my mind, they fall short.
On this particular occasion, when You sat down to dine at the Pharisee's house, You perhaps deliberately did not follow the ritualistic custom of washing Your hands, knowing that he would judge You poorly and You could then point out the hypocrisy of Pharisees in general. It also serves as a timely reminder to us who are more concerned about favorable optics rather than actually living the Gospel, whether seen or unseen.
Jesus had just finished speaking when a Pharisee invited him to dine at his house. He went in and sat down at the table. The Pharisee saw this and was surprised that he had not first washed before the meal. But the Lord said to him, ‘Oh, you Pharisees! You clean the outside of cup and plate, while inside yourselves you are filled with extortion and wickedness. Fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside too? Instead, give alms from what you have and then indeed everything will be clean for you.’
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