The Lord is our judge, the Lord our lawgiver,
the Lord our king and saviour. IS 33:22
ISAIAH 30:19-21,23-26
My Soul's Beloved,
My Soul's Beloved,
What gracious promises You make to Your people, those who are called by Your Name, those who are grafted to You and are one with You. How good and kind You are to us, slow to anger and rich in mercy. While it is true that the prophet Isaiah is addressing the people of Israel and that this comforting message is directed to them, it is also eternally true for those who belong to Your New Covenant of Love.
Looking at our world today, in every nation, there is hatred, division, violence, evil, and destruction directed at certain groups, but most especially at Christians. There are nations whose people are affiliated to a particular faith, whatever that faith may be, and Catholics and Christians are in a minority; the level of discrimination, marginalising them and almost ostracising them from public governance and discourse, is mind-boggling. This is why, Beloved, we hold on to the promises of the prophet and claim them for us in our time. You are good, and You are faithful, and we can trust You in all things.
Thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:
People of Zion, you will live in Jerusalem and weep no more. He will be gracious to you when he hears your cry; when he hears he will answer. When the Lord has given you the bread of suffering and the water of distress, he who is your teacher will hide no longer, and you will see your teacher with your own eyes. Whether you turn to right or left, your ears will hear these words behind you, ‘This is the way, follow it.’ He will send rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the bread that the ground provides will be rich and nourishing. Your cattle will graze, that day, in wide pastures. Oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat a salted fodder, winnowed with shovel and fork. On every lofty mountain, on every high hill there will be streams and watercourses, on the day of the great slaughter when the strongholds fall. Then moonlight will be bright as sunlight and sunlight itself be seven times brighter – like the light of seven days in one – on the day the Lord dresses the wound of his people and heals the bruises his blows have left.
PSALM 146(147):1-6
Happy are all who hope in the Lord.
Praise the Lord for he is good;
sing to our God for he is loving:
to him our praise is due.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem
and brings back Israel’s exiles.
He heals the broken-hearted,
he binds up all their wounds.
He fixes the number of the stars;
he calls each one by its name.
Our Lord is great and almighty;
his wisdom can never be measured.
The Lord raises the lowly;
he humbles the wicked to the dust.
PSALM 146(147):1-6
Happy are all who hope in the Lord.
Praise the Lord for he is good;
sing to our God for he is loving:
to him our praise is due.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem
and brings back Israel’s exiles.
He heals the broken-hearted,
he binds up all their wounds.
He fixes the number of the stars;
he calls each one by its name.
Our Lord is great and almighty;
his wisdom can never be measured.
The Lord raises the lowly;
he humbles the wicked to the dust.
Happy are all who hope in the Lord.
MATTHEW 9:35-10:1,5,6-8
MATTHEW 9:35-10:1,5,6-8
My Soul's Beloved,
Today's Gospel passage is a response to Isaiah's prophecies. You are the answer to our deepest longings, our core hearts' needs. You are all in all to us who believe in You, hope in You, love You, adore and worship You, and place all our trust in You. How good God is to reveal His infinite love for us by sending You, His only most beloved Son, into the world to save us. God became visible and tangible to us in You. How blessed we are to live in this time, Lord, when the Church, which has pondered and kept all things in her heart, just like Mama Mary, for over 2000 years, knows ever more deeply the wonder of our faith. The mysteries of God's love are infinite, and the Church will never fully plumb its depths, even until the end of time.
You, O Lord, are our healer, our Savior, our Redeemer, the only mediator with the Father, the fullness of Truth and Life and You are the Way - following You and walking in Your footsteps, we will finally reach our destination, which is union with You, the Father, the Holy Spirit, Mama Mary, St. Joseph and the entire company of angels and saints. Having You, Lord, we possess all we need in this life and the glorious promise of beholding the beatific vision eternally.
Jesus made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness.
And when he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.’
He summoned his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to cast them out and to cure all kinds of diseases and sickness. These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows: ‘Go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge.’
He summoned his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to cast them out and to cure all kinds of diseases and sickness. These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows: ‘Go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge.’
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