Behold, our Lord will come with power
and will enlighten the eyes of his servants.
ISAIAH 11:1-10
My Soul's Beloved,
The Kingdom of God is already in our midst; it came to us on Your stooping low from heaven into the womb of the Virgin and into our world. You revealed to us the love of God, the wisdom of God, the power of God, and this is for all who believe in You and the One who sent You. The same Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of Father and Son, has been given to us. We lack nothing, Beloved, to realize the Kingdom of God which has been established in our hearts, in the Church, and in the world. Sadly, we have allowed the great Deceiver and Father of Lies to distract us. We are all consumed with the trivial, the passing, the baubles that are dangled before us, and we are drawn away from the Truth that saves.
Ignorance of God and His Word keeps us from flourishing as God, our Father, intends. We have failed to raise children nourished on Your Word and on Your Body and Blood. Our parents and grandparents have been largely ignorant, and that ignorance is handed down from generation to generation. They could be excused then, Lord, we have no excuse, and neither to our children and the coming generation, for all we need to grow and thrive on our faith is available freely to us. However, we choose to use the gifts of God not for growing in the knowledge of You and Him, but in things of this perishable world that bring death.
Lord Jesus, it is not too late. It never is, for You are a God of second chances, and we never run out of another chance to begin anew. Shake us out of our lethargy, our complacency, our indifference to the things of life, and our preoccupation with the things that only bring sorrow, grief, sadness, loneliness, depression, sickness, and death. All we need to live, grow, and thrive is ours if we only desire it. Do for u,s O Lord, what we are too stupid to do for ourselves.
A shoot springs from the stock of Jesse,
a scion thrusts from his roots:
on him the spirit of the Lord rests,
a spirit of wisdom and insight,
a spirit of counsel and power,
a spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
(The fear of the Lord is his breath.)
He does not judge by appearances,
he gives no verdict on hearsay,
but judges the wretched with integrity,
and with equity gives a verdict for the poor of the land.
His word is a rod that strikes the ruthless,
his sentences bring death to the wicked.
Integrity is the loincloth round his waist,
faithfulness the belt about his hips.
The wolf lives with the lamb,
the panther lies down with the kid,
calf and lion feed together,
with a little boy to lead them.
The cow and the bear make friends,
their young lie down together.
The lion eats straw like the ox.
The infant plays over the cobra’s hole;
into the viper’s lair
the young child puts his hand.
They do no hurt, no harm,
on all my holy mountain,
for the country is filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters swell the sea.
That day, the root of Jesse
shall stand as a signal to the peoples.
It will be sought out by the nations
and its home will be glorious.
PSALM 71(72):1-2,7-8,12-13,17
In his days justice shall flourish, and peace till the moon fails.
on him the spirit of the Lord rests,
a spirit of wisdom and insight,
a spirit of counsel and power,
a spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
(The fear of the Lord is his breath.)
He does not judge by appearances,
he gives no verdict on hearsay,
but judges the wretched with integrity,
and with equity gives a verdict for the poor of the land.
His word is a rod that strikes the ruthless,
his sentences bring death to the wicked.
Integrity is the loincloth round his waist,
faithfulness the belt about his hips.
The wolf lives with the lamb,
the panther lies down with the kid,
calf and lion feed together,
with a little boy to lead them.
The cow and the bear make friends,
their young lie down together.
The lion eats straw like the ox.
The infant plays over the cobra’s hole;
into the viper’s lair
the young child puts his hand.
They do no hurt, no harm,
on all my holy mountain,
for the country is filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters swell the sea.
That day, the root of Jesse
shall stand as a signal to the peoples.
It will be sought out by the nations
and its home will be glorious.
PSALM 71(72):1-2,7-8,12-13,17
In his days justice shall flourish, and peace till the moon fails.
O God, give your judgement to the king,
to a king’s son your justice,
that he may judge your people in justice
and your poor in right judgement.
In his days justice shall flourish
and peace till the moon fails.
He shall rule from sea to sea,
from the Great River to earth’s bounds.
For he shall save the poor when they cry
and the needy who are helpless.
He will have pity on the weak
and save the lives of the poor.
to a king’s son your justice,
that he may judge your people in justice
and your poor in right judgement.
In his days justice shall flourish
and peace till the moon fails.
He shall rule from sea to sea,
from the Great River to earth’s bounds.
For he shall save the poor when they cry
and the needy who are helpless.
He will have pity on the weak
and save the lives of the poor.
May his name be blessed for ever
and endure like the sun.
Every tribe shall be blessed in him,
all nations bless his name.
and endure like the sun.
Every tribe shall be blessed in him,
all nations bless his name.
In his days justice shall flourish, and peace till the moon fails.
LUKE 10:21-24
My Soul's Beloved,
My Soul's Beloved,
We, too, are filled with the same joy by the Holy Spirit that You always experienced because it is this same Spirit that You have given us. Nothing is hidden from us any longer after the Father sent You into the world to make known His unfathomable love for us who are so unworthy and undeserving of it. Yet, look at us, sad, joyless creatures, with our eyes fixed to the earth, we are unable to see the unmistakable signs of God's loving care and tenderness that are everywhere. We prefer to focus on all the negativity instead of Your promises, Your assurances, the Truth of Your Word, Your abiding presence in us.
You were sent by the Father to make Him and His love visible and tangible to us in and through You. You, in turn, sent us the Holy Spirit, so we could begin, even now, to experience on earth the joys of heaven. Have pity on Your people, Lord, those called by Your Name, members of Your Body, that we may realize how blessed and privileged we are to be one with You, the Father and the Holy Spirit. We are called to spread the Kingdom of God; this is our mission. Grant us the grace to so live our lives that others, too, may desire and receive what we have been so graciously given by You. Thank You, Lord.
Filled with joy by the Holy Spirit, Jesus said:
‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’
Then turning to his disciples he spoke to them in private, ‘Happy the eyes that see what you see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.’
‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’
Then turning to his disciples he spoke to them in private, ‘Happy the eyes that see what you see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.’
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