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
JAMES 1:1-11
My Soul's Beloved,
I asked You to speak to me, to speak to my heart, to speak to me in the midst of the heaviness in my soul and You did. You answered me. You, O Lord, are faithful and You are good, and You always hear the cry of the needy.
Thank You for Your word today from St. James, who reminds us that suffering is necessary for every Christian who desires to walk in the Way of Life and Truth. Beloved, it was Your ignominious passion and death that wrought our salvation. We are invited to make Your Cross our boast, for in and through the Cross alone are we saved. All too often, Lord, when we find the weight of the cross too heavy to bear, especially when it is our loved ones who suffer, and we suffer because they are suffering, then it becomes doubly hard because we want them to find relief, and it does not seem to come. Disappointment follows on the heels of disappointment, and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. It is precisely at this time that we are reminded that trials are given to us to test our faith and to help us grow in patience.
Thank You for answering me through Your Word. It is not easy, Lord, but knowing that uniting my trials with Your suffering will produce in me the virtues necessary to walk in faith, hope, and love as I sojourn from this life to the life to come, where sorrow and tears will end, and I will behold the beatific vision in perfect joy eternally.
From James, servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Greetings to the twelve tribes of the Dispersion.
My brothers, you will always have your trials but, when they come, try to treat them as a happy privilege; you understand that your faith is only put to the test to make you patient, but patience too is to have its practical results so that you will become fully-developed, complete, with nothing missing.
If there is any one of you who needs wisdom, he must ask God, who gives to all freely and ungrudgingly; it will be given to him. But he must ask with faith, and no trace of doubt, because a person who has doubts is like the waves thrown up in the sea when the wind drives. That sort of person, in two minds, wavering between going different ways, must not expect that the Lord will give him anything.
It is right for the poor brother to be proud of his high rank, and the rich one to be thankful that he has been humbled, because riches last no longer than the flowers in the grass; the scorching sun comes up, and the grass withers, the flower falls; what looked so beautiful now disappears. It is the same with the rich man: his business goes on; he himself perishes.
PSALM 118(119):67-68,71-72,75-76
Let your love come to me and I shall live.
Before I was afflicted I strayed
but now I keep your word.
You are good and your deeds are good;
teach me your statutes.
It was good for me to be afflicted,
to learn your statutes.
The law from your mouth means more to me
than silver and gold.
Lord, I know that your decrees are right,
that you afflicted me justly.
Let your love be ready to console me
by your promise to your servant.
From James, servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Greetings to the twelve tribes of the Dispersion.
My brothers, you will always have your trials but, when they come, try to treat them as a happy privilege; you understand that your faith is only put to the test to make you patient, but patience too is to have its practical results so that you will become fully-developed, complete, with nothing missing.
If there is any one of you who needs wisdom, he must ask God, who gives to all freely and ungrudgingly; it will be given to him. But he must ask with faith, and no trace of doubt, because a person who has doubts is like the waves thrown up in the sea when the wind drives. That sort of person, in two minds, wavering between going different ways, must not expect that the Lord will give him anything.
It is right for the poor brother to be proud of his high rank, and the rich one to be thankful that he has been humbled, because riches last no longer than the flowers in the grass; the scorching sun comes up, and the grass withers, the flower falls; what looked so beautiful now disappears. It is the same with the rich man: his business goes on; he himself perishes.
PSALM 118(119):67-68,71-72,75-76
Let your love come to me and I shall live.
Before I was afflicted I strayed
but now I keep your word.
You are good and your deeds are good;
teach me your statutes.
It was good for me to be afflicted,
to learn your statutes.
The law from your mouth means more to me
than silver and gold.
Lord, I know that your decrees are right,
that you afflicted me justly.
Let your love be ready to console me
by your promise to your servant.
Let your love come to me and I shall live.
MARK 8:11-13
My Soul's Beloved,
My Soul's Beloved,
The only sign a Christian needs is the Sign of the Cross, from which flows the redemption of the whole world. To this day, the hearts of the Pharisees of this present world are hardened against the Truth just as God hardened the heart of Pharaoh. They refuse to believe that the Messiah has come. The Savior has redeemed the world, and we are to live in righteousness and truth. The opposition of those who refuse to believe is because they are so in love with their sins that they deliberately close themselves off to divine revelation.
The Sign is given to us, and all who wish to be saved embrace it. In the Cross alone are we redeemed, sanctified, and made perfect so we too may share in Your Crown of glory. Those who refuse, You give up with a sigh for You, O Lord, have created us free, and with this beautiful gift of freedom, we make the choice to be eternally damned or saved.
The Pharisees came up and started a discussion with Jesus; they demanded of him a sign from heaven, to test him. And with a sigh that came straight from the heart he said, ‘Why does this generation demand a sign? I tell you solemnly, no sign shall be given to this generation.’ And leaving them again and re-embarking, he went away to the opposite shore.
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