A great prophet has appeared among us;
God has visited his people. LK 7:16
JEREMIAH 31:1-7
My Soul's Beloved,
You are God, You are Almighty, You can do all things. Nothing in heaven, on earth, or under the earth is impossible for You to do. Those who belong to You, those who are called by Your Name, those whom You have invited to be one with You will be blessed. We might wander far from You, O Lord. We might play the harlot as Israel did over and over again, but when we repent, when our hearts are broken with sorrow, when we lament our past iniquities and are contrite and repentant, resolving to sin no more with Your help—when we come to You in humility and beg Your forgiveness—then You remove our sins from us. You cast them behind Your back. You forget them and remember them no more. And You make us Your virgin people once again. You are God, and with You this is possible. You can make us as joyful as little children who have not lost their innocence. This is our God, the God we love with our whole being and whom we desire to love faithfully all the days of our life.
Thank You, Lord Jesus, that we are Your Bride. We are members of Your Body. We receive life from Your Holy Spirit, the source and fountain of all grace and goodness. You are the Lord our God who emptied Himself, giving up all in order to restore to us what our first parents lost and destroyed so wantonly.
God’s love for us is everlasting. It is the same yesterday, today, and eternally. We, Your Church, rejoice in You, our Bridegroom, our Redeemer, our Savior, our Lord and our God. Grafted to You, built on the Rock with You as our Cornerstone, we shall not be shaken. Let the winds blow, let the storms come, let the waves batter us on every side—we shall remain firm because You are our sure foundation.
We are Your remnant people, the people whom You chose from every nation. We heard You call us by name and we responded, and now we are irrevocably Yours in time and in eternity. Here, O Lord, in Your House, You dwell in fullness of Beauty, Goodness, and Truth. Thank You for establishing us as the New Mount Zion to which all the peoples of the world are invited to ascend to receive every good and perfect gift, so we can navigate this valley of tears yoked to You, so that when our days here are ended You will receive us and present us to Your Abba and our Abba, and we will remain with You forever.
I will be the God of all the clans of Israel – it is the Lord who speaks – they shall be my people.
The Lord says this:
They have found pardon in the wilderness,
those who have survived the sword.
Israel is marching to his rest.
The Lord has appeared to him from afar:
I have loved you with an everlasting love,
so I am constant in my affection for you.
I build you once more; you shall be rebuilt,
virgin of Israel.
Adorned once more, and with your tambourines,
you will go out dancing gaily.
You will plant vineyards once more
on the mountains of Samaria
(the planters have done their planting:
they will gather the fruit).
Yes, a day will come when the watchmen shout
on the mountains of Ephraim,
‘Up! Let us go up to Zion,
to the Lord our God!’
For the Lord says this:
Shout with joy for Jacob!
Hail the chief of nations!
Proclaim! Praise! Shout:
‘The Lord has saved his people,
the remnant of Israel!’
PSALM JEREMIAH 31:10-12,13
The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
O nations, hear the word of the Lord,
proclaim it to the far-off coasts.
Say: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and guard him as a shepherd guards his flock.’
For the Lord has ransomed Jacob,
has saved him from an overpowering hand.
They will come and shout for joy on Mount Zion,
they will stream to the blessings of the Lord.
Then the young girls will rejoice and will dance,
the men, young and old, will be glad.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console them, give them gladness for grief.
The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
MATTHEW 15:21-28
My Soul's Beloved,
You are God, You are Almighty, You can do all things. Nothing in heaven, on earth, or under the earth is impossible for You to do. Those who belong to You, those who are called by Your Name, and those whom You have invited to be one with You will be blessed. We might wander far from You, O Lord. We might play the harlot as Israel did over and over again, but when we repent—when our hearts are broken with sorrow, when we lament our past iniquities and are contrite and repentant, resolving to sin no more with Your help—and when we come to You in humility and beg Your forgiveness, then You remove our sins from us. You cast them behind Your back. You forget them and remember them no more. And You make us Your virgin people once again. You are God, and with You this is possible. You can make us as joyful as little children who have not lost their innocence. This is our God, the God we love with our whole being and whom we desire to love faithfully all the days of our life.
Thank You, Lord Jesus, that we are Your Bride. We are members of Your Body. We receive life from Your Holy Spirit, the source and fountain of all grace and goodness. You are the Lord our God who emptied Himself, giving up all to restore to us what our first parents lost and destroyed so wantonly.
God’s love for us is everlasting. It is the same yesterday, today, and eternally. We, Your Church, rejoice in You, our Bridegroom, our Redeemer, our Savior, our Lord and our God. Grafted to You and built on the Rock with You as our Cornerstone, we shall not be shaken. Let the winds blow, let the storms come, let the waves batter us on every side—we shall remain firm because You are our sure foundation.
We are Your remnant people, the people whom You chose from every nation. We heard You call us by name and we responded, and now we are irrevocably Yours in time and in eternity. Here, O Lord, in Your House, You dwell in the fullness of Beauty, Goodness, and Truth. Thank You for establishing us as the New Mount Zion, to which all the peoples of the world are invited to ascend and receive every good and perfect gift. Thus we can navigate this valley of tears yoked to You, so that when our days here are ended You will receive us and present us to Your Abba and our Abba, and we will remain with You forever.
Jesus left Gennesaret and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. Then out came a Canaanite woman from that district and started shouting, ‘Sir, Son of David, take pity on me. My daughter is tormented by a devil.’ But he answered her not a word. And his disciples went and pleaded with him. ‘Give her what she wants,’ they said, ‘because she is shouting after us.’ He said in reply, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.’ But the woman had come up and was kneeling at his feet. ‘Lord,’ she said ‘help me.’ He replied, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ She retorted, ‘Ah yes, sir; but even house-dogs can eat the scraps that fall from their master’s table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, you have great faith. Let your wish be granted.’ And from that moment her daughter was well again.
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