Isaiah 5:20-21, Acts 5:17-26, John 3:16-21, Psalm 34:2-9

Daily Meditation:  Isaiah 5:20-21

Isaiah 5:20-21,

20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil,
who change darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who give bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
and take themselves for sages.

Beloved, we live in an age where every sin so named in the Word of God is touted as being normal; especially where the concept of marriage is concerned, which is a union before God of one man and one woman, till the parting that comes through death of either spouse.  This definition is laughed at to scorn.  Light is extinguished and the darkness of evil is glamorized and portrayed as light.  The innocent are being raised to believe that there is no right and wrong, nothing moral or immoral.  The only heinous crimes that are  acknowledged by this age are cultural sins.   The world considers fools to be their gurus and sages.  These amoral proclaimers of a cultural gospel have terribly sensitive egos.  They have cunning intellects and they lead the gullible masses to wickedness and perfidy.


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Daily Mass Readings:  Acts 5:17-26, John 3:16-21, Psalm 34:2-9

Acts 5:17-26

Beloved, jealousy and envy continue to be the motivating factor that cause the enemies of the Church to persecute Your followers.  They recognize Your awesome power.  They know that obedience and adherence to Your Word can bring about radical change.  They understand that if the Church is given free rein to live the faith in all its glory in the public square across the world, many would come to know You and fall on their knees and acknowledge and accept You as their Lord and Savior.  True conversion results in people living holy lives and the wicked who peddle all manner of evil by way of entertainment, fashion, and consumerism will stand to lose their wealth and their power.  Their tyranny will cease as true justice, love, joy, peace and hope begin to flourish.

John 3:16-21

Beloved, this verse John 3:16 is a well loved verse and is often quoted: 

" Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but may have eternal life."  It is a verse of hope and  healing.  Of comfort and peace.  Of joy in the midst of sorrow.  You desire that every one be saved and because this is what You desire, we who are Your followers have to do all in our power with the help of the Holy Spirit to bring all who are within our circle of influence, to the knowledge of the Truth.   Absolute Truth not the relative truth that the world preaches.  It is a Truth that saves from eternal damnation.  The feast of Divine Mercy proclaims to the world that although You are a God of Justice, You are also a God of unfathomable love and mercy.  Your justice demands that sin be punished but mercy and love plead for the life

of the repentant and contrite sinner.

You are the Light of the World yet evil seems to be having its day as there are many in the world who are trapped in the temporary and heady darkness of the sins of the flesh, the world and the devil.  Sins against purity, modesty, decency, and the lust for wealth and power have cast an ugly shadow on the world.  There is a visceral hatred for the Church.  The terrible sins of some of her hierarchy, who are as human, weak and frail as the rest of us, are constantly flung at her.  The intention is to demoralize, demean and weaken her moral authority.  They forget that Your Church is made up of sinners.  It has always been so, beginning with Peter who denied You, Judas who betrayed You and hanged himself in despair and all the others who abandoned You in cowardly fear when You needed them most.  It is not her members that make her holy, it is You Beloved who is her Bridegroom that sanctifies her and empowers her through the Holy Spirit.  This is Your Father's will. It is He who has given You the Church as Your Bride, just as He gave Eve to Adam.  

You have won merit for her through Your incarnation, passion, death and glorious Resurrection into heaven.  Your merit alone makes Your Bride holy spotless, and without wrinkle or stain for she is constantly bathed in the Blood and Water that came forth from Your side and You feed and strengthen her with heavenly manna in the Eucharist.

You have triumphed and evil is defeated.  The world is saved.  We have hope and most of all we have life that comes from You who are Life itself.





Psalm 34:2-9

2 I will bless the Lord all my days;

his praise will be ever on my lips.

3 My soul makes its boast in the Lord;

let the lowly hear and rejoice.

4 Oh, let us magnify the Lord,

together let us glorify his name!

5 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;

from all my fears he delivered me.

6 They who look to him are radiant with joy,

their faces never clouded with shame.

7 When the poor cry out, the Lord hears

and saves them from distress.

8 The Lord’s angel encamps and patrols

to keep safe those who fear him.

9 Oh, see and taste the goodness of the Lord!

Blessed is the one who finds shelter in him!

Wisdom 9:17, 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, John 14:6-14, Psalm 19:2-5

Daily Meditation:  Wisdom 9:17

Wisdom 9:17

17 Who has ever known your will un­less you first gave him Wisdom and sent down your holy spirit to him?

 

Beloved, grant me wisdom in order that I may know Your will.  To obey the Father's will was food and drink to You.  This is why You came to earth as a Man to fulfill perfectly the Father's plan of love for our salvation.

I know You have a plan for my life as well and so Beloved grant me wisdom in order that I may discern Your holy will with the help of Your Holy Spirit. 

Thank You.

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Daily Mass Readings: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, John 14:6-14, Psalm 19:2-5

1 Corinthians 15:1-8

The Good news is the foundation on which I stand firm.  Peter is the Rock on whom You  have built Your Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against Your Bride.  This is Your promise.  It is faith in the Gospel that saves us.  It is a faith which has been preached by Your Apostles, disciples and believers through the ages.  It is the Good News for which many countless brothers and sisters have laid down their lives in imitation of You.

The Church holds safe in her treasury the truths of our faith in the Gospel - the Word of God and Sacred Tradition handed down undiluted - this is the rich deposit left to us by Your Apostles and the Fathers of the Church.  Just as many were witness to the miraculous signs and wonders which You performed while You were alive, so there were many witnesses who saw You after Your glorious Resurrection. The Apostles were also witnesses to Your Ascension into heaven.  

Each of us in turn is called to be a witness to the Truth.  Give us the grace to carry out this mission faithfully.

John 14:6-14

No one comes to the Father except through You.  You  are the Gate to the Father's House.  The Father sent You to demonstrate His love for us.  It stands to reason then that You who laid down Your life to save us, should be the only means through which we can return to the Father.  You are the Image of the invisible God - when we see You, we see the Father, because You have said that You and the Father are One.  

If I am one with You Beloved, then I am one with the Father too. All that You said and did was exactly what the Father desired and He spoke and worked through You.  You and the Father are one and we who believe are one with You.  You make this absolutely wonderful promise that we can not only do all that You did, but even greater works than You have done. You are glorified by the Father and You invite us to ask the Father anything in Your Name and You assure us that we will receive it.

Unlike Philip Lord, we who spend time with You must recognize that You are in the Father and the Father is in You.  The greater our faith the greater our ability to live lives that are always pleasing to You and the greater our capacity to live out our faith with courage and boldness.

Psalm 19:2-5

4 No speech, no words, no voice is heard –

5 but the call goes on throughout the universe,

the message is felt to the ends of the earth.