Malachi 3:1-4, Hebrews 2:14-18, Psalm 24:7-10, Luke 2:22-40

FEAST OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Malachi 3:1-4, Hebrews 2:14-18, Psalm 24:7-10, Luke 2:22-40
Malachi 3:1-4

My Beloved, like all the prophets in the Old Testament and until the last prophet St. John the Baptist, all without exception prepared the way for Your first coming into the world through Your incarnation. Today, every baptized Christian is called to prepare the way for Your second coming into world as its Judge.  Your second coming will be upon us suddenly.  You and Your Word have made that abundantly clear.  Those who believe will be prepared so when You come they will be ready to receive You.  We hunger, thirst and long for Your coming, this hunger is satisfied for a while when You come to us in the most holy Eucharist.

When You come to judge the world, You will separate the sheep from the goats.  This is the final judgment and no one can escape it.

Beloved, You purify the Church Your Bride and You are unafraid to cauterize the wound until all the impurities and the stench of sin are burned away so healing can commence.  Even though Your entire Body is wounded grievously by those to whom You entrusted the eternal souls of Your little ones and some have betrayed that trust, You will l heal us and restore us to beauty, goodness and health as we made reparation for the ins of our brothers and sister, who like Judas betrayed her.  Once again after You have restored us, You will accept the offering of Your priests and the Church will be sanctified and renewed in Your Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 2:14-18

 My Beloved, You had to become like us - have a body of flesh like us and blood so You could share in our humanity and make reparation on our behalf for having destroyed our relationship with God and wounding our brothers and sisters. In this way You were able to enter into our death and destroy its power so we could be free from the stranglehold of fear that is a part of death. Thank You for reminding us today that You came to take us by the hand to lead us into the freedom that belongs to the children of God.  Thank You for the incarnation.  Thank You for becoming the perfect High Priest  and receiving all our offerings uniting them with the offering of Yourself to the Father and making them pleasing and acceptable to Him.There is nothing about the human condition You do not understand and so we can approach You always with confidence.

Psalm 24:7-10

My Beloved, You entered into our humanity through the ancient doorway of the line of David .  Mary Your Virgin Mother was chosen to open the door to You.  She received You from God and enfolded You within her.  At the appointed time she gave You to the world.  King of Glory please enter into us too and transform us as You draw us into Your divinity.  Grant us Your life at every Eucharist where we may receive a foretaste of the delights of heaven and then may we give You to the world.

Luke 2:22-40

My Beloved, we who are baptized also receive the promise of the Holy Spirit that like Simeon we too shall not die before we see You, the Messiah.  At every worthy reception of the Sacraments we encounter You, the Living God.  We too are led on the Day of the Lord to the temple by the Holy Spirit, You come to us under the appearance of Bread and having tasted You, we too are ready to die for our eyes have seen and our mouths have tasted the goodness of God and we can go in peace.

You are the Light and no deceit can remain hidden when Your light is shed on the world and on the hearts of men.  Because You are a sign of contradiction nation is divided against nation, family members are divided against each other, those who believe are saved those who do not believe condemn themselves.  Just as Mary's soul was pierced so is the heart of Holy Mother Church being pierced by the sins committed by those who are called to lead by example so her children can emulate and follow her. During this coming season of Lent let us turn away from the flesh and let us embrace the spiritual life more fully in order to make reparation for our own sins and those of the world.

Hebrews 10:32-39, Psalm 37:3-6, 23-24, 39-40, Mark 4:26-34

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS:

Hebrews 10:32-39

My Beloved, if we take our faith seriously and live it out faithfully, boldly, and with courage; we can expect to be persecuted. The moral teachings of the Church are divine teachings and so time, culture, fashions, and fads cannot change them, they remain unchanging truths.  The moral law and the natural law are written in the hearts of men by the Finger of God.  We can deny it all we want, loudly, vociferously, with convincing vocabulary, pseudo-intellectualism which seeks to blur the lines of absolute truth or we can try to muzzle it by sheer brute force but nothing can change Absolute Truth.

Your promise to those who remain faithful is an everlasting promise, for You have made an eternal Covenant of Love with Your own.  Those who believe and persevere to the end in the face of the greatest difficulties and persecution will receive eternal salvation.

Psalm 37:3-6, 23-24, 39-40

My Beloved, these verses are most reassuring to those who seek to follow You closely and faithfully in the face of difficulties and persecution.  Sometimes when we are faced with calamities, it is hard to have faith, hope, and trust but it is precisely at these times that we should cling more tenaciously to You.  From You, we can draw the strength we need to endure.  Yes, Beloved, we may stumble for we are only weak, sinful creatures but we will not fall for You hold our hand firmly in Your own.  May I always run to You. May I seek Your protection. May I seek refuge and help from You alone even if that helps seems long in coming.  I know that You are faithful and will never forsake me.  I will rest in perfect peace in the shelter You provide and I will be safe.

Mark 4:26-34

My Beloved, we hear Your Word as the seed that is scattered all the time on the soil of our hearts.  We receive these seeds when we read the Bible, when we attend the Liturgy of the Eucharist, at the homily, in the public prayers we pray in the Church as the Body of Christ, and in our private, personal prayers.  We receive Your Word through others as well.  Much of it may lie on fallow soil before they actually begin to take root and grow. Your Word is constantly at work - some seeds may take time whereas others spring up quickly but every Word will ultimately grow and bear fruit at various stages in our life.  When You call us home at harvest time, You will collect the fruit of our labor which we pray will abound to Your glory.

My Beloved, we ought never to underestimate the power of even a little kindness. Only You know the potential and the power of the Word spoken in a little timely sharing of the Good News. Small as it may be it has the power to eventually grow mightily and in turn to provide refuge, hope, and encouragement to others.