Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18, Psalm 19:8-10, 15 Matthew 25:31-46

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS


Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18, Psalm 19:8-10, 15 Matthew 25:31-46

"Truly, I say to you: when­ever you did this to these little ones who are my brothers and sisters, you did it to me."

Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18

 My Beloved, help me to put into practice that which You call me to do.  To be holy as God as holy.  This is not possile on my own but with You in me I can be all that You desire me to be.

Verse 14

14 You shall not curse a deaf man nor put a stumbling block in the way of the blind; but you shall fear your God; I am Yahweh.

Often I lack patience with the spiritually deaf and I put stumbling blocks in the path of those spiritually blind by my shrill and harsh self righteousness forgetting that but for Your grace my Lord I would not have made the little progress I have made in the spiritual life.  It is You who have taken me by the hand and led me, grant me the same generosity of spirit to do likewise. 

Psalm 19:8-10, 15 

 The law of the Lord is perfect love it fills the soul with the Life of God.  You are the Word of God and You my Lord are trustworthy because Your Word is true, steadfast and a sure foundation on which we can plant ourselves firmly and put down roots so the sap of the Holy Spirit may flow in us and we may flourish.

It is perfect obedience to the will of God and His Word that we can be fully alive and truly happy.  To fear God is is to be aware of who god is and we we are - the Creator and the creature.  We are only because You caused us to be.  Beloved, may You find my desire to know You, love You serve You and follow You be pleasing in Your sight.

Matthew 25:31-46

My Beloved, we have been created in love and God has planned for each us a life lived in grace; loving God and loving neighbor.  We are reminded that we cannot say we love God if we are indifferent to our neighbor.  You, the Son of Man and the Son of God so completely identify Yourself with us that You consider every act of good or evil done to our neighbor as if it were do to You personally and we will be judged accordingly.

Give me a constant awareness of this truth in everything I say, do or think about everyone I encounter each day.

Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7, Psalm 51:3-6, 12-13 & 17, Romans 5:12-19. Matthew 4:1-11

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7, Psalm 51:3-6, 12-13 & 17, Romans 5:12-19,  Matthew 4:1-11

Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7

My Beloved, God created man and woman and breathed a soul into them.  He intended them to live in eternal joy with Him in paradise.  He gave the all they needed to be perfectly happy saying to them,“You may eat of every tree in the garden, 17 but of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, you will not eat, for on the day you eat of it, you will die.”

 He made known to them the outcome should they disobey yet, sadly, despite walking with God each day and conversing with Him they did not know Him. They were so easily swayed by the tempter into believing that God and not he, the Devil, who has been a liar and a deceiver from the start. 

As soon as they were caught in their sin they were afraid and hid from their Creator and instead of acknowledging they had sinner and begged for forgiveness they made excuses by laying the blame elsewhere and not on themselves. 

How often I too make excuses for my lapses into sin.  God wants me to walk in the freedom  that belongs to His children but I prefer to wallow in my shame and use my own inadequate resources to cover my nakedness.  Forgive me Lord! Help me! I need You.

Psalm 51:3-6, 12-13 & 17

I have sinned O Lord, against You alone I have sinned.  I acknowledge my guilt.  Have pity on me O Lord because You know I am weak.  I come to You and beg You to forgive me.  Wash me, cleanse me, restore me, purify me, strengthen me and help me to avoid offending You again I in turn will praise You my Lord all the days of my life.

Romans 5:12-19

My Beloved, there is no compromising with sin - the wages of sin is death.  We were created for perfect union with God and with one another but when our first parents sinned the glory of God was lost to us all forever.  They passed on their wounded nature and spiritual death to all their descendants and we would have had no hope but for God's infinite, goodness, tenderness and mercy reaching out to save us restoring to us that which we had lost thorugh the disobedience of our first parents.  So magnanimous and stunningly generous would be the act of love that would save us that we would never doubt the tender mercy of the God of Love for His wayward children.  

He sent You my Beloved to pay pay the debt we owed with Your life.  You who are God and the only Son of God became Man in order to bear our sin, die to it and in doing so restore us to the life that we had lost.

Thank You Beloved for making a life of grace possible for me again.

 

Matthew 4:1-11

My Beloved, You have shown us how to live and ombat evil.  The Holy Spirit is Your Gift to us and He makes possible a life live in grace,.  Temptations can be overcome if we rely on the channels of grace You make available to us though the Sacraments.  We are not alone and we do not struggle on our own.  You are closer to us than our breath and You will never let us fall if we cry out to You to help and save us.

In this Season of Lent help me to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil.  I am weak Lord I need Your strength.  Help me!