Daniel 3:25, 34-43, Psalm 25:4-9, Matthew 18:21-35

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart;
for I am gracious and merciful. Jl 2:12-13


Daniel 3:25, 34-43, Psalm 25:4-9, Matthew 18:21-35


Daniel 3:25, 34-43

Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,

I make this beautiful prayer of Azariah my own this day. In Your great kindness, Your great, mercy, Your great compassion, and above all the tenderness of Your love do not give me up O Lord but continue to watch over me because I have been marked by the Holy Spirit and sealed in Your Blood. The stamp on my soul claiming me as Yours forever is indelible. Beloved, we both know I am a sinner. I know I am weak and You know better than I how readily I can stumble and fall. Keep Your hands ever outstretched toward me so You can prevent me from falling. Keep me from serious sin, and not only serious sins but even the little, near occasions of sin to which I am prone.

I claim all the promises You have ever made since the dawn of creation for myself and those nearest and dearest to me. Keep us safe Beloved hidden in Yourself now and always.

Psalm 25:4-9

Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,

Were it not for Your Holy Spirit I would have fallen by the wayside long ago and I would have been trampled upon, eaten by birds, choked by the world, and destroyed. But You have watched over Me. You have cared for Me. You have kept me safe.  You have been more compassionate, more kind, more forgiving than I deserved for I know Beloved that I have often chosen very deliberately, of my own accord, to sin. But You have not abandoned me but very patiently and gently You have wooed me back to Yourself.

Continue to keep watch over me lest I fall and having fallen lack the will to pick myself up. Stay with me Lord for I have no one bu You on whom I can rely to take me home in safety.

Matthew 18:21-35

Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,

Peter believed he was being really magnanimous when he posed this question to You, 

"Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?"

You knocked the wind out of his sails when You answered him, 
"I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times."

Then You go on to tell them a parable that brings out the nature of the heart of the King. He is just, he wanted the debt to be repaid and was prepared to take the matter to court to ensure that he got what was due to him. The matter was long overdue and it was time that the servant honored the debt he owed. But when the servant pleaded and begged for mercy saying,

'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.'

The king who was magnanimous in his kindness and largeness of spirit was moved with compassion and let the servant of the hook, forgiving the entire debt he owed. One would imagine that having narrowly escaping spending a lifetime in jail along with his family, he would be filled with joy and magnanimity himself. However, we see how mean spirited he really was in dealing with a fellow servant who owed him a negligible amount. You say in the parable that,

He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
'Pay back what you owe.'

And despite the servant falling on his knees and begging,

'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' 

The parable tells us very bluntly that he refused.

We see in what follows what will happen to us if we refuse to forgive our brothers and sisters their slight offences against us neglecting all the while to see how often and how quickly  God has forgiven us for our transgressions towards Him both great and small. There is a real danger of us being sent away from God's presence for a long, long, time if we fail to forgive and quickly and as completely as You have forgiven us.

2 Kings 5:1-15AB, Psalm 42:2-3, 43:3-4, Luke 4:24-30

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I hope in the LORD, I trust in his word;
with him there is kindness and plenteous redemption. Ps 130: 5, 7


2 Kings 5:1-15AB, Psalm 42:2-3, 43:3-4, Luke 4:24-30

2 Kings 5:1-15A B

Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,

We are all sinners struck with the deadly disease of sin which makes us unclean. But as the little slave girl knew there is a remedy for sin. The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob is a living God and He sends salvation to the whole world through His Son and through His Son to the Lord's anointed, His priests.

All wealth we possess cannot buy the mercy of God it is given to us freely but we need to be humble, we need to be obedient, and we need to follow His Word in order to experience healing and be restored to new life. The waters of our baptism cleanses us from every stain of sin and makes us children of God. 

Thank You Beloved for salvation that is given freely to us through You. Thank You for the Blood and Water that flows from Your side and brings us healing, mercy, pardon, cleansing, and restoration.

Psalm 42:2-3, 43:3-4

Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,

The right kind of thirst is a thirst for You. The thirsts of material possessions can never be satisfied but spiritual thirst has a remedy in You. All are invited to come to You and drink freely from the living springs that gush forth from You. No one is denied a place at Your table provided we wear the  baptismal garment. Only those who believe in You will be saved.

Sadly, Beloved we do not thirst for You our thirsts are unsatisfied because we are drinking from muddy pools. We are sick and tired and we do not know how to help ourselves. You call to us constantly, You plead for us to draw near to You  and You assure us that you will satisfy every need, every longing, every desire. When we come to You we will be filled. We can behold Your Face and live and be satisfied. We can and will be filled with joy that the world cannot give. This is the time Beloved, this is the hour, but we need grace to listen to Your voice and respond to your invitation to co,me, to drink to live.

Luke 4:24-30

Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,

We will not hear the truth if we deliberately stop our ears from listening. The truth is hard and it demands conversion. It demands that we become aware of our own failings and shortcomings. It demands that we admit that we are sinners and that we need help. You are Truth and You were unafraid to make known to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth that the people whom God had chosen because they had a history of rejecting God's prophets did not experience God's healing and bounty but God chose foreigners to heal, to help, and to bless.

When are sins are made public we are filled with murderous rage because we have rejected You however the one who is humble of heart and is filled with contrition for sin is the one who can be healed and restored to the family of God just like the prodigal son. 

No one could touch a hair on Your head until Your had come. You walked through the crowd and they could do nothing to harm You. The hour would come and when You did You would give Yourself into the hands of sinners this is why You said no one takes My Life from Me I freely lay it down for the salvation of sinners.  Only those who believe will in the Son of the Living God will be saved.