Thursday of the First Week in Lent

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

A clean heart create for me, O God;
give me back the joy of your salvation. PS 51:12A, 13A

ESTHER C:12, 14-16, 23-25
PSALM 138:1-2AB, 2CDE-3, 7C-8
MATTHEW 7:7-12




ESTHER C:12, 14-16, 23-25

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

Today, all who believe in You cry out to You for help as Queen Esther did. We ask You to spare us, Lord of this deadly scourge, the COVID 19, that is afflicting people all over the world. We confess that we have sinned, we confess that You are right in chastising us, but we implore You to lift Your hand of punishment from the nations and spare us.

“God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, for the sake of Your Son, who bore our sins, our afflictions, our sickness and our shame on the Cross, pour His Precious Blood upon the people in every nation and bring us healing and health in mind, body, soul, and spirit. Amen.

"Save us from the hand of our enemies;

turn our mourning into gladness

and our sorrows into wholeness.”

PSALM 138:1-2AB, 2CDE-3, 7C-8

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

You always hear and answer the prayers of Your flock. Your little ones who have recourse to none but You. Today we give thanks for hearing and answering our prayers. I believe my Lord, with all my heart that You have heard our cries and so we give You thanks and praise for saving us and removing from our midst this sickness that is sweeping nations.

Beloved, we believe in Your Name and we believe in Your promises. All our experience of You has taught us that anyone who asks for anything in Your Name it will be granted. We have called many times and You have always been faithful to Your promise. 

We raise our voices in the Church that You established and together with one heart, mind, voice, and spirit we pray with the  prayer of the psalmist in today's Liturgy of the Mass,

"Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands."


MATTHEW 7:7-12

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

Thank You for Your assurance in today's Gospel that all we need to do is ask, seek, and knock and we will receive all we ask for, seek for, and every door that was closed will be opened to us.

You taught us to address Your Father, as our Father, our Abba, our Daddy, and so with the confidence of a child we approach the heavenly throne, lean against our Father, lift our faces to Him and plead with Him for Your sake and for the sake of Your sorrowful passion to have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Thank You Father, thank You Beloved, thank You Holy Spirit for hearing and answering our prayers. Amen.

Which one of you would hand his son a stone
when he asked for a loaf of bread,
or a snake when he asked for a fish?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give good things
to those who ask him.

Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of GOD.

MT 4:4B

ISAIAH 55:10-11
PSALM 24:4-7, 16-19
MATTHEW 6:7-15


ISAIAH 55:10-11

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

You are the incarnate Word of our Father in heaven. He sent You into the world to be our food and drink. Without You, Beloved, we would perish and die in our sins. 

Thank You, Father, for the Incarnate Word that You sent among us so we may not walk in darkness but walk in the Way that He directs us - the Way of Truth and the Way of Love that leads to eternal life.


PSALM 24:4-7, 16-19

My Beloved, Soul of my soul

Thank You for Your constant assurance that You are closer to us than the breath we breathe. No sooner we utter Your Name You are present. 

Thank You for constantly reminding us in Your Word that where there is love there is no fear. 

Thank You for always hearing us when we pray and for answering us even when the answer is not what we expected or wanted but giving us only that which is truly best for us.

There are so many in the world who are broken in so many ways, Beloved, grant that they may know that You are close to them and that You suffer with them. Give them the sure knowledge that You are their healer and will heal all their wounds. 


MATTHEW 6:7-15

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

Thank You for giving us the most complete prayer, the Our Father, when You taught Your disciples to pray. The beauty and wonder of this prayer, Beloved, is that when we pray we are certain of its power because You, who know the Father best, taught it to us.  

No one would dare to address God as Abba, but You who are His Son taught us that God is our Father and is pleased when we approach Him as children approach their dad.

In teaching us this beautifully intimate prayer You have taught us the importance of recognizing who God is, how we are to approach Him and the order in which we must make our petitions known to Him.  We live in a world full of snares and the devil is ever vigilant ready to devour and destroy us;  we need the Father's help to keep us safe from all evil until we are safely united with You in His kingdom forever.