Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

 

At various times in the past

and in various different ways,
God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets;
but in our own time, the last days,
he has spoken to us through his Son. HEB1:1-2

1 JOHN 2:22-28

My Soul's Beloved,

My soul trembles with dread for those who deny You as I read these words written by one who leaned on Your breast, The man who denies that Jesus is the Christ – he is the liar, he is Antichrist.

It is a terrible thing to deny You for in doing so we make light of our Father's greatest gift and the ultimate sacrifice He made in delivering You, His only beloved, firstborn Son, into the hands of a sin-filled, sinful world; knowing we would reject You, humiliate You, and make sport of You before subjecting You to the most heinous and cruel death reserved for the worst of criminals.  

As children, most of us were taught to lisp Your Name and to say we love You, John encourages us to keep this first innocent, childlike love for You alive. As long as we do this we will grow and mature in our knowledge of You. We will live You as You live in us and not only You but the Your Father as well.  

You are the Father's most breathtaking promise to us and His guarantee to us of eternal life. Without You, we have nothing worthwhile in this life.

It is so easy to be led astray by the world, to get sucked in by its empty promises of licentious freedom, and to lust and thirst for material things that have no power to satisfy but only lead to greater emptiness and darkness of spirit.

We are baptized into Your Body, we are anointed by the Holy Spirit, we are children of God, our Father. The Holy Spirit's anointing instructs us and supplies us with all the graces we need to walk in the Way of Truth and to persevere on the narrow path that leads to the Kingdom.

The devil is a liar and the father of liars and the children of the Light must have nothing to do with darkness and the things of the night.

Beloved, as we stand at the dawn of a new year filled with so much hope and promise please reignite the flame of the Holy Spirit in us. Blow on the dying embers of our faith so we may be purified of the dross of selfishness, worldly desires, and self-centeredness and set us ablaze once more with divine love. Grant us the courage to set the world on fire with the Holy Spirit and Truth. You will return, until then, let us pay heed to St. John's advice and: Live in Christ, then, my children, so that if he appears, we may have full confidence, and not turn from him in shame at his coming.

PSALM 98:1-4

My Soul's Beloved,

Long before we could exult in this truth, 'All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God,' the psalmist praises God for he is aware that this was God's plan and purpose all along. That the whole world could come to the knowledge of Truth that You alone are the salvation of the world.

In every generation, all who are baptized into the Church You founded, have received the Holy Spirit's anointing in the Sacraments. Grace upon grace is bestowed on us through the marvelous goodness and generosity of our loving Father who denies us nothing that is good and most especially the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is He who instructs us that the only way to God is through You and through the power of Your Name.

This is why we have an obligation, a duty is impressed upon us which constrains us to do our part in spreading the light of the Gospel. So great a sacrifice was made in order to save the whole world and there can be no greater tragedy than this, nothing more heartbreaking to the Father, that even one of His little ones is lost through ignorance of the Good News. 

Heaven and earth long for this day when this is a reality and heaven and earth can shout for joy and exult for God's salvation would embrace the whole world and make us truly one body in You.

JOHN 1:19-28

My Soul's Beloved,

True knowledge of who we are in Your Body, in the Church, and as members of the family of God, is to know our purpose for being alive and our final destination. John the Baptist did, 'One is coming after me who existed before me.' He was an authentic witness to whom nothing in the world, no created thing, had any value or meaning. He was zealous in carrying out the mission entrusted to him with single-minded devotion.

There was no guile in him. He spoke the truth forcefully, emphatically, and was not concerned with being popular by watering down the truth of the message. He did not claim to be someone he was not. To the question put to him, 'Who are you?' He answered that he was, as the prophet Isaiah had foretold,  

'a voice that cries in the wilderness:

Make a straight way for the Lord.’

Like John the Baptist we too must be able to testify as to who we are and to give an account of our faith just as St. Peter instructs us: Always be ready to make your defence to anyone who demands from you an account of the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence.

Humility and obedience will keep us mindful of the truth of who we are, slaves who have been set free by the wondrous love of God. Our Father has given us You, His Son, as our Redeemer, Savior, Brother, Spouse, and Friend. Without You, Beloved, we would have no hope at all, not in this life and certainly none in the next.

SOLEMNITY OF MARY, MOTHER OF GOD - 2020

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

At various times in the past
and in various different ways,
God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets;
but in our own time, the last days,
he has spoken to us through his Son. HEB 1:1-2

NUMBERS 6:22-27

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

You are God's blessing to us and since we are called by Your Name we ought to be a blessing to one another.

All God's children are blessed because we live in the light of Your love. Being grafted to You we are His children by adoption and the Light of Your countenance shines on us. As Catholics, we approach the Holy of Holies as Moses did in the burning bush and each time he entered the Tent of Meeting, we not only behold You face to face to worship and adore You, but we eat and drink Your body and blood and receive divine life.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, the Name before which heaven and earth prostrate and adore to the glory of God our Father, causing the clouds to part, the heavens to open and rain down blessings on all who are called by Your glorious Name.   

PSALM 67:2-3,5,6,8

My Soul's Beloved,

The psalmist echoes the beautiful blessing that asks God to look down on this world He created by the power of Your Name and to bless all who believe in You. There is no other Name given to us that can save the world. The power of Your Name causes demons to tremble and heaven and earth to rejoice. Your Name alone is our saving help.

As we enter a new year, Beloved, we enter it with faith, hope, and joy for all the wonderful possibilities that are open to us in living out the Gospel. May we labor tirelessly to make You known and loved so many can come to know You and be saved. Now is the time before You come again, not in mercy, but as the righteous judge.

Thank You for another year in which to draw closer to You. Another year to praise You, adore You, and to comprehend with greater clarity how blessed we are to have You as our Brother, God as our Father, and the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, as our constant companion, teacher, and guide. For as long as we have breath, for as long as we are alive, may we bless, thank, praise, and adore You.

GALATIANS 4:4-7

My Soul's Beloved,

God chose a people, through Abraham, He chose one nation among all the nations, Israel, and He chose a Woman, Mary, to be the Mother of His Son. She is clothed with the Sun of Justice, for she had the wonderful privilege of being Your Mother, the Mother of God, as Elizabeth first testified when she said, 'And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?' 

The Law condemns us, this is why God sent You into the world to redeem the children born under the law and to claim us by adoption through You, as His children. St. Paul says, the proof that we are His sons and daughters, is because You taught us to call God, 'Abba, Dad, Papa, Dada.' Who would dare to address Him with such familiarity when even the chosen people dared not utter His Name. Only the High Priest used it once in the whole year when he entered alone into the sanctum sanctorum and pronounced it, YHWH.

Thank You, Beloved, for setting us free from slavery to sin and making us heirs through adoption to God's Kingdom.

LUKE 2:16-21

My Soul's Beloved,

Today's Gospel focuses on the shepherds' response to the angel's message and Mary's response to what the shepherds narrated concerning the message of glad tidings they had received.

Our response to the Good News must be modeled on that of the shepherds'. As soon as the angel departed they made haste to do what the angel had said and found Mary, Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger exactly as the angel had described. They told Mary and Joseph what they had seen and heard as well as everyone they met. They were the first evangelists who announced the Good News and all who heard them were astonished - God had come to dwell with His people.

St. Luke says, 'As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.' Mary's response to the often inscrutable and incomprehensible way of God must be the attitude of every disciple. We may not always understand but in faith and in a spirit of quiet contemplation we too must treasure the divine mysteries in the sanctuary of our soul. 

The first shedding of divine blood was at Your circumcision and with it, You identified Yourself firmly with God's Chosen People, the Jews. The Gentiles would have no need for circumcision since You entered into our death by baptism and gave us new life by Your resurrection. 

Mary and Joseph gave You the Name revealed to them by God through the angel, the Name above all names Jesus, 

Therefore God also highly exalted him

   and gave him the name

   that is above every name,

so that at the name of Jesus

   every knee should bend,

   in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue should confess

   that Jesus Christ is Lord,

   to the glory of God the Father.