THURSDAY OF WEEK 26 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The kingdom of God is close at hand:
repent and believe the Good News. MK 1:15

NEHEMIAH 8:1-12 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

This celebration, when the people gathered together as one man to hear the scribe Ezra read from the Book of the Law of Moses before the people which included children old enough to understand is a foretaste, a preview, a prelude to our Sunday liturgical celebration. We come together on the Day of the Lord as one body to worship God, the Head of this mystical body, the Church. 

There is nothing more important than God's people coming together to celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord. After a week of toil we come to rest in the Lord and be refreshed by Your, the Eternal Word of God. We come to rejoice in the goodness of God our Father who redeemed us by sending You into the world to expiate the sins of the world by taking upon Yourself our condemnation and punishment. We rejoice in the power of the Holy Spirit who abides in us and makes it possible for us through grace to strive to be holy and perfect as our Father is holy and perfect.

It is a day when the family of God together praise and thank God for His goodness, mercy, and love and we feast on the Bread of Angels which will sustain us during the week until we return again to be replenished with divine sustenance.  Thank You, for this Day, Lord, and keep us faithful until the end of our days on earth.

‘Be at ease; this is a sacred day. Do not be sad.’ And all the people went off to eat and drink and give shares away and begin to enjoy themselves since they had understood the meaning of what had been proclaimed to them.

PSALM 18(19):8-11 ©

The law of the Lord is perfect,

it revives the soul.
The rule of the Lord is to be trusted,
it gives wisdom to the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right,

they gladden the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear,
it gives light to the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is holy,

abiding for ever.
The decrees of the Lord are truth
and all of them just.

They are more to be desired than gold,

than the purest of gold
and sweeter are they than honey,
than honey from the comb.

The precepts of the Lord gladden the heart.

LUKE 10:1-12 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Every Christian is appointed to go out into the vineyard and bring in the harvest. In whatever way that You entrust to us this labor we are to do it Each has a different vocation and each is given different gifts so when we work together nothing is lacking. We are not saved in isolation but as a community, as one body in You. Always in union with You as our Head and empowered by Your Holy Spirit, we need to step out in faith to minister to those we encounter each day. 

It will not be easy. We are instructed to carry only the bare minimum so as not to be hindered by extraneous things and be weighed down with concern for them. Our focus must be on the goal which is to make You known and loved by the witness of our lives. Kindness, gentleness, compassion, patience, empathy, and above all charity are the hallmarks of a true disciple. If we model our lives on Yours Beloved, even though we fall far short of the mark, You will bless all our endeavors.

Let us not be overly sensitive if we are not welcome, or people are harsh, critical downright stubborn, and rude, rather let us praise God and move on calmly leaving You to take care of them in Your time.

May we always be people of peace and may this peace which is Your gift to us emanate from us constantly. Let nothing disturb us but let us rest serenely in You and in Your will.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like Yours.

TUESDAY OF WEEK 26 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The Son of Man came to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many. MK 10:45

ZECHARIAH 8:20-23 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

It is in You alone that we live, move, and have our being there is no other. You are the God who loved us into being, You are God with us. You are the Way may we walk in it. You are the Truth may we embrace it and live it. You are Life and without this Life of the Holy Spirit sustaining us we will surely perish.

Joy, abiding joy and peace in the midst of adversity are possible only when we are united to You, the true vine. Apart from You we will wither and die. We know this to be true by our own lived experience and this is the witness we ought to give the world so they too may come to know that we are created by God for God. We cannot be happy apart from You.

Lord Jesus, we pray for the day when all may come to know You and believe in You and we can come together as one body to offer You the only acceptable Sacrifice of Thanksgiving, praise and worship pleasing to the Father - the one, holy, and perfect Sacrifice offered on Calvary. The fulfilment of the prophecy of Zechariah to the Jews will then be realised -  “We want to go with you, since we have learnt that God is with you.”

PSALM 86(87) ©

On the holy mountain is his city

cherished by the Lord.
The Lord prefers the gates of Zion
to all Jacob’s dwellings.
Of you are told glorious things,
O city of God!

‘Babylon and Egypt I will count

among those who know me;
Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia,
these will be her children
and Zion shall be called “Mother”
for all shall be her children.’

It is he, the Lord Most High,

who gives each his place.
In his register of peoples he writes:
‘These are her children,’
and while they dance they will sing:
‘In you all find their home.’

God is with us.

LUKE 9:51-56 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

There is hope yet my Lord, there is always hope and so we pray unceasingly and offer up to You all our sorrows and tears united with Your agony at Gethsemane as we pray for the conversion of those we love. How comforting it is to know that when James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy the Samaritan village for refusing to receive You, You admonished them. I believe in Your word O Lord and take comfort in it - Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord God, and not rather that they should turn from their ways and live? EZ 18:23

I will continue to pray, Lord, and I will pray with faith and unwavering hope that in the end all those I love will be united in heaven as together we enjoy forever the beatific vision. We will behold You my Lord as You for the Church assures us that we will not only behold You but become like You. We will finally make the Father's vision come true for it is He who created us in His image and likeness.