Ephesians 1:11-14, Psalm 33:1-,2, 4-5, 12-13, Luke 12:1-7

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

May your kindness, LORD, be upon us;

as we put our hope in you. Ps 33:22

Ephesians 1:11-14, Psalm 33:1-,2, 4-5, 12-13, Luke 12:1-7  

Ephesians 1:11-14

My soul's beloved, St. Paul confirms what You have just said to me. It is You who chose me and you have graciously invited me in accordance with Your will and intention to belong to the remnant few who offer You praise, worship, thanksgiving, adoration, and love although my capacity for all of this is as weak as a flame on a flickering wick. I live for You and I will die in You for this is what You desire, this is what You have accomplished, and this is what I desire as well.

You are my hope for today, for tomorrow and for eternity. You have permitted me to come to know You as my Lord, my God, my Brother, my Friend and as the beloved of my soul. You speak the truth to me in love which convicts me as well as strengthens me. I am saved by Your Word made flesh who came down from heaven to restore what disobedience lost. Washed clean by the Blood of the Lamb in the waters of Baptism where I was plunged into Your death so I could rise to new life in You, I am now sealed in Your Spirit of Love - He who in Love pours forth from Father to Son and from Son to Father and who draws me too into this awesome love as a foretaste of what is in store for me when I shall one day draw my last breath on earth and draw my first as Your possession here and in eternity where I will praise You along with the angels and saints forever. 

Thank You my soul's beloved for my glorious destiny.

Psalm 33:1-,2, 4-5, 12-13

My soul's beloved, I exult because You have chosen me, Your poor little nothing, to be Yours alone. Praise always, must be my response in gratitude for calling me from darkness into Your Own marvellous light. Thank You for the graces You make available to me so I can choose to do what is right and pleasing to You. Thank You for revealing to me that You are good, holy, loving, merciful, kind, tender and full of compassion, and that Your Word is worthy of trust.

Thank You for stooping over me from heaven and never taking Your gaze away from me. Thank You for keeping me safe in Your love and under Your protection. 

Luke 12:1-7

My soul's beloved, crowds always thronged wherever You went. They were hungry and starving for the truth. Until then they were only weighed down by the law which condemned them. Those in authority in the temple were more concerned with splitting hairs concerning the demands of the Law rather than helping their fellow Jews to find a refuge and help in the commandments of Moses. The people were fascinated that You were not concerned with being politically correct and say what would please the rich, those in power and with influence. Never had they heard those who judged them pitilessly be criticized publicly and boldly as hypocrites who would be denied entrance into the Kingdom which they had believed was reserved without question for them.

Just as You warned them, You warn us today that nothing is concealed before God. Every thought, word, and action spoken aloud or in secret is known to God for in Him there is no darkness. We are so afraid of being persecuted, of losing our livelihood, of having opportunities denied to us, perhaps fearing for our lives even because we stood unflinchingly on the side of Truth. It takes courage to stand up and call sin a sin in the face of those who would have us believe that there is no such thing. Those who stand up against those who deny the undeniable truth need not be afraid for You assure us that while we may lose our lives as a consequence it would be more terrible to have both body and soul cast into the eternal fires of hell.

Finally, You reassure all the little ones that the Lord God is watching over them. To those who are unprotected, the marginalized, the faceless, the unseen, those the world casts outside the periphery, You say, 

"Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins?

Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God.

Even the hairs of your head have all been counted.

Do not be afraid.

You are worth more than many sparrows.”

Thank You for the assurance of the almighty, all powerful, ever living God that You O Lord are on the side of little ones and will win the battle on their behalf.

  

Ephesians 1:1-10, Psalm 98:1-6, Luke 11:47-54

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I am the way the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father except through me. Jn 14:6

Ephesians 1:1-10, Psalm 98:1-6, Luke 11:47-54


Ephesians 1:1-10

My soul's beloved, thank You for confirming through the words of St. Paul all You have said in Your Word to me this day. Grace and peace belong to all who believe in You for it is the Father's good pleasure to bless us in You with every grace, gift, and blessing in the heavens. You have said that no one comes to You unless the Father ordains it and St. Paul tells us that He has chosen us in You before the foundation of the world was laid to strive to holy and without sin before the Father. We are created in love, we are saved in love, we are sanctified in love, and we have been destined for a glorious destiny in love. It is a love we have not merited for all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God, but it is freely given to all who are adopted as children of God through You. It is the good pleasure of the Father to lavish upon us such love and to make available to us such grace it humbles us who are so utterly unworthy. 

We are redeemed by Your Blood, we receive forgiveness in You for every sin no matter how small or how heinous all we need to have is true repentance, the humility to approach You in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, tell our sins to the priest and we are not only forgiven, but we receive immense grace that helps us to overcome temptation. 

Thank You Abba for Jesus, thank You my soul's beloved for the Holy Spirit who makes the journey from this life to the next such a marvelous and exciting adventure as He gives us glimpses every now and then of all that the Father has in store for us as co-heirs with You to Your Kingdom.

Psalm 98:1-6

My soul's beloved, all who believe are saved and we rejoice even in the midst of all that we may be called to suffer because of our faith in You. What does it matter if we face persecution, are ridiculed, if at times we are denied what is legitimately ours because we boldly confess that we love You and follow You. We have Your assurance that all things work for good for those who love You for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. This is why we praise, adore, worship, and glorify You always no matter what. We are saved through grace won for us on the Cross and through You we enter the place that the Father has created for us eternally.

Luke 11:47-54

My soul's beloved, it was clear that You would die. The enemies of truth were filled with hatred because You showed them up for what they truly were hypocrites of the worst kind who would not tolerate anyone who challenged them to their faces and before everyone. They lacked the humility to confess that they had forgotten what true worship keeping the law really meant. They scorned the poor, they had no mercy or compassion for the sinner, they thought themselves above the law while they insisted that everyone followed it to the letter. 

May I never forget that I could so easily fall into this category. I am saved by grace alone. All that I have received is a gift to be shared. We are all called to help each other so that we all receive the reward that You won for us  when You lay down Your life that we might be saved.