Isaiah 40:1-11, Psalm 96:1-3, 10-13, Matthew 18:12-14

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The day of the Lord is near:
Behold, he comes to save us.

Isaiah 40:1-11, Psalm 96:1-3, 10-13, Matthew 18:12-14

Isaiah 40:1-11

My soul's beloved, once again we are reminded that our  God is a God who loves us, who cares for us most tenderly. You know our frailties and You assure us that we can always rely on Your help. You will lead us to true contrition and repentance and You will wipe away all our sins and take away all our guilt.

In this beautiful season of Advent we are reminded that God is always calling us to begin anew with hope. The Holy Spirit will help us to get rid of our pride, our self-righteousness, our sinful habits, our constant desire to give in to the demands of our  flesh, the temptations of the world, and the devil. We are created for a divine purpose and we know that the battle is won and the Enemy is vanquished. It is for us to strive to walk in the way of truth and life that You have already revealed to us.

We are reminded that life is short like the grass and flower in the field. But You who are the Word of the Lord and Your Spirit the Breath of the Most High will stand firm forever and we can take refuge in You.  Thank You for Your Church where You dwell in fullness. Thank You for the Voice of the Church which is the Voice of the Spirit. Thank You for everyone that God has sent in Your Name to reveal to us the Good News of our salvation that God so loved the world that He sent You as one of us to save us and redeem us and give us a future and an everlasting hope.  You are a God of contradiction, You came into the world weak, poor, helpless, a little Baby and You conquered the world. The proud, the powerful, the arrogant, those who walk in the world blind, and deaf, to the cries of the weak will be crushed by the mighty hand of the Lord. You are our Good Shepherd, You will carry the weak in Your arms, You will feed us with Yourself and strengthen us. There is no god as great as You who are Father, Son and Spirit who love us so powerfully, so tenderly that we can walk as little lambs save in His shadow knowing that no evil will dare to approach those who are marked with Your Blood.

Psalm 96:1-3, 10-13

The awesome truth about Your love my soul's beloved is that it is not dependent upon whether we are good, bad, or pure evil. You love us anyway, for it is Your nature to love and You cannot be false to Your nature. We have a glorious future, our hope of eternity in the Presence of God. We have been saved. The Church hands down this Good News from one generation to the next, through her members. Some are commissioned to carry the Good News by their vocation to the farthest ends of the earth and many more are commissioned to live the Good News by the powerful witness of their daily lives to those around them. The Good News is this, that God so loved the world that He sent His Only Son to be the means of our salvation, our redemption, our hope of union with the God of Love forever.

Thank You for this period of Advent when we recall with great joy and hope Your coming again in glory. We recall all God has accomplished through You and how we are all saved by You. Thank You my soul's beloved for the sure knowledge that death  has no power over us for You have crushed the head of the serpent and victory is our in You.

Matthew 18:12-14

My soul's beloved, thank You for Your tender assurance that You will come in search of the lost, look until that lost sheep of Yours is found, and that heaven rejoices when You do. I know that I need not to anxious or fearful for all those whom I love and who have strayed so far away from You that they do not know the way back to the flock. You will not rest until You find them and carry them back to the fold. I believe because You have said it and Your Word is true.

Isaiah 11:1-10, Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17, Romans 15:4-9, Matthew 3:1-12

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths:
all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Lk 3:4, 6

SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT

Isaiah 11:1-10, Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17, Romans 15:4-9, Matthew 3:1-12

Isaiah 11:1-10

My soul's beloved, to the prophet Isaiah was given the most wonderful prophecies of the coming of the Messiah - all the attributes of God would be visible in Him. He would present a Face and vision of the Most High that was true. The One who was to come would be God Himself for He was of God. You would be the hope of a new dawn and upon You would be seen the Spirit of holiness, power, goodness, beauty, wisdom, strength, and You would possess the fullness of every virtue. You who are equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit would make Yourself humble, yielding to the will of Your Father in loving submission because of Your perfect love for Him. It was Your joy to obey Him whom You love with a love that we who are finite can never fully fathom. The wonder of it is that You love us with that some love.

You came into the world clothed in human flesh incarnate of the Virgin Mother and became a Man, human like us every way except sin. Therefore to You was given the power to judge and to bestow  justice on all. You came to teach us how to love God and each other and in striving to love as You do the peace which You have left in the world would become a reality. Then the wolf would lie with the lamb, the calf and the young lion together without fear. The powerful and the rich would no longer oppress the weak but would watch out for them, care for them and protect them. 

Once Your Kingdom comes among us we will all go up the Mountain of the Lord, and there together we will offer the Father the most acceptable praise, thanksgiving, and worship, as we offer Him Your Sacrifice that saved us. The earth would then be filled with the Presence of the Lord and we would all come to thee knowledge of Truth. This is the mission of every baptized Christian to strive to make the Kingdom of God present among us.

Help me my soul's beloved to live my mission faithfully every day. 

Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17

My soul's beloved, the psalmist echoes all that the prophet has said. We long for that day. grant us the grace to strive to bring it about. This is the work that is given to every Christian to make You known and loved. To tell the world that peace is Your gift to us and this gift can become real only when we love each other as You love us.

Romans 15:4-9

My soul's beloved, we are reminded by St. Paul's letter to the Romans that everything in Scripture was written in order to teach us that we may have hope. In this life we need encouragement in order to endure to the end.  All that Scripture reveals to us about You and through You the Father and the Holy Spirit has the power to give us strength for the day as we face the battles of daily living.

As Christians we are called to make You visible in a world increasingly darkened by sin, by violence, by bloodshed and death. Only through the knowledge of all that Scripture teaches us will be able to put into action all that You have revealed. Help us through the power of the Holy Spirit and all the gifts that He generously bestows upon us to live each day as true witnesses so all may come to the knowledge of truth and all may believe and be saved.