ST. PIUX X, POPE, WEDNESDAY OF WEEK 20 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts. HEB 4:12

EZEKIEL 34:1-11

My Soul's Beloved,

It is so easy for us to get discouraged when we look at those in authority in the Church who have failed Your little ones miserably. They have caused scandal upon scandal and are called to account by the stern words You address to them. They have failed in their mission to feed Your flock. They have proved to be false shepherds and have abandoned the sheep to the wolves. The flock are scattered and for lack of good and faithful shepherds are now sick, weak, afraid, and lost. This would indeed prove tragic if we did not have You as our Good Shepherd. We have Your Word, O Eternal Word of the Father that You will never abandon those called by Your Name. We belong to You, we are the sheep of Your flock.

While some of the shepherds You appointed have failed and will be judged severely and punished, we take comfort in Your assurance that You will care for us and rescue us and You will keep us safe in Your heart.

‘“Well then, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. As I live, I swear it – it is the Lord who speaks – since my flock has been looted and for lack of a shepherd is now the prey of any wild animal, since my shepherds have stopped bothering about my flock, since my shepherds feed themselves rather than my flock, in view of all this, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. The Lord says this: I am going to call the shepherds to account. I am going to take my flock back from them and I shall not allow them to feed my flock. In this way the shepherds will stop feeding themselves. I shall rescue my sheep from their mouths; they will not prey on them any more.”
‘For the Lord says this: “I am going to look after my flock myself and keep all of it in view.”’

PSALM 22(23)

The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.

The Lord is my shepherd;

  there is nothing I shall want.

Fresh and green are the pastures

  where he gives me repose.

Near restful waters he leads me,

  to revive my drooping spirit.

He guides me along the right path;

  he is true to his name.

If I should walk in the valley of darkness

  no evil would I fear.

You are there with your crook and your staff;

  with these you give me comfort.

You have prepared a banquet for me

  in the sight of my foes.

My head you have anointed with oil;

  my cup is overflowing.

Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me

  all the days of my life.

In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell

  for ever and ever.

The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.

MATTHEW 20:1-16

My Soul's Beloved,

The sinner, the little ones, the lost, the forgotten, those whom the world despises, the forsaken, and those pushed to the margins and unseen are as precious to You as those who have been faithful all their lives. You have no favorites. You do not love by degrees. You love us with a love that goes beyond anything that we can ever experience or imagine. It matters nothing to You if we have spent our entire lives in sin if, at any hour in our lives we come before You with humble and contrite hearts and beg Your forgiveness. You will not reject the repentant sinner but welcome them gladly, as the father welcomed the prodigal son, and You will lavish on the sinner every grace, gift, and blessing. For You O Lord, are an awesome God.

Many of us are wicked, selfish, small-minded, petty, greedy, and vindictive. This is why we are jealous when we discover that You do not love by degrees. All receive generously from You whether we enter the banquet hall first or last. You give everyone a seat at Your table if we are dressed in the wedding garments. Thank You, Lord, for the hope we have in Your goodness, mercy, and Your amazing, astounding love that keeps no record of our sins.  

He answered one of them and said, “My friend, I am not being unjust to you; did we not agree on one denarius? Take your earnings and go. I choose to pay the last comer as much as I pay you. Have I no right to do what I like with my own? Why be envious because I am generous?” Thus the last will be first, and the first, last.’

ST. BERNARD, ABBOT, DOCTOR, TUESDAY OF WEEK 20 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Jesus Christ was rich,
but he became poor for your sake,
to make you rich out of his poverty. 2 COR 8:9

EZEKIEL 28:1-10

My Soul's Beloved,

This is a prophecy that is being fulfilled right now in all those nations that thought they did not need You. They set themselves up as a law unto themselves. They amassed wealth and the more powerful they grew the more they distanced themselves from You. With faux compassion, they opened their borders to a people alien to them in every way and they boasted that they were being merciful and gracious to the viper they welcomed and embraced in their bosom. And now, the Enemy has turned against them in a manner that is so utterly vicious and demonic, and yet they refuse to acknowledge their colossal error in judgment and take measures to rectify their folly. 

This is divine retribution for their arrogance. They who turned their back deliberately and willfully to worship a modern-day version of mammon and Baal are reaping the evil that they continue to sow. The Christian world can still turn back to You while there is yet time but it is running out and perhaps sooner rather than later the whole world will face divine retribution in a manner that will erase with one swift, sure, sweep of God's right hand a third of the people's of the world from the face of the earth. 

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, for the sake of Your sorrowful passion, show us mercy and bring us back to our senses before it is too late.

By your wisdom and your intelligence
you have amassed great wealth;
you have piles of gold and silver
inside your treasure-houses.
Such is your skill in trading,
your wealth has continued to increase,
and with this your heart has grown more arrogant.
And so, the Lord says this:
Since you consider yourself the equal of God,
very well, I am going to bring foreigners against you,
the most barbarous of the nations.
They will draw sword against your fine wisdom,
they will defile your glory;
they will throw you down into the pit
and you will die a violent death
surrounded by the seas.
Are you still going to say: I am a god,
when your murderers confront you?
No, you are a man and not a god
in the clutches of your murderers!
You will die like the uncircumcised
at the hand of foreigners.
For I have spoken – it is the Lord who speaks.

Responsorial Psalm

DEUTERONOMY 32:26-28,30,35-36

It is the Lord who deals death and life.

I should crush them to dust, said the Lord.

I should wipe out their memory among men,

did I not fear the boasting of the enemy.

But let not their foes be mistaken!

Let them not say: Our own power wins the victory,

the Lord plays no part in this.

What a nation of short sight it is;

in them there is no understanding.

How else could one man rout a thousand,

how could two put ten thousand to flight,

were it not that their Rock has sold them,

that the Lord has delivered them up?

For it is close, the day of their ruin;

their doom comes at speed.

For the Lord will see his people righted,

he will take pity on his servants.

It is the Lord who deals death and life.

MATTHEW 19:23-30

My Soul's Beloved,

It is not the possession of riches that causes the eternal damnation of those who have them but being possessed, obsessed, and ruled by them to the extent that they believe themselves to be gods that will be their ruin.  This is why You warn us that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. We have only to look at the lives of the rich, famous, and powerful, those who have deceived, raped, pillaged, and plundered the world's resources for their personal benefit, and the obscene way in which they flaunt their wealth and power to understand the wisdom of Your cautionary advice. 

This advice is not just for the rich but also for all whose lives are riddled with envy and covetousness. Genuinely happy people are content with what they have, praise God for everything, and share generously what they have received. We are only stewards of Your bounty Lord and are accountable to You for our stewardship. 

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘I tell you solemnly, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Yes, I tell you again, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.’ When the disciples heard this they were astonished. ‘Who can be saved, then?’ they said. Jesus gazed at them. ‘For men’ he told them ‘this is impossible; for God everything is possible.’

Beloved, You call many to serve in Your vineyard as priests and religious but they do not hear Your invitation. Their gaze is caught by the glamor of the world and their ears are filled with the beguiling sounds of the world and they miss the moment of their calling to a deeper, more intimate, and fulfilling life in the service of God and people. But to those who say 'Yes' to the divine call but who are sometimes anxious like Peter, ask:

‘What about us?’ We have left everything and followed you. What are we to have, then?’ 

You reply: 

‘I tell you solemnly, when all is made new and the Son of Man sits on his throne of glory, you will yourselves sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or land for the sake of my name will be repaid a hundred times over, and also inherit eternal life.
‘Many who are first will be last, and the last, first.’