Psalm 86:16, 17, Wisdom 9:13-17, Philemon 9-10, 12-17, Psalm 90:4-6, 14-17,

Psalm 86:16, 17

Turn to me, take pity on me; give strength to Your servant, and save the child of Your handmaid.

Give me a sign of Your grace, that You O Lord are my strength and my comfort.

Beloved, here is a continuation of my prayer and my cry to You. In Your mercy and and at a time of Your choosing, hear and answer me.

Wisdom 9:13-17

13 Indeed, who can know the intentions of God? Who can discern the plan of the Lord?

14 For human reasoning is timid, our notions misleading; 15 a perishable body is a burden for the soul and our tent of clay weighs down the active mind.
16 We are barely able to know about the things of earth and it is a struggle to understand what is close to us; who then may hope to understand heavenly things?
17 Who has ever known your will un¬less you first gave him Wisdom and sent down your holy spirit to him?

Without You Beloved, who are the wisdom and power of God and the anointing of the Father through the Holy Spirit, we can neither know God nor the things of God.  It is only in You that the Face of the Most High is becomes visible.

Philemon 9-10, 12-17

9 yet I prefer to request you in love. The one talk¬ing is Paul, the old man, now prisoner for Christ. 10 And my request is on behalf of Onesimus, whose father I have become while I was in prison.

12 In returning him to you, I am sending you my own heart. 13 I would have liked to keep him at my side, to serve me on your behalf while I am in prison for the Gospel, 14 but I did not want to do anything without your agreement, nor impose a good deed upon you without your free consent.

15 Perhaps Onesimus has been parted from you for a while so that you may have him back forever, 16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave. For he is a very dear brother to me, and he will be even dearer to you. 17 And so, because of our friendship, receive him as if he were I myself.

Beloved, just as St. Paul pleads for the the runaway slave Onesimus, so too You plead for us at the right hand of God and You restore us to sonship in You.  I am confident that You will hear my own prayers for those whom I plead before You in the Blessed Sacrament everyday.

Luke 14:26-27
“If you come to me, without being ready to give up your love for your father and mother, your spouse and children, your brothers and sisters, and indeed yourself, you cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not follow me carrying his own cross cannot be my disciple.

Detachment from the world and from people is a hard thing Lord. I have a nature that wants to cling. Yes, I must cling, but to You alone. I cling to Your Word, I cling to Your Sacraments and turn to them as channels of Your marvelous grace that restores me to full communion with You. 

Discipleship has its price - if it didn't it would not be worth much.  We can just follow You indifferently, or we can try to imitate You as closely as our sinful natures permit with the help of Your grace - the choice is ours.  We are absolutely free to choose for LOVE compels no one.  However, You are very, very clear about what it will cost, "None of you can be my disciple if he doesn't give up everything he has."  Sounds terribly, terribly frightening doesn't it Beloved.  But the wonderful secret is that once we give up, we received fare more that we ever dreamed of.  This is the glorious paradox of following You.

Psalm 90:4-6, 14 &17

4 A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has passed, or like a watch in the night.

5 You sow them in their time, at dawn they peep out. 6 In the morning they blossom, but the flower fades and withers in the evening.
14 Fill us at daybreak with your goodness, that we may be glad all our days.
17 May the sweetness of the Lord be upon us; may he prosper the work of our hands.

Beloved, all that we have received is qiven to us as a gift - our life, our faith, we have done nothing to deserve these gifts. You chose to freely pour them upon us.  Receiving these gifts, we are now partakers of Your divine life and we are called to share Your divine life and love as generously as we have received them for Your greater glory O God.

Acts 7:59, Matthew 7:8, 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 & 5, Luke 5:34, 38 & 39, Psalm 37:4

Acts 7:59

"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

Matthew 7:8

8 For everyone who asks, receives; whoever seeks, finds; and the door will be opened to him who knocks.

Thank You Beloved for reminding me that all who ask receive, all who seek find and the door will be opened to all who knock.  I knock, I seek, I ask that You will be with me every step of the way.

1 Corinthians 4:1-2 & 5

1 Let everyone then see us as the servants of Christ and stewards of the secret works of God. 2 Being stewards, faithfulness shall be demanded of us;

5 Therefore, do not judge before the time, until the coming of the Lord. He will bring to light whatever was hidden in darkness and will disclose the secret intentions of the hearts. Then each one will receive praise from God.

Beloved, I believe that it is You who have called me and You so graciously confirm my belief in all that You say to me today.  Receive my spirit and in exchange pour out Your own Holy Spirit on me. Help me to be a good and faithful steward, sharing generously all that You have give me and taught me.

Luke 5:34, 38 & 39

34 “You can’t make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them.

38 But new wine must be put into fresh skins. 39 Yet no one who has tasted old wine is eager to get new wine, but says: The old is good.”

You my beloved Bridegroom are with me always and I feast in Your Holy Presence.  I behold You in the Blessed Sacrament and the joy of seeing You and communing with You is delightful.

To receive You in the Holy Eucharist and to know and to know that Infinite Goodness, Love and Beauty consumes me and tgakes me up into Himself in perfect union is undescribable joy.

I have tasted the new wine of Your love and I never want the old, stale wine of the my past where You were not given pride of place in my life.

Psalm 37:4

4 Make the Lord your delight, and he will grant your heart’s desire.

Beloved, I made the words of the Psalmist my own, "You are my heart's delight.  I have committed my life to You and with the help of Your grace and through the intercession of Mary my mother, I hold nothing back.  I am Yours all Yours. 

Sirach 17:22, Sirach 18:16-17, 1 Corinthians 3:18-23, Luke 5:1-11, Psalm 24:1-6

Sirach 17:22

22 He holds a man’s almsgiving dear as a priceless signet ring; he cherishes a good deed like the apple of his eye.

Sirach 18:16-17

16 Does not dew temper the heat? So, too, a kind word is much better than a gift.

1 Corinthians 3:18-23

17 The gift is not as valuable as the words which accompany it, but a generous man brings both.

Beloved, this is true because whatever we do to another You consider done to Yourself.  Bearing this in mind, may I always be gentle, kind and generous with all, knowing that it is You in them that I love and serve.

18 Do not deceive yourselves. If anyone of you considers himself wise in the ways of the world, let him become a fool, so that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s eyes. To this, Scripture says: God catches the wise in their own wisdom. 20 It also says: The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise, that it is useless. 

21 Because of this, let no one become an admirer of humans, for everything belongs to you, 22 Paul, Apollos, Cephas—life, death, the present and the future. Everything is yours, 23 and you, you belong to Christ, and Christ is of God.

To be wise in the ways of the world is somehting that people of the world admire.  Clever, witty talk filled with sly innuendo.  That is not the way of those who choose to follow THE WAY.  All people and things exist in Christ to the glory of God.

Luke 5:1-11

1 One day, as Jesus stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, with a crowd gathered around him listening to the word of God, 2 he caught sight of two boats left at the water’s edge by the fishermen now washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to pull out a little from the shore. There he sat and continued to teach the crowd.

4 When he had finished speaking he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon replied, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing. But if you say so, I will lower the nets.” 6 This they did and caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 They signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats almost to the point of sinking.

8 Upon seeing this, Simon Peter fell at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and his companions were amazed at the catch they had made 10 and so were Simon’s partners, James and John, Zebedee’s sons.

Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. You will catch people from now on.” 11 So they brought their boats to land and followed him, leaving everything.

Beloved, everything You did had significance.  It was not a spur of the moment impulse that made You choose Peter's boat.  You sat there, as You are sit on Your throne in heaven, and You began to teach the crowd, as You continue to teach and guide all Christians through the Chair of Peter and his successors. 

You had a special mission for Peter and the apostles so You asked them to go further into the deep.  In shallow waters there is neither risk nor gain.

We too must be ready to cast aside all or preconceived ideas when You call us to do something we think may be foolish.  Obedience is one of the keys to  unlock the treasures of heaven.  The second is humility.  We need a combination of both if we wish to enter Your heart.  Like Peter, we must be prepared to acknowledge that we are sinners.  What we know amounts to little more than a heap of dust.  However, if we are willing to be challenged by You and by the Gospel we too can become fishers of men for the glory of God and His Kingdom.

Psalm 24:1-6
1The earth and its fullness belong to the Lord,
the world and all that dwell in it.
2 He has founded it upon the ocean
and set it firmly upon the waters.
3 Who will ascend the mountain of the Lord?
Who will stand in his holy place?
4 Those with clean hands and pure heart,
who desire not what is vain,
and never swear to a lie.
5 They will receive blessings from the Lord,
a reward from God, their savior.
6 Such are the people who seek him,
who seek the face of Jacob’s God.

Luke 7:37, 38 & 47, Mark 10:49-52, 1 Corinthians 3:1-3, 5-7, Luke 4:38- 39, 40 & 42, Psalm 33:12-15, 20-21

Luke 7:37, 38 & 47

She brought a precious jar of perfume.  She wet His feet with tears, she dried them with her hair, and kissed His feet and poured the perfume on them.  "I tell you, her sins, her many sins are forgiven, because she has loved much."

Mark 10:49-52

49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man saying, “Take heart. Get up, he is calling you.” 50 He immediately threw aside his cloak, jumped up and went to Jesus.

51 Then Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said, “Master, let me see again!” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way, your faith has made you well.” And immediately he could see, and he followed Jesus along the road.

Beloved, thank You for forgiving me my many sins, thank You for calling me and answering my need. Thank You for healing me and for grace to follow You.

 

1 Corinthians 3:1-3, 5-7

 1 I could not, friends, speak to you as spiritual persons but as fleshly people, for you are still infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk and not solid food, for you were not ready for it and up to now you cannot receive it 3 for you are still of the flesh. As long as there is jealousy and strife, what can I say but that you are at the level of the flesh and behave like ordinary people.

5 For what is Apollos? What is Paul? They are ministers and through them you believed, as it was given by the Lord to each of them. 6 I planted, Apollos watered the plant, but God made it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who makes the plant grow.

Beloved, the time must come when we must grow up.  We cannot remain spiritual babies for the rest of our lives.  As I have received so let me give.

Luke 4:38-39, 40 & 42

38 Leaving the synagogue, Jesus went to the house of Simon. His mother-in-law was suffering from high fever and they asked him to do something for her. 39 Bending over her, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and waited on them.

40 At sunset, people suffering from many kinds of sickness were brought to Jesus. Laying his hands on each one, he healed them.

42 Jesus left at daybreak and looked for a solitary place.

Beloved, the Gospel tells us that You left the synagogue and went to Simon's house.  Once there You were informed that Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever and You were asked to do something for her.  What was Your response my Lord.  I imagine You bending over her and looking at her very tenderly as You commanded the fever to leave her.  And her response is a lesson to all of us - after You touch and heal us from whatever ails us we must rise up immediately and see You and serve You in the face of others.

 

God always stoops down over His people in great love and humility, ever watchful and protective of His own.

 

You also have set us the example of waking up at daybreak and spending time alone with You as You did with the Father.

 

Psalm 33:12-15, 20-21

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord –

the people he has chosen for his inheritance.
13 The Lord looks down from heaven
and sees the whole race of mortals.
14 From where he sits he watches
all those who dwell on the earth –
15 he who fashions every heart
observes all their deeds.
20 In hope we wait for the Lord,
for he is our help and our shield.
21 Our hearts rejoice in him,
for we trust in his holy name.

How reassuring it is to know that You are constantly watching over me.  I raise my entire being to You in loving gratitude for all You do for me.  Thank You my Lord and my God.