Baruch 5:1-9, Ephesians 3:14-21, Luke 12:49-53

Baruch 5:1-9
1 Jerusalem, put off your garment of mourning and unhappiness, put on the splendor and glory of God forever.

2 Wrap yourself in the mantle of holiness that comes from God, put on your head the crown of glory of the Eternal One.

3 For God will show your splendor to every being under Heaven.

4 He will call your name forever, “Peace in Justice” and “Glory in the Fear of the Lord.”

5 Rise up, Jerusalem, stand on the heights. Look towards the East and see your children gathered together from the setting of the sun to its rising, by the voice of the Holy One, rejoicing because God has remembered them.

6 They left you on foot, taken away by the enemy. God will lead them back, carried gloriously like royal princes.

7 For God has resolved to bring low every high mountain and the everlasting hills, to fill up the valleys and level out the ground, in order that Israel may walk in safety under the Glory of God.

8 Even the forests and the fragrant trees will give shade to Israel at God’s command. 9 For God will lead Israel with joy by the light of his Glory, escorting them with his mercy and justice.

My Beloved, I thank You for all the wonderful promises You make in these verses and I claim each one for my own. Not only for me my Lord, but for each member of my family. I do believe that there is a time for Your visitation to each of us and at the appointed time, each will hear Your call and will be led triumphantly by You. As for me, I am called to be faithful in loving and praying for each one of them in season and out of season, whether I feel inclined to or not. May I be faithful as You Beloved are faithful.

Ephesians 3:14-21

14 And now I kneel in the presence of the Father 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth has received its name.

16 May he strengthen in you the inner self through his Spirit, according to the riches of his glory;

17 may Christ dwell in your hearts through faith;

may you be rooted and found­ed in love.

18 All of this so that you may understand with all the holy ones the width, the length, the height and the depth—in a word, 19 that you may know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge, that you may be filled and reach the fullness of God.

20 Glory to God who shows his power in us and can do much more than we could ask or imag­ine; 21 glory to him in the Church and in Christ Jesus through all generations for ever and ever. Amen.

Here is my prayer slightly adapted to suit my need:

"Father in heaven I fall on my knees before You, it is from You that every family in heaven and on earth receives its true name. I ask You God, from the wealth of Your glory to give me power through Your Holy Spirit to be strong in my inner self. I pray that You my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ might make Your home in my hearet through faith. I pray that I may have my roots and foundation in love, so that I together with all God's people may have the power to understand how broad and long, how high and deep, is Christ's love. Yes, may I come to know His love alhtough it can never be fully known and so be filled by the very nature of God.

To You O Holy Spirit, who my means of Your power working in me, is able to do so much more that I can ever ask for or even think of, and to God be the glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus for all time for ever and ever. Amen.

I have also written a poem on these verses.

Prayer for Today

Abba Father in heaven,
As I come in Your Presence today,
And fall on my knees before You,
Grant me this petition I pray.

From the wealth of Your glory in heaven,
Dear Father I ask that You give,
Me power through Your Holy Spirit,
To be strong as long as I live.

I ask not for strength in my body
But strength in my inner self.
And of You My Lord and My Savior,
I have a favour to ask of as well.

In faith I ask You Lord Jesus,
To make Your home in my heart,
Then will my roots and foundation
Be deeply embedded in love.

So I, along with Your people,
Have the power to understand,
The breadth, length, the height, the depth of,
The wonderful love of my Lord.

Yes, my Lord and my Saviour,
May I know and be filled with Your love,
A love that can never be fully known,
And so have the nature of God.

Eph 3:14-19

Myra D’souza
14.2.1998

Luke 12:49-53
49 I have come to bring fire upon the earth and how I wish it were already kindled; 50 but I have a baptism to undergo and what anguish I feel until it is over!
51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 From now on, in one house five will be divided; three against two, and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daugh­ter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

Beloved, this Gospel passage is one that has been puzzled over long and hard by many and maybe misunderstood as well. You come with the fire of the Holy Spirit that burns the dross away and leaves only the pure gold behind. You came to lead the way home to the Father. That way led to the death of the body to teach us that we too must die to sin and to die literally for You if need be. You came to bring division, for many in the world hate You and refuse to accept Your teaching because they prefer to live their bloated, self-indulgent lifestyle. Your Way is the Way to the Father. Thank You for inviting me to walk the Way and thank You for the grace that makes it possible.It touched my heart then and continues to touch it now. It is a powerful revelation of the love of God and the nature of God in each of the Divine Persons and what this power does for us who are God's children. Like St. Paul I go down on my knees in gratitude and love to my awesome God. My Beloved, from the very first time that I read this passage in Ephesians I was so drawn to its beauty and promise that I made this prayer my own and I recite it daily.

Sirach 32:14, Ephesians 3:2-12, Luke 12:39-48

Sirach 32:14

Whoever fears the Lord will accept His correction, and those who rise at dawn will win His favor.

Beloved, thank You for reminding me that You correct those You love.  Only a loving Father will discipline his children when they need to be disciplined.  Thank You also for the grace You make available to me to rise before dawn to offer You the first fruits of the day.

Ephesians 3:2-12

2 You may have heard of the graces God bestowed on me for your sake. 3 By a revelation he gave me the knowledge of his mysterious design, as I have explained in a few words. 4 On reading them you will have some idea of how I understand the mystery of Christ.

5 This mystery was not made known to past generations but only now, through revelations given to holy apostles and prophets. 6 Now the non-Jewish people share the Inheritance; in Christ Jesus the non-Jews are incorporated and are to enjoy the Promise.

This is the Good News 7 of which I have become minister by a gift of God, a grace he gave me, when his power worked in me.

8 This grace was given to me, the least among all the holy ones: to announce to the pagan nations the immeasurable riches of Christ 9 and to make clear to all how the mystery, hidden from the beginning in God, the Creator of all things, is to be fulfilled.

10 Even the heavenly forces and powers will now discover through the Church the wisdom of God in its manifold expression, as the plan is being fulfilled 11 which God designed from the begin­­­ning in Christ Jesus, our Lord. 12 In him we re­ceive boldness and confidence to approach God.

Beloved, God's wonderful plan of salvation which begain in creation has reached its fulfilment in Your birth, life, passion, death and glorious resurrection.  You are God's revelation to the world that He brought into being in love.  You are the reason why God created man - in order to reveal to us the depths, the length, the breadth and the height of the love He  bears His creatures.  Through the Church which You established, we and the world discovers the wisdom of God which is infinite and awesome.  But only in You Beloved can we dare approach God with the confidence of children.

Luke 12:39-48
39 Pay attention to this: If the master of the house had known at what time the thief would come, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.”41 Peter said, “Lord, did you tell this parable only for us, or for everyone?” 42 And the Lord replied, “Imagine, then, the wise and faithful steward whom the master sets over his other servants to give them food rations at the proper time. 43 Fortunate is this servant if his master on coming home finds him doing his work. 44 Truly, I say to you, the master will put him in charge of all his property.45 But it may be that the steward thinks: ‘My Lord delays in coming,’ and he begins to abuse the menservants and the servant girls, eating and drinking and getting drunk. 46 Then the master will come on a day he does not expect him and at an hour he doesn’t know. He will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful.47 The servant who knew his mas­ter’s will, but did not prepare to do what his master wanted, will be punished with sound blows; 48 but the one who did what deserved a punishment without know­ing it shall receive fewer blows. Much will be required of the one who has been given much, and more will be asked of the one entrusted with more.

In the Gospel we are reminded to be ready always for we do not know when You will call us home.  To do Your will must be my food and drink in imitation of You who considered doing Your Father's will food and drink.  In this alone is my reason for being and therein alone lies my true happiness.

Romans 8:14-17, Ephesians 2:12-22, Luke 12:35-38

Romans 8:14-17

14 All those who walk in the Spirit of God are sons and daughters of God. 15 Then, no more fear: you did not receive a spirit of slavery, but the Spirit that makes you sons and daughters and every time we cry, “Abba! (this is Dad!) Father!” 16 the Spirit assures our spirit that we are sons and daughters of God. 17 If we are children, we are heirs, too. Ours will be the inheritance of God and we will share it with Christ; for if we now suffer with him, we will also share Glory with him.

Beloved, in the midst of my troubles and while fighting my spiritual battles, thank You for speaking to me through these verses.  You assure me that in the Spirit I am a daughter of the Most High God.  I call Him Abba, Dad and He responds to my call with great tenderness and love.  I call God, Dad and You are my Brother.  I am heir to the Kingdom.  You walk with me, Your Holy Spirit makes His home in me.  What else do I need Beloved? I need nothing.

Ephesians 2:12-22

. 12 At that time you were with­out Christ, you did not belong to the community of Israel; the covenants of God and his promises were not for you; you had no hope and were without God in this world. 13 But now, in Christ Jesus and by his blood, you who were once far off have come near.

14 For Christ is our peace, he who has made the two peoples one, 15 destroying in his own flesh the wall—the hatred—which separated us. He abolished the Law with its commands and precepts. He made peace in uniting the two peoples in him, creating out of the two one New Man. 16 He destroyed hatred and reconciled us both to God through the cross, making the two one body.

17 He came to proclaim peace; peace to you who were far off, peace to the Jews who were near. 18 Through him we—the two peo­ples—approach the Father in one Spirit.

19 Now you are no longer strangers or guests, but fellow citizens of the holy people: you are of the household of God. You are the house 20 whose foundations are the apostles and proph­­­ets, and whose cornerstone is Christ Jesus. 21 In him the whole structure is joined together and rises to be a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you too are being built to become the spiritual sanctuary of God.

Through the words of St. Paul, You reveal my identity to me.  I am who I am because of You and all You have done for me.  In grafting me to Yourself, You  have raised me to the dignity of daughter to the Most High God.  The indwelling of the Holy Spirit makes me Your Holy Temple.  I belong to the family of God.

Luke 12:35-38

• 35 Be ready, dressed for service, and keep your lamps lit, 36 like people waiting for their master to return from the wed­ding. As soon as he comes and knocks, they will open to him. 37 Happy are those servants whom the master finds wide-awake when he comes. 38Truly, I tell you, he will put on an apron and have them sit at table and he will wait on them. Happy are those servants if he finds them awake when he comes at midnight or daybreak!

My Beloved may I always be ready no matter the day or the hour for Your coming.  Despite the difficulties in life, may I run to You and shelter in You.  Keep me from sin.  Keep me wide awake and do  not abandon me even for a minute for without You I  would be lost.

Luke 19:26, 44, 2 Timothy 4:10-17, Luke 10:1-9, Psalm 145:10-13, 17-18

Luke 19:26, 44 26 ‘I tell you: everyone who has will be given more; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.
44..."you did not recognize the time and the visitation of your God.”

My Beloved Jesus, here is a hard saying. One who has will be given more, those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. There are many in the world Lord who have been baptised into the faith but have grown into adults without making the slightest effort to learn anything about it. Vast amounts of time and money are spent in learning skills for earthly gain while they are in danger of losing their immortal souls due to spiritual lethargy.

Time and time again You visit us in the events that take place in our lives but You have been largely unrecognised.

2 Timothy 4:10-17
10 You must know that Demas has deserted me for the love of this world: he returned to Thessa­lonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia and Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke remains with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is a useful helper in my work. 12 I sent Tychicus to Ephe­sus.
13 Bring with you the cloak I left at Troas, in Carpos’ house and also the scrolls, especially the parchments. 14 Alexander the metalworker has caused me great harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. 15 Distrust him for he has been very much opposed to our preaching.16At my first hearing in court no one supported me; all deserted me. May the Lord not hold it against them. 17 But the Lord was at my side, giving me strength to proclaim the Word fully, and let all the pagans hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.

Not all persevere to the end my Lord as St. Paul laments. Some begin with great fervor as we are told in Mark 16-19

"but the word falls on rocky ground. As soon as they hear the word, they accept
it with joy, 17 but they have no roots so it lasts only a little while. No
sooner does trouble or persecution come be­cause of the word, than they
fall. Verses 18 to 19 go on the speak of others who receive the seed as among
thorns. After they hear the word, 19 they are caught up in the worries of this
life, false hopes of riches and other desires. All these come in and choke the
word so that finally it produces nothing."

Our entire lives have to witness to You Lord even to our last breath.

Luke 10:1-9
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two other disciples and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place, where he himself was to go. 2 And he said to them, “The har­vest is rich, but the workers are few. So you must ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to his harvest. 3 Courage! I am sending you like lambs among wolves. 4 Set off without purse or bag or sandals; and do not stop at the homes of those you know.5 Whatever house you enter, first bless them saying: ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If a friend of peace lives there, the peace shall rest upon that person. But if not, the blessing will return to you. 7 Stay in that house eating and drinking at their table, for the worker deserves to be paid. Do not move from house to house.• 8 When they welcome you in any town, eat what they offer you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and say to them: ‘The kingdom of God has drawn near to you.’

Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist. We are reminded that each on one of us is called to be a missionary where we are. To preach the Gospel by the way we live our life. To witness to Your life in us by the way we conduct our daily affairs. We are called to be available and ready to serve. The reason the Church has such a pantheon of Saints is in order to encourage us to imitate them. Help me Lord!!

Psalm 145:10-13, 17-18
10 All your works will give you thanks; all your saints, O Lord, will praise you.
11 They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your power,
12 that all may know of your mighty deeds, your reign and its glorious splendor.
13 Your reign is from age to age; your dominion endures from generation to generation.
The Lord is true to his promises and lets his mercy show in all he does.
17 Righteous is the Lord in all his ways, his mercy shows in all his deeds.
18 He is near those who call on him, who call trustfully upon his name.

Beloved, You were not afraid of offending anyone because their eternal life was at risk.

Exodus 17:8-13, 2 Timothy 3:14--4:2, Luke 18:1-8, Psalm 121:1-8

Exodus 17:8-13
  8 When the Israelites were at Rephidim, the Amalekites came and attacked them. 9 So Moses said to Jo­shua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites in the morning. As for me, I will stand with God’s staff in my hand at the top of the hill.”

10 Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had directed, while Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 It happened that when Moses raised his hands, the Israelites would win but when he lowered them, the Amalekites would have the advantage.

12 As Moses’ arms grew weary they placed a stone for him to sit on while Aaron and Hur on either side held up his arms which remained steadily raised until sunset. 13 For his part Joshua mowed down Ama­lek and his people with the sword.

 Beloved, You call us as a body to climb up Your holy mountain and there to make intercession for those who do battle in the world.  Our prayers sustain them.  Prayer is the backbone of any work that is undertaken in Your Name.  If what we do is to be successful, then it must be backed by prayer.  There are so many in the world whose life work is to minister to the sick and the poor, to educate, to feed, to help, to preach.  We are called like Moses to make constant intercession for them so that their work may be fuelled with Your grace and that they may have the strength to persevere and not be discouraged.



2 Timothy 3:14--4:2

 14 As for you, continue with what you have learned and what has been entrusted to you, knowing from whom you received it. 15 Besides, you have known the Scriptures from child­hood; they will give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, refuting error, for correcting and training in Christian life. 17 Through Scripture the man of God is made expert and thoroughly equipped for every good work.
4 • 1 In the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by the hope I have of his coming and his kingdom, I urge you 2 to preach the Word, in season and out of season, reproving, rebuking or advising, always with patience and providing instruction.

Beloved,  here St. Paul reminds us to be faithful to the teaching we have received.  Wisdom comes with being familiar with Your Word.  If we know the Scriptures then we know what is pleasing to You.  We know how You wish Your disciples to act in any given situation.  We know what is expected of a disciple.  We know the touchstone by which we examine our lives and whether we are living by those standards.  Familiarity with the Scriptures means becoming familiar with You. Having knowledge of You will help us to carry out with confidence the work that we know has been entrusted to us.  We are called to preach the Word in season and out of season, using the Word as the measure by which we do all things.  Our life is a living witness and testament to what we believe.  As Fr. Franco says, "I am the 5th Gospel."

Luke 18:1-8
 • 1 Jesus told them a parable to show them that they should pray con­tinually and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor people. 3 In the same town was a widow who kept coming to him, saying: ‘Defend my rights against my op­ponent.’ 4 For a time he refused, but finally he thought: ‘Even though I neither fear God nor care about people, 5 this widow bothers me so much I will see that she gets justice; then she will stop coming and wearing me out.”6 And Jesus explained, “Listen to what the evil judge says. 7 Will God not do justice for his chosen ones who cry to him day and night even if he delays in answering them? 8 I tell you, he will speedily do them justice. Yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Beloved, we live in an evil and corrupt age and it is a scandal that there are those in this world who just shrivel up and die for lack of the most basic needs required to keep body and soul together.  On the other hand we have peope who live in obscene opulence who are heedless of those who lie and die outside their gates. The Church and all men of goodwill do their best despite corrupt people, politicians and governments.  We are called to not lose heart and to pray with faith.  We must pray always and as we pray, God shapes and moulds us into the people He wants us to be.  We each have to make our own contribution even if it is only a drop in the bucket.


Psalm 121:1-8

1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains –
from where shall come my help?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
maker of heaven and earth.
3 Will he let your foot slip,
the one watching over you?
Will he slumber?
4 No, the guardian of Israel
neither slumbers nor sleeps.
5 The Lord is your guardian, the Lord is at your side and you in his shade;
6 Sunstroke will not be for you by day,
nor the spell of the moon by night.
7 The Lord guards you from every evil;
he will protect your life.
8 The Lord watches over your coming and going
both now and forever.
 Beloved, I needed consolation this morning and You have consoled me in the verses of this psalm.  I revel in Your love and care for me.  Having You my Beloved as my Guardian by day and by night who else do I need?  I have all I need in You.