DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS
Joshua 3:7-11, 13-17, Psalm 114:1-6, Matthew 18:21, 19:1
Joshua 3:7-11, 13-17
Joshua 3:7-11, 13-17
Joshua 3:7-11, 13-17
Joshua 3:7-11, 13-17
My Beloved, if one were to read these verses without stopping to ponder their meaning one would fail to grasp the hidden but profound parallel we must draw from them concerning You, the Sacraments and the priesthood You instituted. Dramatic as the events are they point out to a greater reality that will take place many centuries later.
God has chosen a people and God has chosen a leader for His people after the death of Moses. Joshua is called by God and has been equipped with all he will lead to lead the people across the Jordan into the Promised Land. The priests are to carry the Arc of the Covenant into the river Jordan and the mighty hand of the Almighty will stop the flow of the river, creating a dam so that the people of Israel can cross to the other side on dry land.
The Arc of the Covenant represents the Presence of God and only the priests are permitted to carry it. Only ordained priests in the Sacrament of Holy Orders can take bread and wine and uttering Your Words when You instituted the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist they make You really and truly present to us as our spiritual food and drink. It is the priests help us through the Sacraments to navigate this difficult journey in life and to lead us to the Kingdom of God through You who are the Gate of Heaven.
Psalm 114:1-6
My Beloved, we have an awesome God. There is no God like our God whose power over all His creation is complete. The laws and forces of nature obey His will and He can command them to do just as He desires. He parted the Red Sea for the Israelites to walk through in safety and once again He stops the flow of the Jordan so His people can go across to the Promised Land.
But in You who are the Yes and the Amen of God He has given His greatest and most awesome sign of His love for us. Thank You my Beloved for Your obedience to the will of the Father so we could be forgiven, redeemed, sanctified and restored to the family of God.
Matthew 18:21, 19:1
My Beloved, no one can owe a debt as great as the servant who owed the King ten thousand gold ingots. How could a servant incur such an impossibly high debt and to the King no less? Obviously he could not repay it and so the King ordered that he, his wife and his children be sold as slaves. The amount would still not cover what he owed. The King was right. Our debts have to be paid. The servant, in the parable that You narrate, throws himself to the ground, and begs the King to give him time and he would pay all he owed and what do you know? The King shows clemency above and beyond the wildest imaginings that anyone could ever have. He not only grants him his freedom but cancels the entire debt. Wow. The servant should have been jumping, dancing and leaping for joy.
But he does no such thing. On his way out he sees a fellow servant who owes him an inconsequential amount. What does he do? He take him by the neck, throttles him almost strangling him and demands that he pay all he owes. The poor man cries that he is not able to pay back the amount at present and makes the same plea that this servant had made earlier to the King, “Give me time and I will pay all I owe.” The man should have recalled the King’s mercy and should have shown mercy in turn but he sent him to prison until debt he owed was paid.
The fellow servants were very upset. They had witnessed this episode in its entirety and went to the King and reported what the servant had done. The furious King had the servant brought before him called him wicked and heartless for not showing the same mercy that was shown to him. “I forgave you all that you owed when you begged me to. Weren’t you bound to have pity on your companion as I had pity on you?” The King ordered that the man be punished until he paid the whole debt.
You conclude with the words, that this is how Your heavenly Father will deal with us if we do not sincerely forgive one another from the heart. In the measure that we forgive will be forgiven.
God has chosen a people and God has chosen a leader for His people after the death of Moses. Joshua is called by God and has been equipped with all he will lead to lead the people across the Jordan into the Promised Land. The priests are to carry the Arc of the Covenant into the river Jordan and the mighty hand of the Almighty will stop the flow of the river, creating a dam so that the people of Israel can cross to the other side on dry land.
The Arc of the Covenant represents the Presence of God and only the priests are permitted to carry it. Only ordained priests in the Sacrament of Holy Orders can take bread and wine and uttering Your Words when You instituted the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist they make You really and truly present to us as our spiritual food and drink. It is the priests help us through the Sacraments to navigate this difficult journey in life and to lead us to the Kingdom of God through You who are the Gate of Heaven.
Psalm 114:1-6
My Beloved, we have an awesome God. There is no God like our God whose power over all His creation is complete. The laws and forces of nature obey His will and He can command them to do just as He desires. He parted the Red Sea for the Israelites to walk through in safety and once again He stops the flow of the Jordan so His people can go across to the Promised Land.
But in You who are the Yes and the Amen of God He has given His greatest and most awesome sign of His love for us. Thank You my Beloved for Your obedience to the will of the Father so we could be forgiven, redeemed, sanctified and restored to the family of God.
Matthew 18:21, 19:1
My Beloved, no one can owe a debt as great as the servant who owed the King ten thousand gold ingots. How could a servant incur such an impossibly high debt and to the King no less? Obviously he could not repay it and so the King ordered that he, his wife and his children be sold as slaves. The amount would still not cover what he owed. The King was right. Our debts have to be paid. The servant, in the parable that You narrate, throws himself to the ground, and begs the King to give him time and he would pay all he owed and what do you know? The King shows clemency above and beyond the wildest imaginings that anyone could ever have. He not only grants him his freedom but cancels the entire debt. Wow. The servant should have been jumping, dancing and leaping for joy.
But he does no such thing. On his way out he sees a fellow servant who owes him an inconsequential amount. What does he do? He take him by the neck, throttles him almost strangling him and demands that he pay all he owes. The poor man cries that he is not able to pay back the amount at present and makes the same plea that this servant had made earlier to the King, “Give me time and I will pay all I owe.” The man should have recalled the King’s mercy and should have shown mercy in turn but he sent him to prison until debt he owed was paid.
The fellow servants were very upset. They had witnessed this episode in its entirety and went to the King and reported what the servant had done. The furious King had the servant brought before him called him wicked and heartless for not showing the same mercy that was shown to him. “I forgave you all that you owed when you begged me to. Weren’t you bound to have pity on your companion as I had pity on you?” The King ordered that the man be punished until he paid the whole debt.
You conclude with the words, that this is how Your heavenly Father will deal with us if we do not sincerely forgive one another from the heart. In the measure that we forgive will be forgiven.
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