1 John 4:7-10, Psalm 72:2-4, 7-8, Mark 6:34-44

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

1 John 4:7-10, Psalm 72:2-4, 7-8, Mark 6:34-44

1 John 4:7-10

My Beloved, true and perfect love can only be understood in the context of God's love for us. God who created us in love, who loved us into existence, who did not abandon or destroy us when we sinned because He cannot go against His nature which is Love. Instead He showed us once and for all the depths of His love by sending You into the world to become the perfect sacrifice that would atone for the sins of all men from the first to the last. No matter how grave the sin or how many times we have sinned, if we are truly sorry and turn to You in repentance, Your Blood will cleanse and restore our soul to to is baptismal purity and innocence.

Such is the power of Your Sacrifice offered to the Father in perfect love and obedience. It's value is infinite and available to all. The Eternal Love of the Father for You Yours for the Father has drawn us into the divine life and love of the Trinity and our happy destiny is to live in Eternal Love.

Psalm 72:2-4, 7-8

My Beloved, God has appointed You as Sovereign Ruler over all. No matter how powerful or strong mortal men may appear to be, they are still nothing more than creatures whose life comes from God and who are answerable and accountable to Him.

To You has been given all authority and dominion and You rule with justice. All men look to You to care for them and they have a powerful Friend and Helper in You and Your Holy Spirit. Anyone who causes Your little ones to suffer will answer to You. Your justice is swift and sure. The measure of mercy shown will be in proportion to the mercy that we have shown to others.

No one sins with impunity although they think they do since retribution for their pride has not yet come. But You show pity and mercy to all especially the hardened sinner and all are given time for repentance and conversion but in the end time will run out for all.

We know that Justice and Peace came into the world at Your birth and it is ours to receive if we desire it. For You rule in our midst and make our hearts Your throne.

Mark 6:34-44

These verses bring to mind powerful images of You, Your disciples and the crowd that had left everything behind to listen to You.

Five Loaves + Two Fish = A Miracle

Here is a lesson for us all to learn and imitate. You always teach by example as we see in these verses written by the evangelist Mark. You saw the crowd and had compassion on them. They hungered and thirsted for spiritual bread and so You fed them with the Word. It was late and the disciples, showing concern for the crowds, asked You to send them away so they could go and take care of their needs as they would surely be hungry. It was a concern that had not a shred of personal involvement. They wanted to people to go away and fend for themselves as best they could considering the late hour.

Not so You my Beloved in verse 37 You teach us an unforgettable lesson. To the disciples' request to send the crowds away You say, "You yourselves give them something to eat." You want us to get involved, to get down on our knees and get dirty if necessary. You want us to have Your divine vision not the tunnel vision of the disciples who only saw the problem as vast, hopeless and impossible. God was in their midst but they did not see Him nor did they recognize Him although they walked with Him every day.

You draw our attention to what we already possess even if it is only as little as five loaves and two fish - when we offer it to You in hope and trust, You will take our faith tiny as a mustard seed and with it You can and will do the impossible.

We see here how dramatically faith works. Believing that God will act we must prepare for it expectantly. We must raise our heart to God our Father certain that He will provide and as we distribute and share God's gifts He will increase and multiply them and we will discover that not only have we not run out but there is plenty left over. Such is our God!