Ezekiel 2:2-5, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Psalm 123:1-4, Mark 6:1-6

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Ezekiel 2:2-5, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Psalm 123:1-4, Mark 6:1-6

Ezekiel 2:2-5

My Beloved, Truth remains the truth even if all deny it. God sent His prophets all through the salvation history of Israel to reveal His plans to them from one generation to the next. More often than not, these prophets were not popular because they revealed their sins and warned them to stop rebelling against God. Rather than repent, they either ignored the warnings, persecuted the prophets or killed them.

People would rather live self-indulgent lives than live according to the commands of God.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

My Beloved, St. Paul was one of the great Saints. He yielded his life so completely to You and to the mission given to him that You were able to work powerfully through him.

The Holy Spirit revealed great and eternal truth and St. Paul was able to express them vividly and with great clarity. Knowing human vanity it would be easy for him to become puffed up with pride and appropriate the glory that belongs entirely to God, therefore the weakness, or the thorn in the flesh that afflicted him. Despite his best efforts he could not rid himself of it and pleaded with You to do so. It was then that he was made aware of this great truth which will serve us well too to remember always as well, "My grace is enough for you; my great strength is revealed in weakness.” And our response must always be, " So I rejoice when I suffer infirmities, humiliations, want, persecutions: all for Christ! For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Psalm 123:1-4

My Beloved, we need You we cannot do anything worthwhile on our own. We depend on You for the air we breathe and take for granted. You give us life and You sustain that life from moment to moment. Like a servant or a slave whose eyes are constantly on the master of mistress I desire to keep my gaze on You and Your Mama so she can direct my way and will in ways that are pleasing to You my Lord.

Mark 6:1-6

My Beloved, one of the more serious and common mistakes we make is the one that Your kinsmen and the people of Your hometown made. They prejudged You on what they knew of You during the 30 quiet years You lived in Nazareth as the Son of Mary and Joseph the carpenter.  After You left Nazareth they heard reports of You - the many miracles, the powerful signs and wonders. Now, You have returned with Your disciples, and instead of being eager to meet You in person and to experience the power of God for themselves, they look at You with disbelief. They have just heard You preach  and they agree that they have never heard such wisdom taught in their Synagogue before. They are amazed but instead of allowing their amazement to fuel their faith, they actually dismiss You on the basis of their own narrow preconceived notion of what they knew of You in the past.  

Beloved, before I condemn them, if I am honest, I can find several occasions when I myself have dismissed people because I have make rash judgments about them based on what I thought I knew of them.