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Tuesday, July 4th
2023
The Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
·
Genesis 19:15-29
·
Psalms 26:2-3, 9-10 & 11-12
·
Psalms 130:5
·
Matthew 8:23-27
Christians we are not the chosen disciples
who followed, the Lord Christ Jesus into the boat: we did not see
Christ Jesus raise the Centurion’s beloved servant from the dead; we
did not witness Christ Jesus raise, from the dead, the only son of
the widow, from the city, of Nain, who was being carried on a bier
as Jesus and His disciples entered that location; truly, we have not
witnessed any of these miracles, by that God the Heavenly Father did
give witness to His Son; rather, we are the friends of Christ Jesus
to whom Christ Jesus said that it is better for us if he goes to His
Father, so that the Holy Spirit, the spirit of truth, the comforter
will come unto us….
Yes
Christians, the Holy Spirit testifies to all the things that Christ
Jesus taught and Christ Jesus’s Gospel is spirit and life, and
Christ Jesus only testifies to the words, to that God our Heavenly
Father gave Him to witness: Father and Son are one along with the
Holy Spirit: our comforter, our advocate, and our teacher….
Therefore, Christians, as Christ Jesus teaches, make sure
that the light that is in you is not darkness, but that the light
that is in you is Christ Jesus’s way, truth, and life: Jesus is the
way, the truth and the life: no man, no person, comes unto the
Heavenly Father except by and through Christ Jesus our Lord….
Now Christians, there is an interesting phrase in this
testimony, from Genesis, regarding the comment made by the angels,
to Lot, for they said: hurry, be on your way, do not let yourselves
be swept up in the punishment that is coming upon Sodom and Cities
of the plain: Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Zoar….
Although it is an incomplete inference, we may remember
Christ Jesus’s Parable of the Ten Virgins: for in this parable five
of the virgins, although virgins, did not hasten to have God’s word
in their lives and to live according to them -- their foundation was
absent the building on Christ Jesus’s words and teachings, His
Gospel….
Therefore, when
they went to go and buy some oil, since all life long they had
ignored God’s Gospel, Christ Jesus returned, and the bridegroom,
that being, Christ Jesus shut the door; meanwhile, the five
complacent virgins came to the door a banging on it, but Christ
Jesus replied to them: “Go away, I do not know you!”
Now the angels hastening Lot upon his way and barely escaping
the fire and brimstone, God cast down upon this plain -- filled with
godless, immoral, sinful individuals – is like the pretend or
cafeteria Christians who believe there is time enough to start to
live according to Christ Jesus’s Gospel: all the while they should
know that Christ Jesus speaks these very words: repent for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand and moreover, Christ Jesus tells us
that judgment will come upon us like a thief in the night….
So, Christians, do not delay, but make sure to wash clean
your souls in the blood of the lamb, that is Christ Jesus and make
sure, take care, and take heed, that the light that is in you is not
darkness….
Christians,
to understand what is darkness let us look at what Christ Jesus
said: Jesus said that He is the light that came into the world but
the darkness does not comprehend it: again, we are to be the light
of the world; Jesus said, that we are the lights of the world….
Furthermore, Christ Jesus testifies that each of us will be
rewarded according to our deeds….
As well, the Gospels testify to the many good works that
Christ Jesus did, while the imagination of men, that is, humankind,
are filled with the concerns of the flesh, but we are to live
according to Christ Jesus’s Gospel of spirit and life, overcoming,
the concerns of the flesh, for Christ Jesus has overcome the world;
Christ Jesus has overcome death….
Remember Christians, each of us have to work out our own
salvation, and we are to do this in fear and trembling: fear of God
and with trembling that we will run the race, rightly, so as to be
rewarded with the great gift of eternal life….
No person can believe in Christ Jesus for us, that is
something that each of us must do on our own; no person can repent
of our sins for us, that is something that we each must do on our
own; no person can acknowledge our sins for us nor bring forth lives
worthy of repentance nor seek first the kingdom of heaven and the
Heavenly Father’s righteousness -- for these things, we each must do
for ourselves…. Yes Christians, a conjecture may be made, by and
from the angel of God sparing the city of Zoar; although, Zoar
indeed deserved the same punishment meant for Sodom, Gomorrah,
Admah, and Zeboiim, we remember Abraham’s discourse with God our
Heavenly Father about not destroying, these plain cities, if five
good people could be found: so since, Lot could not travel as far as
the mountains, whereas to be saved; God in His mercy allowed Zoar to
be saved, so that Lot could be saved….
Yes Christians, the morning that Sodom and the five cities
were destroyed, by fire and brimstone, was much like this very
morning today: the sun is just rising over the horizon of the earth,
and each of us are setting off on our day: are we bringing forth
fruits worthy of repentance and deeds that will be pleasing to God,
our Heavenly Father; are we being lights of Christ Jesus or are we
refusing to repent of sin and sinfulness, preferring darkness and
refusing to believe in Christ Jesus and living in abominations: the
sinful pride, the hardheartedness, the immoral and wicked deeds that
will assure our resurrection into condemnation?
Remember, Christ Jesus testifies that He cannot do anything
on His own – that He judges according to as He hears, and that His
judgment is just, because He does not seek His own but, seeks, the
Will of the one who sent Him, that being, God our Heavenly Father,
the creator of heaven and the earth….
Now Christians, in the name of the Lord Christ Jesus let us
pray and be thankful….
Amen….
Tuesday, July 11th
2023
Memorial of Saint Benedict, Abbot
·
Genesis 32:23-33
·
Psalm 17:1-3, 6-8 & 15
·
John 10:14
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Matthew 9:32-38
Christians, time and time again, God the
Heavenly Father laid witness before the Israelites, showing them
that indeed Christ Jesus is Lord, and the people of the promised
land, realized, that nothing before like what Christ Jesus did had
ever been seen there; still, the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the
counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized: Christ Jesus
is life, and his life is the light of humankind and He cured every
disease and illness: the mute man was freed of his devil, and was
able to speak, praise the Lord Christ Jesus, alleluia!
Now Christians, in the testimony of Jacob what is God showing
to Jacob and Esau, and the entire lands and its inhabitants; as
well, what is God, our Heavenly Father teaching us?
Remember, in this testimony of Jacob – being renamed Israel,
is after, God had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, but it is before,
the Israelites went down into Egypt….
Now, Jacob’s father in-law, Laban, son of Bethuel and great
nephew of Abraham, was an old scoundrel….
So, Jacob had to leave Laban’s household in a stealthy
manner….
Laban coveted
Jacob’s blessings: his wives, Jacob’s children, Jacob’s cattle, and
all that was Jacob’s and given to Jacob by God our Heavenly Father,
Laban coveted….
Although, God, yet, had not shown the law to Abraham’s descendants,
for God’s plan was to give the law through Moses; still, we remember
what Saint Paul, Apostle, teaches: for as many as have sinned
without law shall also perish without law, and as many as have
sinned in the law shall be judge by the law: now. God is showing us
through the course of our normal day, we are all sinners, and that
we generally do not recognize our sins; moreover, as Saint Paul
quotes: As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one!
There is none that understand, there is none who seek after
God….
Yet, again, we
should clearly recognize the difference between, the people, of who
God destroyed on the plains of Sodom and Gomorrah, and those: Lot
and his daughters and many others who were not destroyed at that
time….
Most importantly,
we should recognize that only with Christ Jesus’s grace can we
overcome our sinful self – are sinful flesh, and that the flesh does
not have patients but has appetites, and it is only through God our
Heavenly Father’s word and His gift of grace and truth through our
Lord, His Son, Christ Jesus that we may have patience….
Understand this Christians, as human creatures, we do not
truly recognize God’s influence upon us, but when He lifts His hand
away, such as God did in the time of Elijah and the people fall into
animalist depravity, then we know that God has taught us to be
civilized and God has given us all that we have been given….
Do not think that the
Egyptians rose out of depravity on their own, for they were
descendants of Noah; furthermore, God our Heavenly Father teaches us
that He created us in His image and likeness: God is holy and we too
are to be holy not immoral….
It is the spirit that gives us patients and love and
goodness, while the flesh has needy concerns, desires and appetites:
it is the spirit that gives life, but the concerns of the flesh are
death: Christ Jesus’s words and teachings are spirit and life….
Yes, the righteousness of God without the law is manifested,
being witnessed by the law and the prophets: the law is now made
manifest in the spirit, and we confirm this with Christ Jesus’s
teaching on adultery….
For Christ Jesus teaches: that even if we look at a woman [a person]
with lust in our heart, we have committed adultery; therefore, if we
have in our consciences and in our spirit conceived sin rather than
through Christ Jesus’s grace resisted sin, we have taken upon
ourselves the concerns of the flesh rather than living according to,
the Christ’s and Messiah’s, Jesus’s words of spirit and life….
As well, even though we are all entitled to our own opinion,
the question to ask ourselves: is our opinion serving the concerns
of our flesh or is our opinion serving Christ Jesus’s Gospel of
words and life; again, is our opinion serving hate or lust or
sinfulness or is our opinion serving goodness – Jesus said do good
to those who hate us: do we have hate in our hearts or are we
seeking Christ Jesus’s goodness; is our opinion serving God the
Heavenly Father’s righteousness or lust of the flesh – are we in right standing
with the Lord Christ Jesus or are we serving our temptations and our
sinful desires? Is our opinion serving the concerns, the sins, of
the flesh or is our opinion serving Christ Jesus’s way, truth, and
life: His Gospel of spirit and life….
Yes, Jacob wrestled with some man until the break of dawn;
truly, Christians witness the fiery arrows of the devil’s
temptations, for Satan tempts us at every opportunity that he can;
still, as Christians, we are to give no opportunity for the devil,
no room for the devil and no place for the devil: for our temples,
our bodies: heart, mind, soul and strength are to be temples for the
Holy Spirit….
Now
Christians, in the name of the Lord Christ Jesus let us pray and be
thankful….
Amen….
Tuesday, July 18th
2023
The Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
·
Exodus 2:1-15
·
Psalms 69:3, 14, 30-31 & 33-34
·
Psalms 95:8
·
Matthew 11:20-24
Christians, Christ Jesus testified repent
and believe in the Gospel for the kingdom of heaven is at hand:
Jesus reproached some towns, for although he healed the blind, the
lame did walk, lepers were cleansed, the deaf received their
hearing, the dead were raised, and to the poor the Gospel of spirit
and life, and repentance has been testified unto them; blessed are
the poor and blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven – they, these certain towns ignored the mighty
deeds Christ Jesus did for they chose their arrogance of power over
life and truth….
Now
Christians, the testimony of Moses, being in a waterproof papyrus
basket and then drawn from the water, happened because God worked in
the heart of his mother, but as well, God our Heavenly Father had
been working in the heart of the Egyptians and Pharaoh….
The Egyptians and Pharaoh grew to fear the Israelite, for
God, our Heavenly Father had blessed them abundantly -- they
enlarged their population in overwhelming numbers, that is, in
proportion to the Egyptians, and they feared that the Israelites
would rise up and take control over the Egyptian Kingdom….
Because of the Egyptians fear of the Israelites, the Pharaoh
proclaimed the death of all new born males of the Israelites….
So, Moses being a beautiful child, his mom sought to save
him, and did hide him in Pharaoh’s own household; praise be God our
Heavenly Father, for He is creator and savior….
Christians, what can we learn about sisters from this
testimony, of Moses being hid in a papyrus basket: we see that
Moses’s sister was faithful to her mother, for she was charged with
watching the papyrus basket, and she did not fail her mother nor did
she fail God, the God of Jacob, Jacob being her Great Grandfather….
We also learn that Moses’s sister loved her little brother,
and was willing to put her fear of men and people aside: for to make
sure her brother was nursed and had care, if it be God our Heavenly
Father’s will….
Moses’s
sister placed the waterproof papyrus basket among the reeds, and
waited, making sure that Pharaoh’s daughter found the child, and
then, intrepidly, she approached Pharaoh’s daughter, for that making
sure her brother would receive proper care, and by no less of a
person than Moses’s own mother: God is indeed mighty!
Yes! praise be God our Heavenly Father’s holy name….
We see that God is indeed mighty, for Pharaoh’s word was law
in the land of Egypt, in those days, and he had proclaimed the death
of all male Hebrew infants; yet, in this instance, God our Heavenly
Father arranged a Prophet: Moses would be saved, by the very people
who were trying to kill the Israelites and keep them enslaved
forever….
Now, we should
also consider the pity that moved Pharaoh’s daughter; although there
is animalistic desire or a mother’s sense to take care of their
young, Pharaoh’s daughter had to know that this child was a Hebrew
Child, who could in reason say differently, and yet, she defied her
father to save this Hebrew Child: who could reasonably believe
otherwise that it was indeed our mighty God, our Heavenly Father who
filled the heart and mind of Pharaoh’s daughter with pity and
compassion, and she then chose to spare the life of Moses: God knew
these things would come to pass before the child Moses was put into
the reeds….
So, Moses,
God our Heavenly Father’s Prophet, the bringer of the Law to the
Israelites and to humankind was raised by his mother, until the time
Moses went to live in Pharaoh’s daughter’s household: Pharaoh’s
daughter being responsible for the child’s expenses during his
adolescent years….
As
Moses matured and was now a young man in his late teens or early
twenties, in defense of one of his own kinsmen, he killed an
Egyptian, overseer, who had hit or was beating his, Moses’s kinsmen:
Miriam, Moses’s sister did not factor, again, into the written
testimony, until Moses’s return after speaking with the Angel of God
at the burning bush….
She, Miriam defied Moses, which in this case was defying God, our
Heavenly Father, for Moses was not pursuing his own will, but was
serving only God our Heavenly Father’s will, and Miriam, for a brief
moment became a leper, which grieved Moses greatly, but God repented
and turned and healed Miriam….
Now, shortly after Moses had killed the Egyptian overseer, he
came across two of his kinsmen fighting….
Apparently, Moses knew the culprit, the instigator of this
fight, and Moses asked him, why he was striking his fellow Hebrew:
the culprit accused Moses of the killing of the Egyptian, overseer,
and Moses became aware that his life was now in jeopardy, so he fled
to the land of Midian; where Moses became God our Heavenly Father’s
great Prophet, and the bringer of the Law of God to the people….
Perhaps, it should be realized that God’s laws, being as God
created man in His own image and likeness, His Holiness, had
similarities with the codes that man had established for themselves,
mainly, Hammurabi’s Code…. God spiritually, in God’s Way: such as
when the Assyrian King became God our Heavenly Father’s rod and
staff – God interacted with Hammurabi, this sixth King of the Old
Babylonian Empire, they being descendants of either Seth or Cain and
on down the line, mingled, with the tribe to that Cain was banished
and then also Noah and other inhabitance of the earth, and, yes, God
influenced Hammurabi to write this code….
Yet, Moses and the Israelites were the people, through whom,
God our Heavenly Father chose to make Himself known, and the
Babylonians, albeit, a great nation, in distinction, worshipped
false gods and graven images that were made by their own hands….
Strangely, the Babylonian would worship a graven image that
they knew was made by their own hands; yet, they deluded themselves
into believing that these graven images were gods….
Now, Christians, we know how God our Heavenly Father
interacted with Moses and we know the commandments that God gave to
Moses….
We also know
that Christ Jesus said that he did not come to destroy the Law of
Moses or the Prophet, but that he came to fulfill both the Law and
the Prophet’s testimony….
Truly, Christ Jesus abolished the law in the flesh, as he
also gave no place for sin in our flesh with His crucifixion and the
resurrection from the dead; however, in Christ Jesus’s Gospel of
spirit and life, the law, the commandments, and ordinances are made
manifest in the spirit: God making for himself from the two, one new
man, so as to make peace….
Saint Paul teaches: for the law is fulfilled in one word,
even this; thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself….
Now Christians, in the name of the Lord Christ Jesus let us
pray and be thankful….
Amen….
Tuesday, July 25th
2023
Feast of
Saint James, Apostle
·
2 Corinthians 4:7-15
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Psalm 126:1-6
·
John 15:16
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Matthew 20:20-28
Christians, Christ Jesus said to the mother
of sons of Zebedee, James and John, “You do not know what you are
asking!”
Christians, do
we ourselves ask for things without realizing, they are not of the
kingdom of heaven; truly, our charge is, to first seek the kingdom
of heaven and the Heavenly Father’s Righteousness: so, as Saint Paul
teaches, “We cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of
devils: we cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table
of demons.”
Now,
understand that in Christ Jesus, we are to live according to His
Gospel of spirit and life even if it is commendable to want to sit
at the right hand of Christ Jesus or the left hand of Christ Jesus:
the desires of the mother of the sons of Zebedee was of the flesh,
her pride, and such pridefulness is not yielding ourselves to Christ
Jesus’s Gospel of spirit and life but is yielding ourselves to the
sins of the flesh….
Again, Saint Paul, Apostle, teaches: that sin shall not have
dominion over us: we are not under the law, but are under grace,
meaning, we are not slaves to our sinful flesh to follow their
impulses or urges or desires but have the grace, brought to us by
the Holy Spirit when and if we seek Christ Jesus’s eternal kingdom
of light and life….
So,
ask yourselves, shall we commit sin and be sinful, because we are
not under the law, but under grace?
Saint Paul, Apostle, says, emphatically, God forbid that we
commit sin or sinfulness….
Then, Saint Paul goes on to say: do you not know; do you not
understand, that to whom, [and what], you yield yourselves, then,
you are servants [or slaves], to obey?
Moreover, to whom, [and what], you serve, this then is whom
and what you are obeying: whether you are serving sin, unto death,
or whether you are servants of God our Heavenly Father’s
Righteousness, that being, Christ Jesus’s Gospel of spirit and life
that leads to eternal life in Christ Jesus’s eternal kingdom….
Now Christians, we are to renounce the hidden things of
dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, but walking and living in the
sincerity of Christ Jesus’s Gospel….
We, Christians, are not to handle or behold the word of God
deceitfully, but within the visible accordance and the truth of
spirit and life of our Lord’s, Christ Jesus’s, Gospel: faithfully,
living as lights of Christ Jesus towards every person’s conscience
in the sight of God….
Truly, Christians, we hold this [eternal] treasure in our earthen
vessels; nonetheless, the surpassing power that we hold in our
hearts, minds, souls and strength is not of our own but is
exclusively bestowed upon us by God, through the Holy Spirit, the
advocate, teacher, comforter and strength that Christ Jesus promised
to send unto us: those who first seek His kingdom and the Heavenly
Father’s righteousness….
Now Christians, step back a bit and again yield yourselves to Christ
Jesus’s Gospel of spirit and life: Jesus teaches, unless we have
faith and be converted, and turn and become as little children, that
is, with the faithful trusting of our Lord Christ Jesus’s Gospel of
spirit and life, as a child has faith and trust their parent, we
will not enter into the kingdom of heaven….
Christ Jesus is: our everlasting Father; He is wonderful; He
is counsellor; He is the mighty God, the Prince of Peace, and of the
increase of His government and peace there shall be no end….
Truly Christians, the new order, the reformation, is the New
Covenant that Christ Jesus brought unto humankind, and with all our
heart, mind, soul, and strength, we are to love God, our Heavenly
Father, the creator of heaven and earth, the God of Jacob-Israel….
Yes, let us step-back and faithfully consider, the Apostle
Paul’s testimony, in these verses to the Corinthians; although, it
may at first appear to be non-plus, we remember Christ Jesus’s
command, from the Beatitudes that he witnessed unto, the children of
Israel, and then, the Apostles and disciples unto us, stating:
blessed are you when you are reviled and persecuted and when people,
falsely, say all manner of evil things against you because you are a
faithful light of Christ Jesus….
Yes, rejoice and be exceedingly glad: for great is your
reward in heaven: for so they persecuted God’s Prophets which came
before you….
So again
Christians, Saint Paul, Apostle, is being a faithful light unto
Christ Jesus, his, and our Lord, and he is testifying that even
though he is afflicted and troubled in every way; he is not
constrained nor is he distressed….
Saint Paul confesses that he is perplexed, but not driven to
despair….
The Apostle
Paul teaches, that we see as if through a glass, darkly, but then,
he says, when Christ Jesus’s Gospel is fulfilled, we will see face
to face: we will clearly know, but now we know only in part….
Still, Saint Paul goes on to say, that he was persecuted, but
that he was not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed....
Now Christians, clearly hear this next testimony from Saint
Paul, for he says: that we are to always carry about in our body the
dying of Christ Jesus, the crucifixion of Christ Jesus, so that we
may also have manifested in our body the life that the Holy Spirit
gives unto us because of Christ Jesus’s resurrection from the dead….
Now Christians, in the name of the Lord Christ Jesus let us
pray and be thankful….
Amen.
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