LEAD KINDLY LIGHT

 

It is our destiny to be bathed with the light of God for all eternity. If we go into the darkness but place our hand in the hands of God then we'll experience and discover something better than life. It is the hand of God that leads us to the breaking of the day when we walk into the darkness. Cardinal John Henry Newman was a devout Anglican and was a major figure in the Oxford Movement in bringing the Church of England back to its Catholic roots. Eventually his studies in history persuaded him to become a Roman Catholic. During this time he was greatly confused and restless. As he was returning to England in a ship, one night he got up and paced the deck under the stars of the Mediterranean feeling the intensity of God and his own littleness. He composed this famous poem:

 The Pillar of the Cloud (Lead, Kindly Light) 

 Lead, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,

 Lead Thou me on!

 The night is dark, and I am far from home --

 Lead Thou me on!

 Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see

 The distant scene, -- one step enough for me.

 I was not ever thus, nor pray'd that Thou

 Should'st lead me on.

 I loved to choose and see my path; but now

 Lead Thou me on!

 I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,

 Pride ruled my will: remember not past years.

 So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still

 Will lead me on,

 O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till

 The night is gone;

 And with the morn those angel faces smile

 Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.

Jude 17, 20b-25

...Build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit. 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

Only the love of our Lord God can satisfy all our longings and desires. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. We can never find true satisfaction unless we find Jesus. “My soul is restless until it rests in You” (St. Augustine) No amount of wealth, fame and glory in this world can satisfy our longings. What are we doing on this earth? We are here to know, love and serve God. Where is our God? He is nearer to us than we are to ourselves. He is in the depths of our being every moment of day and night. St. Augustine said, "It is in knowing God that we know of ourselves." To know and to love God is to do the same for ourselves. We love our family, friends and work but do we stop at the gifts and miss the Giver. Remember, however weak or wayward or wicked we may be, God is madly in love with us whether or not we love Him because His nature and name is love. In an act of love he drew us out of nothing in the yesteryears and that love has sustained and enveloped us every single moment of our life. It is an act of love that we are still able to draw the next breath of life. The moment He cease to love us for an instant, we will cease to be. How easy it is to put ourselves in the center of the universe. All we think about is our comfort, health, wealth and work. We are not the center of the universe, God is. We are here on this earth for a few fleeting years in which to serve God. St. Theresa of Avila took a private vow or oath never to waste a moment of time. She knew that the moment which secured heaven for the good seed would secure it for us too. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 (2b)

R: My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

1 [2] O God, you are my God whom I seek; for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water. (R) 2 [3] Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary to see your power and your glory, 3 [4] for your kindness is a greater good than life; my lips shall glorify you. (R) 4 [5] Thus will I bless you while I live; lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name. 5 [6] As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied, and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.

When it's all over and the battle has been won, what is our destiny? We are told that we shall see God face to face as in the book of Revelations 22:2-5,14 "They will look upon his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever and ever." and "Blessed are they who wash their robes so as to have the right to the tree of life and enter the city through its gates." This is our destiny. Being a member of the one big family of God is a great honor and privilege that we sometimes are not aware of. When we were baptized we all became God's children and that is one truth that we should all consciously live up to.  Let us no longer be deceived, indifferent, unaffected or despondent or whatever word we can think of that lessens its impact and efficacy or make us totally oblivious of this truth. We are children of God and heirs of His kingdom.  Amen. Hallelujah!

We ought to realize by now that only God can give us the right and perfect answers we are all in search of. Unless we truly believe this and live it in our life then we all run the risk of leading down the path to nowhere. Today's gospel shows us how the learned and prominent people in Jesus' time refuse to become part of the genuine family of God. As children of God we must acquire a childlike fearlessness that is appropriate to exercise our faith and trust in God our Father. We have to nurture the childlike faith in us so we become what God calls us to be. We are all attracted to the wisdom of God and are tormented by seeking her.  It is a profound attribute because we can see things in the way God sees things. We become enlightened in our hearts and minds. We want to know how God thinks and we can achieve this by uniting our minds with Jesus. In today’s gospel the scribes and Pharisees wanted to elicit information from Jesus but He denied them. We have to go to God with a clean and humble heart. We are reminded today as it is the 1^st Saturday of the month, dedicated to devotion to the Blessed Mother that Jesus sat on the lap of His mother. We want to draw close to Him. Our souls are tormented by seeking this wisdom and this is only possible as we are freed from this sin in this life. We approach Mary who is the seat of wisdom. Mary draws us closer to her heart and reveal to us Jesus who is in her heart and makes Him more known to us. Amen. Hallelujah!

Mark 11:27-33

...“By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I shall ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was John’s baptism of heavenly or of human origin? Answer me.” 31 They discussed this among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘Of human origin’?” — they feared the crowd, for they all thought John really was a prophet. 33 So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.” Then Jesus said to them, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”