(Gn.22:1-2,9-13,15-18;   Ps.116:10,15-19;   Rom.8:31-34;   Mk.9:2-10)

“You shall offer him up as a holocaust

on a height that I will point out to you.”

“Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love,” the Lord instructs Abraham, calling him to sacrifice even as an animal his beloved child, upon whom God’s promise rests.  To a mountain he is led, with his son carrying wood in tow.

And arriving at the place God had told him to go, “Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it… and took the knife to slaughter his son.”  The angel comes to stay his hand, but Abraham is prepared to do as the Lord commands.

The Lord prevents Abraham from making this sacrifice because it is not his son who is to die; only the Lord’s Beloved could be offered as such a holocaust; only His Son is called upon to die.  “Christ Jesus it is who died,” no one else, for only His death brings life.

And on Mount Tabor today we see the life that will come by the Lord’s sacrifice; already we glimpse the rays of heaven.  Jesus is as engulfed in flames, holy fire of the most blessed holocaust; and – like the three young men in the furnace, like the bush before Moses on Mt. Horeb – by these flames He is not burned: by these flames His purity is made to shine.

How good indeed it is for these apostles to behold this blessed vision!  In it we all find hope that the death of Christ is not for naught, and neither shall our own death be.  For all who die in Christ, die as Christ, a death that brings only eternal life.  And so, comprehending here the majesty to which we are called, all disciples of Jesus, all children of the God of Life, are strengthened for all trial.

God “did not spare His own Son but handed Him over for us all,” not because He loved Him not, but because He loves us all.  And now “will He not also give us everything along with Him?”  Will He now seek to condemn those whom He has justified at such a massive cost?

“It is God who acquits us,” brothers and sisters, by the death of His Son.  And now “precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of [all] His faithful ones”; do not be afraid to serve the Lord.  For by your sacrifice, to a great height He will draw you, even as He has His Son, who “is at the right hand of God” this day.  With Abraham, He “will bless you abundantly.”

Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt.

Music: "White" from Listening to the Lamp, ninth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt.

*******

O LORD, if we join your Son in obedience

even unto death,

we shall be raised with Him.

YHWH, your Son has died to raise us all to new life; only His death could bear such fruit.  And should we not therefore put faith in Him, Him whom you have declared your Beloved?  Should we not thus come to a great love of you who have loved us so greatly?  And would we not then come to glory, the same glory He shares with you this day?

A sign you give to us this day, dear LORD, a sign of your eternal glory, a glory that comes to us by the death of Jesus the Christ.  And so, we should not be afraid of the death we must die, of the offering we must make of our lives in His Name.  For as we are joined to Him in sacrifice, so will we be joined to Him in your heavenly kingdom.

O LORD, bring many souls, souls as countless as the stars, into the land you promise us and which you bring to fulfillment in the death of your Son.  For this grace let us praise your Name forever in your House.

(Dt.26:16-19;   Ps.119:1-2,4-5,7-8;   Mt.5:43-48)

“You will be a people sacred to the Lord, your God.”

The promise made to the Israelites through Moses is also a command, and is fulfilled in the command of Jesus.

In our first reading Moses tells the people the Lord will raise them “high in praise and renown and glory above all other nations,” but makes it clear that this shall be so only as long as they “walk in His ways and observe His statutes, commandments, and decrees” – only if they “hearken to His voice.”  For His law is as food to the body and light to the mind and must be observed carefully, “with all [our] heart and with all [our] soul,” to maintain the presence of God in our lives.  If “He is to be [our] God,” we must do as He commands.

Thus our psalmist sings of the happiness of those “who observe His decrees, who seek Him with all their heart.”  Thus does he cry out in longing, “Oh, that I might be firm in the ways of keeping your statutes!” for he knows in them is life.  To “walk in the way of the Lord” is his joy.

And that joy is made complete, our life is made whole, by the new command of love Jesus imparts to our soul.  The Lord fulfills the Law of Moses, which gave light to the people, by commanding us not to love only our “countryman” but all: “Love your enemies, pray for your persecutors.”  Here is His challenge for us to “prove that [we] are sons of our heavenly Father,” to love as He loves, to know the greatness of His glory, therefore, in our very lives.  If the psalmist cried out in such joy at the blessing found in following the Law of Moses, what indescribable joy is ours when we follow Jesus’ words.  What greater call can we have than to “be made perfect as [our] heavenly Father is perfect”?  What greater merit and blessing could there be?  None.  For He is Life itself, and here we are called to live with Him.

“His sun rises on the bad and the good, He rains on the just and the unjust.”  Nothing dims God’s holy light or stems the blessings He showers upon all.  In absolute light, in absolute love, the Father dwells, in the heavenly kingdom; and if we can love as He loves, as Jesus has loved, we shall know such blessing.  Love even those who hate you and you will be as the Father, who knows only love, and you will become sacred to Him – you will be saints in His kingdom.

*******

O LORD, if we follow your way with our whole heart,

we shall come to where you are, in Heaven.

YHWH, what can we be but blessed if we heed your commands and walk in your way, for then we will be like you, who are most blessed of all?  O to be a people sacred to you!  O to love as you love!

What greater blessing can we know, O LORD, than to love as you love, to love all, even our enemies?  What blessing it would be to know such absolute love, to live such absolute love – then we would be living with you; then we would be living in you.  You shine like the sun upon all creatures…  Let us live in your light this day.

Your Word is light to us, LORD; your commands are truth.  And by them you would lead us to all truth, to all love – by them you would lead us to yourself.  And your greatest command is to love our enemies, a command your Son embodies.  Let us join with Him in keeping this Word and so live in your heavenly presence.

(Ez.18:21-28;   Ps.130:1-8;   Mt.5:20-26)

“Settle with your opponent while on your way to court with him.”

We are all on our way to court, brothers and sisters.  The judgment of the Lord awaits us all on the Last Day, and the Last Day is upon us here at the end of the age.  There is no time to lose; we must be “reconciled with [our] brother”; we must turn from sin today and find the Lord’s grace.  “With the Lord is kindness and plenteous redemption; and He will redeem Israel from all their iniquities” – but “out of the depths” we must cry to Him “in supplication” to find His blessed forgiveness; and from sinful paths we must turn our feet to know His salvation.

“If a wicked man, turning from the wickedness he has committed, does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life.”  It is a great promise that comes to us through the prophet Ezekial, that none of our crimes shall be remembered by God when we return to Him.  For the Lord does not “derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked,” He “rather rejoice[s] when he turns from his evil way that he may live”; for the Lord wishes life for us all, wishes Himself, who is Life, for every soul, and gives it freely, and quite naturally, when we follow His ways.

It is really rather simple: as when a wicked man turns to good things he is no longer wicked but good and so lives in the Lord, so “when a virtuous man turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die.”  Evil brings death, and righteousness and justice (goodness) brings life.  The Lord desires life for us all and so He calls us to repentance, to repentance from even what might seem to our minds the smallest of sins – for so greatly does He wish life for us.  And clearly does He know that which we cannot see, that death holds sway over us by every sin on our soul.

Let us avoid the fires of hell and the pains of purgatory, brothers and sisters.  Let us call out to the Lord this day and find His “plenteous redemption” even as we turn from our sins.  And there shall be no prison into which we are thrown, as we forgive one another, and the Lord forgives us, our sins.

*******

O LORD, let us be released from all bondage to sin

that we might walk with you in righteousness

and so find life.

YHWH, forgiveness is with you, for it is your great desire to see us turn from our sin that you might have mercy on our souls.  And if we do so, if we leave behind our wickedness – even our wicked thoughts and words – we shall find your goodness; you shall gather us into your arms.  For then we shall be of goodness itself, and so, united with you.

But turning from the right path, what can we find but death in our separation from you, LORD?  What can we know but condemnation in leaving you behind?  For then you will not be with us, and without you there is no life.

O LORD, you are generous in redeeming us from all our iniquities.  Let us follow your way as your Son does call, purging all hatred from our lives.  Help us to be perfect as you are perfect – in love, in forgiveness, in grace… and we shall thus enter your kingdom, where only perfection exists.  No evil in our hearts let us desire; cast all iniquity from us this day as we love even our enemy.

(Est.C:12,14-16,23-25;   Ps.138:1-3,7-8;   Mt.7:7-12)

“My Lord, our King, you alone are God.

Help me, who am alone and have no help but you.”

In our gospel we have today a few of our Lord’s most famous words: “Ask, and you will receive.  Seek, and you will find.  Knock, and it will be opened to you.”  Jesus encourages us to faithfulness in prayer, assuring all that our “heavenly Father [will] give good things to anyone who asks Him.”  How beautiful are His words, and how true.

And how well Queen Esther illustrates the faithful prayer of one who has “recourse to the Lord.”  She comes to the Lord in all humility as an obedient child before her father and opens her heart before God with a sincere plea for her fellow Jews, threatened with extinction by the enemy.  She says of her forefathers, proclaiming herself a daughter of Abraham, “You fulfilled all your promises to them,” and comes now seeking the same answer from the “King of gods and Ruler of every power.”  Such prayer for salvation before the God she recognizes “know[s] all things” cannot but be answered by the loving Father.  He will give her the food she desires.

In our psalm we hear David’s song of thanksgiving for the prayers the Lord has been faithful in answering for him: “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with all my heart, for you have heard the words of my mouth,” thus proving the truth of Jesus’ exhortation to His disciples, and indicating that Esther will also find answer to her prayer – and so, that we all should have assurance of God’s loving desire to heed all our sincere pleas.  David, too, acknowledges the greatness of God: “You have made great above all things your name and your promise,” and so comes to the place where the “kindness and [the] truth” of the Lord will be known to him.  And his faith in the Lord’s promise to be with him and hear him lasts for perpetuity: “The Lord will complete what He has done for me.”

Praise the Lord, who answers all prayers.  Praise the loving God who knows all things.  It is in His heart to feed us with the best of wheat, and this He does each day for those who “worship at [His] holy temple and give thanks to [His] name.”  “Forsake not the work of your hands,” dear Lord.  Be with us always to hear our humble prayers, that we might witness always your loving faithfulness to all who call upon you in truth.

*******

O LORD, forsake us not, for we are your children

and have no one but you to help us;

thank you for your mercy. 

YHWH, you readily give good things to those who ask them of you, for it is your will to give what is good to all.  You are goodness itself and would share yourself with all your children if they but desired your presence in their lives.  Let us turn to you and call upon your Name with faith that you hear all our prayers.

We need but seek you, LORD, and your hand at work in our days.  We need but a tiny seed of faith, and you will nourish us with your Word and see that we are protected from our enemies and have all we need to live forever with you.  In your kingdom we shall find our home if we but knock upon its door.

Your Name let us ever praise, O LORD our God, and we shall remain in your truth, and we shall remain in your light, ever growing unto your heavenly presence.  We would need fear nothing at all if we but trusted in you and the love you hold for all your people.  Your kindness be upon us this day as we raise our hearts to you.

(Jon.3:1-10;   Ps.51:3-4,12-13,18-19;   Lk.11:29-32)

“At the preaching of Jonah they reformed.”

Let us learn from the people of Ninevah, who heeded the message of repentance given Jonah.  At Jonah’s cry they “believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.”  Even the king “laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes” in hopes of averting the destruction he knew God held in hand for his wayward city.  He decrees that “every man shall turn from his evil way” and “call loudly to God.”  Such utter repentance!  Such turning from sin!  And this from a pagan king and a pagan nation.

If Ninevah has so believed in God, if it has so recognized its sin before Him and turned so dramatically back to Him, pleading for His mercy, what should we not do, brothers and sisters, in this time of Lent set aside for the cleansing of our sins, we who have Jesus’ preaching now ringing in our ears and calling to our hearts?  Indeed, we must again and continually cry out to God with David for His mercy to come upon us.  Ever with “a contrite and humbled heart” we must sit before Him recognizing our sin.  For always our sin is with us, however much we might be ignorant of our guilt as we live our lives in vain.  “Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me,” must be our eternal plea, for we are in continual danger of going away from Him.

Let us not be afraid to humble ourselves before God and man.  Let us seek nothing else but the wisdom of Christ, the call of the cross to our souls.  In humility, in sackcloth and ashes, let us prostrate ourselves before the true king who will come at the judgment to discern the worth of all souls.  Perhaps He will have mercy.  Perhaps He will “withhold His blazing wrath.”  Perhaps the punishment we deserve He may avert and “we shall not perish.”  Upon the soul He finds His cross inscribed, He shall take pity, my friends.

O Lord, we have sinned and done what is evil in your sight.  In your infinite mercy look upon our broken hearts, and help us to reform our lives.  For you alone are God.

*******

O LORD, your Son is greater than any prophet or king;

let us listen to Him as He calls us to repentance.

YHWH, let us be humble before you and your Word.  Let us repent at the preaching of your holy ones.  May your Son be a sign for us that we shall not forget – you are calling us to your kingdom, and to find our way there we must turn away from all sin.

O LORD, let us not fail to take this time to reform our lives; let us not be deaf and blind to the grace you offer forth to all men.  May we know true contrition for the wrongs we have done – O let our hearts be circumcised!  You desire to forgive us, if we would but leave off our evil ways.

We shall all indeed be destroyed if we do not heed your saving Word.  May your prophets cry out the message of the Gospel, and may all your holy ones cover themselves in sackcloth and sit in the ashes… may all fast from the poisonous food this world offers.  Then our spirits shall be renewed.  Then no judgment will come upon us.  Then we shall live forever with you.

(Is.55:10-11;   Ps.34:4-7,16-19;   Mt.6:7-15)

“Give us today our daily bread.”

Our daily bread comes from the mouth of God; it is His Word that nourishes us.  His Word “water[s] the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to him who sows and bread to him who eats.”  By His Word our spiritual lives are anointed with holiness; the breath of His mouth makes us whole, and so we become fruitful in His Name.

Yes, we are sharers in His Word; it is His Word the just speak in their time of need.  “Crushed in spirit” before Him like holy seed, their cry comes to His ears and the rain He sends upon them saves them from all sin, “deliver[s] [them] from all fears.”  Jesus, the Word made flesh, is true, and His words are true: “Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him”; and so the Father is quick to hear when we enter into His Word and call upon His Name in all humility.  It is this humility which makes us fertile earth, this trust in His will that lifts our faces toward His light, that we “may not blush with shame.”  “Look to Him that you may be radiant with joy,” O sinner.  “Glorify the Lord” and “extol His name,” for with you He shares His Spirit; in you He plants the Word that grows to eternal life.

Father in heaven, you alone are holy, and your Name is life to us.  Let “your kingdom come,” let “your will be done,” for apart from you we wither and die.  Make our earth your heaven; bring to us all the blessings you know we need to live ever in your light.  Feed us with your bread, feed us with your Word – your Son is all the food we need.  And for all “the wrong we have done,” as He has taught us, let us find our forgiveness by releasing from all bondage those who have done wrong to us, by loving our enemies.  In the end we pray, O Lord, that temptation be taken from our path; though we treasure your chastising Hand, let us not falter anymore – “deliver us from the evil one” who lurks in this world seeking the ruin of our souls.

O Lord, our lives are in your hands.  Our hearts are given life by you.  In our prayer let us not imitate the vain words of the pagans, but let us join in the Spirit with your Son and become one in the Word with you.  (Help me to remember your Name.)

(I witness here that however many times I speak the Lord’s Prayer, as however many times I attend Holy Mass, by the grace that comes through the Spirit, it is ever new and alive with the blessings that come from above.  These words are a gift to us we must cherish in our souls.)

*******

O LORD, may the grace of your forgiveness

flow upon us and through us

and so bear the fruit of salvation. 

YHWH, your Word be upon us to bless us and nourish us this day that our words might be fruitful as your own.  With your Son and by the words He has instructed us to pray, let us come to you and find your presence upon us, saving us from sin and leading us to your kingdom.  From the grasp of the evil one let us be released as we call upon your Name.

How shall we be fed this day, O LORD, if not by your hand, if not by the Spirit you send forth from your holy throne?  From on high you shower down upon us cleansing rain that we might be made whole and fruitful in your sight, that we might be as your Son on this earth, bringing your kingdom to bear on this plane.  O let us be as your sons and daughters, shining your light in this dark place!

Hear us as we call to you, LORD.  Deliver us from all distress and affliction.  Let our poor souls be blessed by you that we might ever praise your holy Name.  O Father in Heaven, let us be with you this day.

O Rock of the Church,

leader of God’s people

to whom the Father has revealed

the divinity of His Son

and on whom the Son has therefore

built His Church,

giving you the keys to the kingdom,

the power to bind and loose

both on earth and in Heaven,

that the ship you steer

might conquer all Satan’s power

by the power of the Spirit

with which you serve your brothers,

secure in the blessed protection

and guidance of the Lord –

pray the Church you do yet lead

shall fulfill the call

the Christ has placed

upon every soul

and that we shall come to our heavenly home

in the light of the Messiah.

Pray we shall indeed be strong

and give faithful witness to our Savior. 

(1Pt.5:1-4;   Ps.23:1-6;   Mt.16:13-19)

“On this rock I will build my Church.”

And Simon’s name is changed to “Peter”, which means “Rock”, to signify that here is the chief shepherd of the Church, upon whom the Church on earth rests.  It is he to whom Jesus gives “the keys to the kingdom of heaven.”  Though all the apostles are given the power to bind and loose, it is Peter who leads – “a fellow elder” among all the elders and yet the one who speaks for all.

It is not by man’s decision that Peter is the Rock of the Church, but by the word of the Lord Himself.  Just as “no mere man ha[d] revealed” to him that Jesus is “the Messiah… the Son of the living God,” so no mere man works through him today as our Pope guides the ship that is the Church by the power of the Holy Spirit.  It is led by the Church and its teachings we are guided “in right paths.”  It is as we dwell in this “house of the Lord” that we are protected from all harm.  “The Lord is my shepherd,” and the Shepherd of all, and into the hands of Peter and the apostles He places care for His flock.

How well this first among equals instructs his fellow shepherds today in his letter: “God’s flock is in your midst; give it a shepherd’s care.”  How well does Peter answer the Lord’s call to strengthen his brothers, to see that His sheep are fed.  The key pitfalls of “coercion” and “shameful profit” and “lording it over those assigned” to them, he warns them clearly against, and reminds them of “the unfading crown of glory” that awaits them.  It is they who must give “courage” to the flock, they who anoint heads with oil to make the cup of the Church overflow, even here on earth… and as they are faithful, they are Christ’s own special children.

To those who still doubt the primacy of Peter and its absolute necessity, I invite you to read again Scripture and notice how often and always Peter speaks for the whole and acts for the whole body as he does today.  It is to all the apostles Jesus asks, “Who do you say that I am?” and though all may have faith, only one speaks up and answers in no uncertain terms.  As he does at the first council at Jerusalem, as he did in coming to the Lord on the water, Peter speaks and leads in the power of the Spirit.  The Church is one in Christ, and it has one rock it is set upon.

Written, read & chanted, and produced by Carie Fortney.

Music by Carie Fortney; used by permission.

*******

O blessed reformer of the Church

who by a holy austerity

cleansed your soul

of the corruption of this world

and served by example

to lead others to a religious life –

teach us this day

of the chastising hand of God

and the suffering which leads

to joy,

that in the will of the Lord

we might all be purged

of our dross

and come to the kingdom of Heaven.

Pray that we, too, might realize

and so benefit from

the blessing upon us

when our souls are lashed

with pains

that threaten sorrow,

for He does but wish to lift us

from the sinfulness of this passing earth

to the consolation of His presence.

(Gn.9:8-15;   Ps.25:4-9;   1Pt.3:18-22;   Mk.1:12-15) 

“I set my bow in the clouds

to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”

In times past God made a covenant with Noah and his sons once they had come from the ark “that the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all mortal beings,” that they and those who would descend from them, indeed all races of men, should experience such devastation no more.  And the sign of the rainbow He has given “for all ages to come,” that His covenant shall not be forgotten.

This promise is a reassuring one, even if not by water but by fire we know this earth shall yet be destroyed.  But a greater promise than this certainly we have, one for which this covenant is but a shadow.  For now we have “Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him.”  Through His resurrection from the dead He now shines in the firmament more brightly than any rainbow, and indeed in Him all races of men meet again and find their hope, not only that they shall not be destroyed from the earth, but that they shall know everlasting salvation in heaven.  Even “the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient when God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark,” have this word preached to them.

“The kingdom of God is at hand.”  Yes, the salvation of the Lord has been set firmly in our hearts, even as the rainbow God set in the heavens.  He has remembered His “love” and “compassion” which “are from of old” and in His “goodness” has fulfilled them in His only Son.  Though Jesus has had to suffer death for our sakes, yet death is remembered no more as we gaze upon His resurrected form – as the bow after the rain, so does His glory shine after the death of this flesh.  And though the flood “prefigured Baptism,” yet Baptism in the name of the Lord and into His death and resurrection is so much more, for “it is not a removal of dust from the body but an appeal to God for a clear conscience” with which we are blessed now.

And so, brothers and sisters, let us find the “life in the Spirit” to which our Savior, come from the desert of our sin, now leads us.  Let us fix our eyes upon His resurrection glory, even as we experience the death of the body.

Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt.

Music: "Miracle" (second half) from Listening to the Lamp, ninth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt.

*******

O LORD, let your kindness and compassion

be fulfilled in our midst this day;

let us turn from our sins to walk with Jesus

on the way to you.

YHWH, your Son has come to suffer and die and be raised to new life that we might be led from our sinful state to union with you in Heaven.  Truly, your kingdom has walked among us in the Person of Jesus; truly, your kingdom is now at hand.  Like a bow in the clouds is His resurrection from the dead – let us keep our eyes fixed on Him that truly we shall enter your reign.

You are of compassion, LORD, and your love is from of old.  It is this love you would share with the humble, and so you call us to follow in your ways.  By repentance we shall come to you, and that we might receive this grace your Son cries out to our souls.  Let us follow Him on the way of the Cross that the new day shall be ours.

Your promise of eternal life is our treasure, LORD, our hope in a fallen world.  And you are faithful to your promise – in Jesus we shall never be destroyed.

(Is.58:9-14;   Ps.86:1-6,11;   Lk.5:27-32)

“Repairer of the breach,” they shall call you,

“restorer of ruined homesteads.”

“Levi gave a great reception for Jesus in his house,” but it is Jesus who invites him, and all sinners, “to a change of heart” and to join Him in the home He makes for us all in heaven.  As Levi (or Matthew) has done, so must we all: we must leave our “customs post,” that which roots us to this world – we must stand up and follow Him.

“You, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.”  David makes his prayer in our psalm, coming to the Lord as one “afflicted and poor,” begging the Lord’s pity upon his soul.  And there is confidence that his cry is answered, that his soul is gladdened; for the promise has been made through Isaiah that “He will renew [our] strength,” that we “shall be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails.”  All that He has broken down in His anger against us and against our sins shall be raised up again: “The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake, and the foundations from ages past you shall raise up.”  As we turn to Him and “call the sabbath a delight… not following [our] ways, seeking [our] own interests, or speaking with malice,” we shall indeed “delight in the Lord” and in His inheritance; He shall indeed “nourish [us] with the heritage of Jacob” – the food He gives us will far surpass the bread upon the table at Levi’s banquet.  For it is upon His own Body we shall feed, and so find ourselves renewed in spirit and strengthened for the kingdom of heaven.

The Lord comes to invite all “sick people” to His healing grace.  All who turn from their sins shall be acceptable to Him.  And in His House they shall find a place, and be nourished well.  “Even on the parched land” they shall find the water of life, for His grace extends to all places and all peoples.  And with the bread we bestow on the hungry we ourselves shall be fed, for by this labor we shall unite with Him.  “The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”  Let us find the mercy His words desire for us.

*******

O LORD, help us to recognize our sin

and call upon you for healing,

that your House might be rebuilt. 

YHWH, teach us to turn from our sin, from following our own ways, that we might follow your Son where He leads, that we might come to Him for healing this day.  Let us come into your light and there remain.

You will renew us, LORD, if we do well, for it is your desire to share your mercy with us and make us as your own again.  Though in ruins our lives stand, though all seem lost because of our sin, when we call out to you, you hear us and gladden our souls with your refreshing love.

When Jesus comes to us, O LORD – as He shall come to all to heal us of all illness – when He stands before us and invites us to follow Him, may we be as Matthew and leave all of this world behind and set our hearts on obedience to His voice.  May we invite Him in to the table of our bodies and our souls that He might feed us always with His Word and with the Bread He is, and that we might thus feed others.  O let us be nourished well and be as a watered garden!

(Is.58:1-9;   Ps.51:3-6,18-19;   Mt.9:14-15)

“Would that today you might fast

so as to make your voice heard on high!”

Brothers and sisters, in this day of fasting and penance, first we must “acknowledge [our] offense” as David in our psalm.  We must cry out to our God: “Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight.”  This is our leaven of truth.  “A contrite spirit, a heart contrite and humbled” the Lord cannot resist.  It is this heart the Lord answers; it is prayer of this soul He hears – to this “cry for help… He will say: Here I am!”

“When the day comes that the groom is taken away, then they will fast.”  We “go in mourning” when Jesus is no longer in our midst.  What does this then say of our fast?  For though the Lord may be with us always in the power of the Spirit, yet He is physically taken from us now till the end of time.  Our fast must therefore be a permanent condition all the while we walk this earth.  And so true is this if we understand the Lord’s definition of a fast as revealed in our first reading from Isaiah: “This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly… sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless, clothing the naked… and not turning your back on your own.”  And what sense it makes that this be our fast now that Jesus is gone, for are we not His children here, called to carry out His mission in this world?  Are not these the very things He instructs us to do in His stead for the least of His brothers who suffer now?  On this earth here at the end of the age we should be engaged in fasting always.

And if we pray with a sincere heart, and if we do the will of the Lord in all things, what promise He makes to us: “Your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed…  The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.”  All we ask shall be given us; all we seek we shall find in Him.  And so, what shall our fasting be for us but pure joy, even as we become one with the Lord our God?

A blessed call is upon us now, one which makes our voices known to Him.  Let us “remove from [our] midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech.”  Let us denounce any “quarreling and fighting” that keeps us from Him, and see that His will is done in our lives.  Then indeed He shall hear us; then by this death to sin we shall come to the glory of our God.

*******

O LORD, what can we do but fast

now that your Son has been taken from us? –

let us do His work, stand in His stead,

laying down our lives for all in need. 

YHWH, your Son has been taken from us, and so, on this day we fast.  He no longer walks among us, and so we must be as His presence.  We must free the oppressed and feed the hungry, doing the works He did while He was in our midst.  And if we do this, we shall be pleasing in your sight, as He was, and so be blessed.

With a contrite heart let us come to you, O LORD, recognizing our faults and failures to serve you as we ought.  Instead of laying down our lives in humble service of those in need of your Word and your Bread, we have spoken ill of our brother and been oppressors ourselves.  And so, any offering we have made has been in vain.  And so we have but served to separate ourselves from you and your compassion.

O LORD, let us not continue blind to our wickedness but seek each day to convert our hearts to your call to be as your Son and live His way of sacrifice for the sake of others.

(Dt.30:15-20;   Ps.1:1-4,6,39:5;   Lk.9:22-25)

“The Lord watches over the way of the just,

but the way of the wicked vanishes.”

In our first reading, Moses makes clear the choice we all must face: “I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse.”  “By loving the Lord… heeding His voice, and holding fast to Him,” the Israelites will be blessed with “long life” in the Promised Land; they “will live and grow numerous” by “loving Him and walking in His ways.”  This will be life for them.  “If, however, [they] turn away [their] hearts and will not listen… [they] will certainly perish.”  The promise to them will soon die if they walk “in the way of sinners.”

Life and death.  The blessing and the curse.  The just and the wicked.  To the Israelites the promise that they would be “like a tree planted near running water” if they followed the commandments of the Lord referred quite literally, quite physically, to the blessing of long life and enjoying the fruits of the earth.  It showed itself in the numbers of people in the nation and the land they were given to occupy.  When they were cursed, their kingdom was torn down and the land taken away from them.  They became “like chaff which the wind drives away” when they were forced into exile from the lands of Judah and Israel.

What is the land we must so treasure today, brothers and sisters?  What place are we called to preserve by following in the way of the Lord?  For now he “who gains the whole world” will likely “destroy himself in the process.”  Now our sights, our hopes, can no longer be set on the physical universe.  Jesus has come.  The Son of Man walks in our midst.  And His presence, His flesh, makes the heavenly homeland our desire – it is this which is now our Promised Land.  It is the number born into this kingdom which now causes our hearts to rejoice.  It is this blessing that now comes to him “who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on His law day and night.”

And the Lord makes clear what “the way of the just” now entails.  Our gospel tells us “Jesus said to all” – not just to His disciples, but to all who would find the blessing, would find life – “Whoever wishes to be my follower must deny his very self, take up his cross each day, and follow in my steps.”  And His steps include enduring “many sufferings,” being “put to death” and then being “raised up on the third day.”  Now it is death that leads to life.  Now this world must be left behind.  Now, though we love all – even our enemies – and everything upon it, we must leave the earth we have held so dear.  The command is the same (to renounce all sin and love God), but now the prize is much greater, and so the way there much more narrow.  But the Lord blesses our every step toward Him. 

*******

O LORD, let us remain in you and in your Son,

walking the way of His Cross

that we might not lose our souls

but gain the life of Heaven. 

YHWH, may we find not only long life on the land but eternal life in your heavenly kingdom by our turning away from all sin and following your Son on the way of the Cross.  Let us be dead to all the distractions of this wicked world that we might dwell with you alone.

Death comes to the wicked, LORD, death that spells the demise of his soul, of his life in you who are Life itself.  And so, how shall he live anymore if apart from you?  And so, what is his life then worth?  It is indeed like chaff driven away by the wind.

But those who take their refuge in you, who meditate on your Word and the Word that is your Son, these you prosper in all they do, for all they do is in your will and so cannot but receive your blessing, the blessing of your living presence, LORD.

Let us choose this day to live in you and never to turn our backs to your call to love.  Laying down our lives, O LORD, may we be carried by your angels.

O seven men

who lived as one

in service of the Lord

under the mantle of Our Lady,

you who left everything of this world,

all you bought and sold,

that you might discover the riches

of Heaven:

to the mountain you went

to find perfection –

to the mountain let us come

to live with God.

Led by the prompting of our Lord and Lady,

let us, too, be fruitful on this plane,

founded in humility and love and poverty,

living as one in the Body of Christ,

freely giving our lives

and so knowing the blessing

of the virtues upon which you fed.

Pray for us through our Mother

that we too follow the call of her Son.

(Jl.2:12-18;   Ps.51:3-6,12-14,17;   2Cor.5:20-6:2;   Mt.6:1-6,16-18)

“Even now, says the Lord,

return to me with your whole heart,

with fasting, and weeping, and mourning.”

“We implore you, in Christ’s name: be reconciled to God!” Paul exclaims; and the people of God today raise a cry, rending their hearts, begging His forgiveness… turning from their sins to find His healing grace.

The trumpet is blown in Zion; the people are gathered as one.  Now “let the bridegroom quit his room, and the bride her chamber.  Between the porch and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep.”  For now is the time of mourning, now is the time of prayer… now is the time to cry with David, “Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me.”  For now as we “acknowledge [our] offense” we find how “gracious and merciful is He”; now “the joy of [His] salvation” returns to us as “a clean heart” He creates for us, as His Holy Spirit He instills in our souls.  Yes, “Now is the acceptable time!  Now is the day of salvation!”  And so let us cry out to our Lord: “Spare, O Lord, your people!”

The Lord will hear us, brothers and sisters; He will be quick to respond, as long as we are careful “not to receive the grace of God in vain.”  As Jesus said to His disciples, so He says to us: “Be on guard against performing religious acts for people to see.”  Only such vanity will prevent our finding the “recompense from our heavenly Father.”  Yes, we must give alms.  Yes, we must pray.  Yes, we must fast.  But listen to the Lord’s instruction to “keep your deeds of mercy secret,” to “pray to your Father in private,” and to make sure “no one can see you are fasting but your Father who is hidden.”  For then indeed “your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you” for your sacrifice.  But if your offering is one to impress the eyes of man, be sure the eyes of God do not look upon it and it shall find no blessing in His sight.

The time has come, the time of great mercy.  As we call upon our God, “in the greatness of [His] compassion [He will] wipe out [our] offense.”  In Jesus and in His sacrifice for our sin we might now “become the very holiness of God.”  May we find now the Lord “stirred to concern for His land and [taking] pity on His people.”  May we find His grace at work in our souls as now we give ourselves to Him.

Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt.

Music: "The Sackcloth Song" from Remove the Mask of Lies, second album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt.

*******

O LORD, you see what is hidden;

let there be in our hearts no sin

but only your heavenly presence. 

YHWH, against you we have sinned, against you and your love.  We have turned our backs to you and our guilt is with us always.  But you are merciful and offer opportunity for repentance.  You are good and kind and allow us to return to you.  Help us to rend our hearts and weep in your presence, that we might know the healing touch of your forgiving hand.

Wash us thoroughly from our fault; let it no more be known in your sight, O LORD.  Now is the acceptable time for repentance – in Jesus you will hear our pleas.  O let His sacrifice be fruitful in your sight that we might be holy in Him this day!

And let our offering be acceptable to you as well.  May our fasting and praying and almsgiving bring down your blessings upon us.  Make us sincere, dear LORD, in our love for you and one another.  Let us lay down our lives with your Son and know your presence in our souls.  Spare us this day, O God; let us know the greatness of your mercy.

(Gn.6:5-8,7:1-5,10;   Ps.29:1-4,9-11;   Mk.8:14-21)

“The voice of the Lord is over the waters,

the Lord, over vast waters.”

“Mighty” indeed is the voice of God, but who can hear it?  Who listens to its “majestic” ringing in their ears?

In the time of Noah the Lord’s “heart was grieved,” for He “saw how great was man’s wickedness on earth, and how no desire that his heart conceived was ever anything but evil.”  So great was the Lord’s grief over man’s disobedience that He uttered the saddest words we could hear: “I am sorry I made them,” and resolved to “wipe [them] out from the earth.”  If we have not pleased our Father, what hope have we of life?  If we have not listened to His voice, what can we hear but a sentence of condemnation?

It seems Jesus’ heart is grieved, too, today at His disciples’ ignorance of His instruction.  Here in a boat upon the waters His voice chastises their slowness to comprehend His call to wakefulness in the Spirit: “Are your minds completely blinded?  Have you eyes but no sight?  Ears but no hearing?” and finally, “Do you still not understand?”  And though He seems eminently frustrated by the fact that their vision is still trained so stubbornly on the bread of earth rather than the Bread of heaven, though they so quickly forget the miracles He has worked and the power He has revealed, yet He shall not remove them from His sight, but continue in patience with their schooling. 

For just as “Noah found favor with the Lord” and thus served to salvage our race from utter destruction, so the Lord’s apostles have found favor with Him.  And Jesus knows that as “Noah did just as the Lord had commanded him,” putting complete faith in God’s word, so these disciples will also in strength and in faith carry out His mission after His own death and resurrection, after His ascension into heaven… and with the Holy Spirit’s power upon them.  As in Noah’s ark God keeps man’s “issue alive over all the earth,” preserving them from the flood, so now in the barque of Peter “all the [Lord’s] household” takes refuge from the fiery destruction that is coming upon the world in these the last days.

Like the “one loaf” the disciples hold in their hands is the Church of the Lord – it is all that is needed for food in this world.  And so as we sail along to the farther shore, let us listen to God’s mighty voice speaking through Her.  As the end approaches, be sure to heed the Lord’s instruction: “Keep your eyes open!”  Beware the hypocrisy and pride of the powers that be.

*******

O LORD, how shall we be just in your sight

and begin to understand your majesty and glory?

YHWH, you are majestic, exalted far above earth and sea and every living creature.  But we are deaf and blind to your ways, and so, beset by wickedness.  How shall we hear your mighty voice calling to us over the waters, calling to us in your Son?  How shall we heed the thunder of your glory and praise you in your Temple with full voice?  How do we begin to understand what is far beyond our poor minds?

Send your Spirit upon us, LORD, that we might know and eat the Bread that is your Son, that we might be saved from the destruction that is coming upon all living things.  Into your Ark let us come, into your holy Church; with your apostles let us dwell, enlightened by your teaching and sharing in your food.

The Bread of Heaven make our own, LORD, that we might rise above the earth to where you dwell enthroned in glory and majesty with your only Son.

The sign the Pharisees seek is essentially one they would make with their own hands, one which they would find at their command.  But “no such sign will be given” them, for then truly would they be condemned.  They must come to the sign Jesus is and accept it as the Lord God offers – their attempts to control the Father’s will are perhaps the most tragic of transgressions.  They say, as does Cain, that God must accept matters their way and are not humble to His Son’s teaching.  And so, sadly for them, “He left them” there on the shore alone, burning in their jealousy.

Fight the demons, brothers and sisters.  Ward off sin in all its forms.  The Lord promises we shall have the strength, if we are willing to turn from our sins and accept His chastising word… and wash ourselves in His cleansing blood.  But if we remain “resentful” and so “deaf” to the Lord’s correction, what shall save our souls?  And with Cain we will wander restlessly the earth, avoiding the glorious presence of the Lord. 

*******

O LORD, we are a jealous race;

forgive our shedding the blood of our Brother.

YHWH, how sinful we are!  How we turn our hand against our brother, inflicting upon him the punishment for our guilt.  In condemning others we seek to rid ourselves of the condemnation we deserve; but this only brings the punishment on our own heads.  Help us to admit our sin and turn away from it!

Killing our Brother will not free us from the death upon our souls.  O LORD, how can we be so blind, so hardhearted, as to think such wickedness is our salvation?  Jesus comes to us as our Brother, as the one closest to us and most concerned for our well-being… but we cannot bear to hear His voice speaking of our need to turn away from sin, and so, what can we do but kill Him?  O set us free from bloodguilt!

Accept the sacrifice of a pure heart, dear God; make our offering to you sincere.  Our very hearts let us give in the service of our brother.

O brothers in the faith

who brought that same faith

to the peoples

entrusted to your care,

who extended the reach of the Church,

gathering in lands

under her holy roof

and into her blessed arms…

faithful you were unto death

in proclaiming the word of God –

please pray that we, too,

shall be holy brothers of Christ,

offering our work, our lives,

for the sake of the nations

yet to be called

into His fold,

for the sake of peoples

unfamiliar with His Word,

that the heavenly kingdom

may come to fulfillment

and all be made one in God’s presence.

(Lv.13:1-2,44-46;   Ps.32:1-2,5,7,11;   1Cor.10:31-11:1;   Mk.1:40-45) 

“I said, ‘I confess my faults to the Lord,’

and you took away the guilt of my sin.” 

The leper in our gospel confesses his faults to the Lord when he says, “If you wish, you can make me clean,” for by these words he recognizes that “he is in fact unclean” – that he is a sick man in need of a physician.  And Jesus takes away the guilt of his sin when He responds, “I do will it.  Be made clean.”  For by a mere word from His mouth we are purged.

That the sinner should cry out his guilt is evident even in the ancient Book of Leviticus; it gives specific instructions for the actions of the leper, whose sin has made him unclean: “The one who bears the sore of leprosy shall keep his garments rent and his head bare, and shall muffle his beard; he shall cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’  As long as the sore is on him he shall declare himself unclean.”  Here is a graphic representation of the way we sinners should present ourselves to the Lord.  Like the leper who cries to Jesus on his knees, we should never hide our sin from the Lord; our “guilt [should be] covered not.”  For the Lord indeed sees all things – nothing is hidden from Him – so we fool only ourselves if we attempt to hide; and He can’t heal us of our affliction if we do not come into His light.  We must come before Him in all humility for the poison upon our souls, and He will save us from our sin.

How sincere is the leper’s contrition to move the Lord to such immediate pity!  How pitiable indeed he is, as to a final hope for cleansing waters he comes with head bowed to the earth, his years of suffering evident in his shaking voice.  Whimpering like a dog he humbles himself before the Lord… and a tear we find in Jesus’ eye – inevitably He reflects our penitence in His grace.  Let your heart break before Him!  Bleed before the Lord who bleeds for you!  Expose your sores to His eyes and His light shall cure them all.

Finally, brothers and sisters, let us indeed “be imitators” of Paul, “not seeking [our] own benefit but that of the many, that they may be saved,” that people will keep “coming to [Jesus] from everywhere” to find the healing of their “sore of leprosy,” to discover salvation from their sins.  For He does “will it” for everyone – the redemption of all He holds in His arms of sacrifice.  Let all souls show themselves to His priests; let all confess their sins openly, that reconciliation with God and one another all may know.  O Lord, take away the sin from my soul!  (Thank you for the sacrament you leave with us.)

Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt.

Music: "Be Well" from Cleansing Human Frailty, fourth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt.

*******

O LORD, take away the guilt of our sin

and return us to your fold

that we might declare your glory to all.

YHWH, let us not dwell apart from you but forgive us our sins and let us return to your presence.  Your Son leaves your side for a time to save us from our exile; may His sacrifice bring healing to all this day.

We are all unclean in your sight, O LORD; before you we come on our knees begging to be relieved of our guilt.  Heal the sore upon our souls, which would spell our death – stretch out your hand and make us clean.

How merciful is your Son, LORD.  How perfectly He reflects your compassion for the sinner.  He is moved with pity at our contrition; He shares our tears as His own.  O let all souls press upon Him for salvation!

And let us all reflect His love in all we do, giving glory to you in all things.  Let our tongues follow the confession of our faults with praise of your goodness…  Let us become as Jesus, LORD, laying down our lives that all might be saved and return to you.

(Gn.3:9-24;   Ps.90:1-6,12-13;   Mk.8:1-10)

“You are dust,

and to dust you shall return.”

Because of the fall we come face-to-face with this truth: our own mortality, our own humility, that we are but a creature made from the dust of the earth.  And this truth we must understand.  Because we have “eaten from the tree of which [God] had forbidden [us] to eat,” “thorns and thistles” the earth brings forth for us and “by the sweat of [our] face shall [we] get bread to eat,” until we learn our place – for our own sakes – before our Creator, or “until we return to the ground, from which we were taken.”

“Cursed be the ground because of you!” the Lord God exclaims to the man.  The womb of the woman, like the earth for man, shall bring her pain in bearing children, in bearing her fruit… and the serpent shall eat dust “all the days of [his] life.”  If now we should eat of the tree of life, to what state would we be condemned!  How shall we be saved from such a fate, wherein our own flesh brings upon us such pangs – how shall we escape ourselves?  And how shall we look upon God again?

“Teach us to number our days aright,” our psalmist cries, “that we may gain wisdom of heart.”  And what is he asking but that we realize, as God would teach us, that though He is “from everlasting to everlasting,” that though for Him “a thousand years are as… a watch of the night,” we are “like the changing grass, which at dawn springs up anew, but by evening wilts and fades.”  So passing is our life.  This indeed we must comprehend, for this is truth, and failing to understand it we shall not find answer to our prayer: “Return, O Lord!  How long?  Have pity on your servants!”  But knowing our limitations before our God, He comes quickly to remedy our weakness.

See how Jesus looks upon those who “were without anything to eat,” those whose bodies fainted before His eyes.  Listen to the thought of His heart: “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd.  By now they have been with me three days and have nothing to eat.  If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way.  Some of them have come a great distance.”  Oh how the Lord has pity on us!  Oh how He knows our plight – that we are but fading grass, having been far removed from His sight!  And how He wills to feed us, to nourish those who come to Him, who share the “three days” of His trial.  For though they toiled not, “the people in the crowd ate their fill” in the most peaceful of fields.  The Lord had come to save them!  And now eternal life is upon them.

Brothers and sisters, we need no longer fear our dying flesh, for the Lord feeds us with Bread that does not fail, that brings life eternal to the lowly body that eats it.  And so, no longer are we dust alone, though to dust our body may return.  But we become eternal souls in the hand of our Savior, eating from the tree of life He is.  In all humility let us receive His gift, His saving presence among us.  And to God we shall return, and now forever.

*******

O LORD, feed us with the Bread of life

that we might lie in the dust no more.

YHWH, have pity on our weakness, for our flesh is like the changing grass – we do but wilt and fade.  Weak in body and in spirit we find ourselves separated from you by our sins, by our disobedience to your command.  You care only for our good; let us come to you and remain with you till you take pity on our souls.

You give us food to eat, O LORD, even the body of your only Son.  Let us not prefer the food of this world or that which the devil offers.  If our eyes are opened unto death, if we but see our weakness, our nakedness before you, without realizing your eternal love… to what end shall we come?  We shall but return to dust.

Your punishments are good, LORD; your chastisements are what heal our tortured souls.  Let our suffering be joined to Jesus’ own, that we shall hunger for you alone, and in our humility you will be quick to feed us and return us to your fold.

(Gn.3:1-8;   Ps.32:1-2,5-7;   Mk.7:31-37)

“The eyes of both of them were opened,

and they realized that they were naked.”

How different this opening of the eyes of Adam and Eve is from the opening of the deaf man’s ears in our gospel; for our first parents’ eyes were opened unto blindness, but the deaf mute’s ears and tongue only to light.

Why this difference?  Why such contrast in the freeing of the senses to receive their signals?  Why is one evil and the other good?  The opening of the eyes of the man and the woman brings their downfall because they are not prepared for what they see.  They seek to be “like gods who know what is good and what is bad,” but they have not the skins to hold such wine of wisdom.  And so they burst.  And so they died before the glorious light suddenly before them… and so “the man and his wife hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden,” for they could not show their faces of dust before His Face of Majesty.  (Indeed, the woman first erred when she “answered the serpent,” when she responded to his enticement, not realizing she was no match for his “cunning”… much as she failed to understand she is no match for God’s wisdom.)

On the other hand, the opening of the deaf man’s ears and the loosing of his tongue is prepared by Jesus Christ, He in whose presence we are able to see light itself, He who provides the new wineskins for our becoming like God, enabling us to stand before the wonder of His Holy Face.  Notice how “Jesus took him off by himself away from the crowd” before healing the deaf-mute; see how this contrasts with Adam and Eve’s hiding from God.  Where they would avoid the glance of the Lord, Jesus brings the man closer to Him by drawing him away from the crowds; and there, more perfectly in His presence, He heals him.  And the man is healed, of course, because he himself does not hide: he is brought openly by his friends to Jesus.  In this way he “acknowledged [his] sin” before God; his “guilt [he] covered not” (as the man and woman covered their nakedness with fig leaves).  No, in his “spirit there is no guile,” and so his “fault is taken away”; and so, paradoxically, he who “confess[es] his sin to the Lord,” as the humble King David, finds that by the Lord his “sin is covered” – he is forgiven.

Brothers and sisters, let us learn to open our tattered souls to our Lord and God, never to hide; for to hide is hell and the Lord calls us to Him in the light of heaven.  And He will prepare our eyes to see, and He will make our ears ready to hear, and our tongues shall be loosed to praise His name and exclaim our amazement at His grace… for we shall be released from the blindness of sin and be as His Son, who alone can answer the devil.

*******

O LORD, let us hear your voice calling us

to confess our sins and return to you this day.

YHWH, how terrible it is when we transgress your Word, when we rebel against your loving will!  We are blinded by our sin even as our eyes are opened to our weakness… and so we hide from your glory, which we cannot contain.

We have bodies, LORD.  You have made us so.  We are not like you, pure Spirit and perfect Light.  And how weak our bodies can be when we lack your secure protection, when we lose your presence with us by our failing to love you.  Who can save us from such travail?  Who can open our ears again to hear and heed your holy Word?

O LORD, as we confess our faults to you, as we come before your Son to seek His healing – He who comes to show us that we are like you (for He is like you and we like Him), He who would restore us to our place as your children, blessed to be in your image… then our nakedness is covered; it is taken away as we reveal our weakness before you.  Let us listen only to you!

O lovely Lady who appeared to Bernadette,

Mary, Blessed Virgin and Mother of our Lord –

let our eyes, too, see your beauty

and hear your voice

calling us to pray for sinners,

calling us to come to you with our prayers

and to wash ourselves clean

in the water you provide

through Jesus your Son.

O Immaculate Conception,

so pure, so full of grace,

cleanse all our sickness from us;

let us be immersed

in the bath of purity

that washes us of sin,

that makes us whole

in the sight of God.

If we but had innocent hearts

we would see you,

we would remember the blessing you are

to all faithful souls…

O let us come to you

and find the grace we need this day.

(Gn.2:18-25;   Ps.128:1-5;   Mk.7:24-30)

“A man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife,

and the two of them become one body.”

And Jesus leaves His Father’s side and His mother’s care, and takes to wife His chosen people.  From His side indeed we are born, and become His holy family.

To the “sons of the household” Jesus comes; among the Israelites He walks, calling them to His table to eat the food of eternal life, of eternal union with Him and His Father.  Those who were conceived by God, who were taken as a rib from His own side and formed as His special bride, Jesus seeks to bring to full nuptial blessing in Him.  For this He would even die (as any man should for his wife).  But one “approached Him and crouched at His feet” who was not among those called to the “table first,” who was not of the family of the Chosen.  Unfazed by His rebuff she continues begging, not for “the food of the children” but just for their “leavings,” their crumbs, knowing even this will be enough to join her to His banquet, believing only a word from His mouth will save her own daughter from the devil’s clutches and bring her to His sacred presence.

And moved is He by her who is unmoved by His rebuke.  And so, “when she got home, she found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.”  And so she finds herself and her family wed to Jesus the Christ.  Why?  Because she is one who does indeed “fear the Lord,” who does in fact “walk in His ways”; crawling on her knees before Him, she finds herself “happy” and “favored,” eating “the fruit of [her] handiwork.”  She knows she is not one of the “wild animals” or of the “birds of the air”: she is made in God’s image, a human being, and is inextricably drawn to His side, the side from which she has been born… and thus she finds her life and becomes with her daughter (with all us Gentile people) one of the “olive plants around [His] table,” grafted onto His “fruitful vine.”

Let man love woman as his own flesh, and let all men love one another as fellow children, for our Father in heaven loves us all much more greatly and draws us all to be wed to Him through our Bridegroom, His only Son.  As His side is opened by the lance and so we His Church are born in His blood, washed clean by His holy water, so let husbands give themselves for their wives, knowing they are “taken from” their own sides.  Yes, let us all die for one another that the love of God might extend to “the recesses of [His] home,” from which no soul is excluded.  In His blessed marriage feast let us all shout for joy!

*******

O LORD, blessed are those

who humble themselves before you;

they shall be joined to you.

YHWH, flesh of your flesh we are; flesh of your flesh let us be, wed to you through the flesh of your only Son.  One with you let us dwell forever, for from you our very lives taken.

And help us thus to love one another, LORD.  If you love us so much to give us yourself, let us then reflect your love and so give ourselves for the sake of others.  Let husbands love their wives and all souls serve the needs of others, finding great joy and blessing in thus serving your will.

To your table let all come, LORD, that they might share the food of your children, the Bread that is Jesus your Son, the Word that is your Spirit.  May all souls recognize the greatness and the goodness of Him who walks among us, and may we be hidden with Him in you and so become your fruitful children.  In faith let us be born and live in you and with you forever; let none be alone or apart from you.

O innocent soul,

pure as an angel,

meek as a lamb,

from slavery you were taken

to the house of God,

where freedom you found

in faith in the Lord –

pray for the freedom of all slaves

chained in soul or body,

that they shall be released

from the snares of this world

to walk at liberty with Jesus.

Pray His goodness reign

in all His children,

in all who would be

gentle as this Lamb;

may all those in need of His grace

hear His Word proclaimed,

and in His blood

be redeemed.

And pray His Mother watch over

all who are near or far from Him,

till they enter His presence.

(Gn.2:4-9,15-17;   Ps.104:1-2,27-30;   Mk.7:14-23)

“The Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground

and blew into his nostrils the breath of life,

and so man became a living being.”

In addition, “out of the ground the Lord God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food.”  These would feed the body of the man.  But only spirit feeds the soul. 

Body and soul.  They meet in man and become one, yet one is the cause of life while the other passes.  When God formed man out of the clay of the ground, what He held in His hands was the body, and at the time it was dead.  Not until He breathed into him did man become alive: in this breath he found his soul.  And the time shall come when this form does rot, but not the soul.  Only in heaven will we have bodies that live eternally with our spirits (though certain saints – as did our Blessed Mother – may know this holy union even here on earth.)

And so does Jesus tell us “that nothing that enters a man from outside can make him impure,” and, to make this point graphically clear, adds, “It does not penetrate his being, but enters his stomach only and passes into the latrine.”  What is of the body is just so passing, and therefore of no consequence.  It is “what emerges from within a man” that “makes him impure.”  For sins such as “acts of fornication, theft, murder,” etc. are not the result of the food we eat, but of the thoughts in “the deep recesses of the heart.”  These are what make a man impure – or, by contrast, which will make him pure.  It is the soul that is capable of good or evil, not the body.  And even though it is eating of the fruit of “the tree of the knowledge of good and bad” that causes man’s downfall, this is not the result of the fruit itself, but of the covetousness and pride of man’s disobedience.  It is the ‘eating,’ the desire of the eye and the heart and the act which follows, which constitutes the sin, and not the fruit eaten.

Our psalmist speaks of the body and soul as well.  It is so that by the Lord we are “filled with good things,” that He gives us “food in due time,” food we need for our survival; but as the psalmist says of the soul, “If you take away their breath, they perish and return to the dust.”  How quickly we would die, in a moment or two, without the breath of God in our nostrils, without His Word to give us life.  And what great care we should take of the spirit that enters our beings.  May our souls ever be set upon our God and His teaching.  May our every thought and word and action be of Him, that we shall never be disobedient.  O Lord, “when you send forth your Spirit, [we] are created, and you renew the face of the earth.”  Give us your divine breath of life in our nostrils this day.

*******

O LORD, you make us of the clay of the earth,

but it is not the body that is of consequence

but the Spirit breathing within us –

let it be your own.

YHWH, it is you who make us of the clay of the ground and you who breathe the breath of life into our nostrils.  It is you who feed us in both body and spirit – you are our LORD and God.

It is you who care for us each day, O LORD, you who send your Son to take away our sins.  He reveals to us that it is not the flesh that gives life but the Spirit that is within; and He would cleanse us of all iniquity that we might stand as your sons always.

Though Jesus comes in the flesh and gives us of His flesh to eat, this food is not the passing kind but that which lasts unto eternal life.  And so, LORD, we pray that we shall embrace Him and the Word, the Spirit, He imparts to us.  Thus will we  be raised from the dust of death, from the chains that bind us to this earth, and rise with Him unto Heaven.

  Feed us with your Word, LORD, that we might be renewed and live forever in your Garden.    

(Gn.1:20-2:4;   Ps.8:2,4-9;   Mk.7:1-13)

“God created man in His image;

in the divine image He created him.”

At God’s word “the water teem[s] with an abundance of living creatures… birds fly beneath the dome of the sky,” and “the earth bring[s] forth all kinds of living creatures,” too.  And “God saw how good it was.”  Then God conceived the crown of His creation and said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”  And so, “little less than the angels He made him” and gave him “dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth.”  And all this was “very good” in God’s eyes.  Alleluia!

But what does man do with this ultimate blessing from His Creator: he takes the freedom and power placed in his hands and makes himself a slave to “cups and jugs and kettles,” forever trying to wash his hands clean of the sin upon them.  God gives man “rule over the works of [His] hands, putting all things under his feet,” and all man can do is trample upon them as he forgets the God who made him.

“How accurately Isaiah prophesied about [us] hypocrites when he wrote…  ‘Empty is the reverence they do me because they teach as dogmas mere human precepts.’”  Placing our traditions and practices above God’s commandments we lose sight of the glory upon us, of the majesty of God’s works around us, as we lock ourselves in a dark and empty room of our own making.  And all the creatures God has placed in our unclean hands suffer too, as our hearts turn from their stewardship to our selfish plottings.  And so, though we are crowned by God “with glory and honor,” we crown Him with thorns.

O Lord, “what is man that you should be mindful of him, or the son of man that you should care for him?”  Lord, come and restore us to our former glory.  Father, let us give you true honor.  May your Word be made fruitful in our lives and we become as your Son.  Let all be blessed and made holy again in your sight.  In Jesus’ blood please wash our hands, that we might help you build your peaceful kingdom.

*******

O LORD, may your Word be fulfilled in us;

may we who were created in your image

be recreated in the image of your Son,

washed clean in His blood.

YHWH, you place all things in our hands, and we but corrupt them.  Your glory and majesty you reflect in your creation, and especially in man, but he cares not well for your gift and abuses his dominion.  His hands are not subject to your will but soiled by his own, and so creation with them.

In your image you create us, LORD: what greater blessing could there be!  Like gods we are made to reflect your presence on this plane – why have we gone so astray?  And how shall we return to you?  Only by heeding the chastising word of your only Son, who speaks with your own authority.  Listening to Him we heed your commands; turning from Him we can only be condemned.

Thank you for all your blessings, LORD, for the beauty and goodness of your creation.  Most of all, we thank you for making us in your image.  Let us not nullify your word and remove ourselves from your presence, but honor you in all we do.

O innocent soul,

pure as an angel,

meek as a lamb,

from slavery you were taken

to the house of God,

where freedom you found

in faith in the Lord –

pray for the freedom of all slaves

chained in soul or body,

that they shall be released

from the snares of this world

to walk at liberty with Jesus.

Pray His goodness reign

in all His children,

in all who would be

gentle as this Lamb;

may all those in need of His grace

hear His Word proclaimed,

and in His blood

be redeemed.

And pray His Mother watch over

all who are near or far from Him,

till they enter His presence.

O soldier for the Lord

and servant of the poor

who trusted in God alone

and gave your life

for those in need –

may we, too, become friends of the one Lord,

purified of all dross

by the trials we endure

and by doing His will

in this world.

His children let us become

as we care for the children

most in need,

those who seem abandoned

by Him.

His hands and His heart

let us be,

that in such love

we shall be free

of all fear and separation

from the Father

and so dwell with those we serve

in the peace of Heaven.

(Jb.7:1-4,6-7;   Ps.147:1-6;   1Cor.9:16-19,22-23;   Mk.1:29-39)

“He heals the brokenhearted

and binds up their wounds.”

In our first reading, Job is about as brokenhearted as a man could be, beset entirely by the devil’s trials as he is.  “Swifter than a weaver’s shuttle” his complete loss of goods and family and his own health has come upon him.  And so he seems to see his days “come to an end without hope.”  More miserable a creature there could not be.

In our gospel we are told that “Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever” and that the people of the town in which Jesus found Himself “brought to Him all who were ill or possessed by demons.”  Surrounded is He with the afflictions man suffers, the weakness to which our fallen race is so prone.  It seems that all are indeed “brokenhearted” and wounded; as Simon Peter says upon finding the Lord praying in a deserted place the next morning: “Everyone is looking for you.”  All need so greatly the healing only He brings.

And He does heal all who come to Him.  As even before His birth into this world He served to set Job free from the clutches of Satan and grant him a new life which was beyond his hope; as Simon’s mother-in-law “He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up,” the fever fleeing His touch; as “He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and He drove out many demons” from those gathered at the door of the house where He stayed… so He continues “preaching and driving out demons,” not only throughout Galilee and all of Judea and all of Israel, but to this day to the ends of the earth through His holy Church.

Our Lord has become “a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible.”  Our weakness He has taken upon Himself to remove our weakness from us.  Our diseases, our darkness, our sin… our “months of misery” He has borne that He might heal us of all infirmities – that He might bind up our broken hearts.  Our salvation comes at the touch of His hand, at the breath of His mouth.  Let us rise and walk with Him, for the Dawn has come and His grace-filled blood is upon us.

Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt.

Music: ""This World of Sin" from Cleansing Human Frailty, fourth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt.

*******

O LORD, drive the demons from our souls,

heal our broken hearts,

that we might rise and offer you praise

all the days of our lives.

YHWH, has your Son not made Himself weak for our sakes?  Has He not freely given His life to save us from sin?  Does He not bind up our wounds and cast all demons from our midst?  He heals the brokenhearted who cry out to Him – let us eagerly seek the touch of His hand.

We gather around your Son, O LORD, for He is the door that leads to your presence.  Only He can save us from the misery of this dark world and redeem our troubled souls, and so let us praise your goodness to us as we draw near to Him.

We are all sick, LORD, all in the grip of a fever from which there seems no escape.  The devil would have us believe the wickedness that surrounds us is eternal, but we know the night shall soon come to an end.  Your light has already dawned upon us in the presence of your Son; let the grace of salvation be fulfilled in our midst.

O proclaimers of the faith

even unto death,

death on a cross,

you who have followed

in the way of our Lord

so completely,

loving your enemies

even as they killed you,

encouraging your brothers

even with your last breath –

may the blood you shed not be forgotten

by those of the nation in which you preached

and by all souls who seek God;

may it nourish the land

and bring it to bear much fruit

unto Heaven.

Pray that we who are so fearful here

may find the faith and courage

you displayed

and so be blessed with the same grace

that imparts the peace of the kingdom.

(Heb.13:15-17,20-21;   Ps.23:1-6;   Mk.6:30-34)

“The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.”

All things are cared for by the Lord; our work and our rest are in His hands.  Nothing need we fear.  No good desire goes unfulfilled – His sheep He loves.

Brothers and sisters, “through Christ may [the God of peace] carry out in you all that is pleasing to Him.”  Let Him guide you “in right paths” for the accomplishment of His will.  In “good deeds and generosity,” in obedience to superiors, in every intention of the heart, “continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips which acknowledge His name,” for this thanksgiving He desires before all deeds and in all deeds; such praise will ensure His blessing, and lead to greater praise, and so greater blessing!  Have every confidence that the Lord “will furnish you with all that is good, that you may do His will,” and rejoice always in all you accomplish by His grace.

See in our gospel that when “the apostles returned to Jesus and reported to Him all that they had done and what they had taught,” “He said to them, ‘Come by yourselves to an out-of-the-way place and rest a little.’”  They have done His work faithfully, and now He would give them rest; now He would refresh and renew their souls.  “Beside restful waters He leads me”: in a “boat by themselves” He takes them.  “In verdant pastures He gives me repose”: “to a deserted place” the boat goes.  And though upon arrival at their destination the people wait “like sheep without a shepherd” and so their work must resume, this does not distract from the promised rest which awaits the finishing of our work in this world, and indeed but emphasizes that our rest shall be complete only in heaven.

For now the Lord watches over.  Now He cares for us like needful sheep.  Now He takes upon Himself all our fears and burdens, and calls us to do the same for all.  What should we want?  What do we need when we do the Lord’s will?  In this laying down of our lives all is provided; in our work we take our rest, we eat our bread.  For He is with us with His “goodness and kindness”; He remains at our side even in darkness…  We become one with our Shepherd, and no further grace we desire.

*******

O LORD, in you alone we take our rest,

through the blood of your only Son.

YHWH, through Jesus may we carry out your will; washed in His blood may we be raised from the dead.  In Him let us take our refuge, and nothing shall be wanting to us.

In your Son all our needs are met, and this to overflowing.  For He has pity on all our weakness – O LORD, let us be obedient to our Shepherd!

LORD our God, let us praise you in all things, your NAME ever on our lips.  In all our work may we be blessed and brought into your heavenly presence.

You would give us rest, dear God; you call us to an out-of-the-way place to be with you.  May we find repose in your eternal kingdom after these days of toil are passed.

But even here you are with us, LORD, even in this dark place.  Your Son is the Shepherd who walks amongst His sheep, leading us ever to your side.

O good child of God

who gave your life so willingly

for the sake of Christ

and so wore His holy blood

upon your robes,

you who were blessed

to remain ever faithful to the Lord

even as those around you

turned from His presence –

pray for us this day

that our lives too

may be holy and blessed

as your own,

that we too might give witness to the Lord

with the same pure love

you did so readily show.

Pray we shall be wed to the Spouse

you so intimately knew

and thus become one with Him

and all His saints in Heaven.

May our lives also be good,

may they also be godly,

and may we, too, stand as others fall.

(Heb.13:1-8;   Ps.27:1,3,5,8-9;   Mk.6:14-29)

“I will never desert you, nor will I forsake you.”

A series of parallels we have today between our first reading and our gospel.  Paul instructs us in his letter to the Hebrews not to “neglect to show hospitality” to our “fellow Christians,” since we may be “entertain[ing] angels” thereby; but it is not angels Herod entertains at his birthday banquet, and a false sense of hospitality leads him to grave sin, as when Herodias’ daughter requests the Baptist’s head on a platter, “because of his oath and the presence of his guests,” he “dispatch[es] an executioner.” 

Paul also tells us to “be mindful of prisoners as if [we] were sharing their imprisonment”; and it seems almost against himself Herod indeed sympathizes with John.  We are told, “When he heard him speak he was very much disturbed; yet he felt the attraction of his words.”  He knows John is the angel he should better entertain, but denies the voice speaking to his heart.  And so Paul’s warning, “You may yet suffer as they do,” proves true with Herod, who is clearly imprisoned by his own fear that John has been raised from the dead to haunt his soul.

Of course, the central cause of all Herod’s problems is his breaking the command Paul expresses distinctly: “Let marriage be honored in every way and the marriage bed be kept undefiled,” for it is “on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married,” that John chastises Herod, that the king has the prophet imprisoned, and that he is cornered into murdering him.  And so now he knows very deeply the extent to which “God will judge fornicators and adulterers.”  Indeed, his adulterous relationship and his niece/daughter’s dance of lust stand as examples comparable to the profligate lands of Sodom and Gomorrah for their immorality, for their opposition to the Father’s love.

It is the Father’s love and our trust therein which rises above the immorality and violence so present in our gospel.  At the heart of Paul’s letter is his paraphrase of today’s psalm: “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid; what can man do to me?”  Indeed the faith in God David sings of so confidently – “Though an army encamp against me… though war be waged upon me, even then will I trust” – is what the Baptist holds in his own spirit, even as he extends his neck for the executioner’s blade.  He knows well that the Lord “will hide [him] in His abode in the day of trouble,” and so no trouble does his death cause him: the Lord will certainly “set [him] high upon a rock,” keeping him untouched by the lust and destruction which surround him in Herod’s dank prison.  It is Herod upon whom darkness shall fall.

“Your presence, O Lord, I seek.  Hide not your face from me.”  Through all things let me remain in your light.  And as John’s life ended, this greatest of “leaders who spoke the word of God” to us, so let my own, in faith in you, O Lord, who are with us forever.

*******

O LORD, though thrown in prison or put to death,

still you protect us;

in purity in your presence let us dwell.

YHWH, O what fate awaits those who feed their lust, who wallow in the wickedness of this world!  Theirs is a punishment far worse than death, for never will their fear come to an end.

But those who love you and their brothers, LORD, those who have pity on souls most in need, these are shielded by you in the day of trouble and shall rise to be with you in the end.

Your children are persecuted on this earth, O LORD our God.  They walk in the footsteps of your Son.  But despite the war that is waged upon them, despite the threat of death itself, those who trust in you are not shaken.  But those who sit upon the thrones of sin, those who give free reign to their passion and greed – these do but fat themselves for the day of slaughter, when the dance of lust shall be long past.

Let us serve you in our brothers, LORD.  Let us share in the pains of those oppressed and keep ever to your way, and you will keep us from all harm to sit with John and Jesus on the last day.

(Heb.12:18-19,21-24;   Ps.48:2-4,9-11;   Mk.6:7-13)

“You have drawn near to MountZion

and the city of the living God,

the heavenly Jerusalem…”

“…to the assembly of the first-born enrolled in heaven, to God the judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood which speaks more eloquently than that of Abel.”  Alleluia!  “Great is the Lord and wholly to be praised in the city of our God.”  And great is our call to dwell in His blessed City with all His holy ones, and with our Lord.  Could there be a greater cause for joy?  For “His holy mountain, fairest of heights, is the joy of all the earth,” and the joy of heaven.

To the New Jerusalem we are drawn, brothers and sisters, to the fairest heights.  Holiness in the Lord is our call – to dwell with our Lord forever.  But what is the road that leads to such a blessed mountain?  How do we who tread the dust of this earth find our way to heaven?  Evident the Lord makes the path today in the summoning of His apostles.  In their call we find our own.

“Do not bring a second tunic,” Jesus says to the Twelve as He sends them forth to preach and to heal.  For they are to make no provision, to put no stock in the things of the earth… “to take nothing on the journey.”  Their trust must be entirely in Him and the word with which He anoints them: the power He gives, the grace He provides, is sufficient not only to cast out demons, but to find all we need for our day-to-day lives.  The Lord teaches us as He teaches them that our faith must be complete, our spirits wholly set on His will, if we are to make our way across the dust of this earth to His kingdom.  Nothing short of the sacrifice He Himself offers first will bring us there.  His sprinkled blood must be upon us, and work through us.

“O God, we ponder your kindness in your temple”; we marvel at your grace.  For no longer by “fearful… spectacle” of “blazing fire” and “gloomy darkness” do you make yourself known to us.  No longer are you “untouchable,” Lord.  But present in our midst, sandals upon your feet, you, O unapproachable glory, draw near to us, and so enable us to draw near to you, to touch you, O wounded Savior.  And your sandals you place upon our feet and invite us to walk in the way you have shown.  May we do so, Lord, as humbly as thou; and so to our eyes and our hearts make your kingdom known.

All the saints in heaven, pray for us.  All His holy angels, watch over our way.  May our feet stand forever upon the Lord’s holy mountain.  In His heavenly City let us make our home.  (In His Church, in His Mass, He is with us.)

*******

O LORD, may we take with us only

the Cross of your Son

as we journey to your holy mountain.

YHWH, how can we express the joy of the gracious gift of your Son in our midst?  In Him your Temple comes to us; in Him we dwell in your City, O living God.  He is the mountain to whom all holy souls come.  His is the blood that washes us clean and prepares our hearts to receive your glory.  May we follow in His steps this day that we might live ever in the heavenly Jerusalem.

Nothing need we but your Son and His Cross, O LORD.  There is nothing in which we should put our trust but His Word.  For walking in His sandals all is provided for us – what does any son need but you.

O Father in Heaven, in your great love you think of us and draw us into your presence with all the holy ones.  Let us be made ready to stand on your mountain by our trust in you today.  Let your Son work in us; in Him let us make our home.

O bringer of light

to many nations,

you who struggled on

for the souls placed in your care

that all might know the Christ

for whom you toiled,

endlessly seeking

to convert obstinate hearts –

may your zeal

inspire missionaries this day

to go forth selflessly

proclaiming the Gospel to all,

bearing witness to the Lord

in the cross they bear

in season and out of season;

whether producing much fruit

or being rejected,

may their hearts be set on the Word

and the love of God

for His children.

Pray especially those lands you led to Christ

will turn again

to the one true light.

O shepherd whom we invoke

for the healing of throats,

you who suffered torments

for the sake of the Name

and embraced death

as leader of His flock –

open our throats

to speak of Jesus,

to declare His goodness and glory,

the salvation that comes

only through Him.

Let us not fear

our persecutors

nor shrink from the threats

of the mighty

but stand fast

in the Lord’s healing grace,

confident that His every blessing

will keep us well

and on the path

that leads only to Heaven.

Pray all sickness flee from us

this day and forever.

(Heb.12:4-7,11-15;   Ps.103:1-2,13-14,17-18;   Mk.6:1-6)

“Whom the Lord loves, He disciplines;

He scourges every son He receives.”

Like His only Son we must be.  For without discipline where would we be?  Apart from the Lord’s chastising hand, into what state would we fall?  Without the cross, how could we find the kingdom?

If the Lord did not scourge us, we would be blind as His countrymen in our gospel today, who question even what their ears behold and their eyes see – dead to His presence we would remain.  Only the dust of His flesh would we look upon, thinking He is no more than our sinful selves; far short of His divinity would we fall.  And so a word of chastisement He brings to our hearts, as He does those of “His native place,” of “His own house,” condemning our failure to honor God in His prophets and in His Son, calling us beyond our eyes of flesh to the breath of the Spirit.

Oh how our “lack of faith distress[es] Him”!  Oh how He would stir within us “that holiness without which no one can see the Lord”!  For “the kindness of the Lord is from eternity to eternity toward those who fear Him,” and His kindness He would have all know.  But failing of a reverent awe for the Most High Lord, what do we do but grovel in the dust?  Our hearts cannot know Him if they are not humble; our souls cannot bless Him if they are not holy… and so we lose “all His benefits” by a stubborn pride.  This is not the will of God.

Brothers and sisters, the Lord “knows how we are formed; He remembers that we are dust.”  But from the dust He calls us to join Him on high, to rise above our earthen state.  In His compassion the Father would have us be even as He is; and so He sends His only Son to suffer for our sins, to show us the path to holiness we must walk.  “So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees”; fear not the cross of Jesus.  For by it you will be made strong, you will be made whole; through it “the grace of God” will pour, and make you as His own.

Peace soon follows every cord of scourging; the nails in our hands open our souls to the Spirit’s movement, to the Lord’s love, as by this bleeding our sins are purged.  And in His light we shall soon stand, “all [our] being bless[ing] His holy name.”  Then we shall no longer question His wisdom but in His mercy make our home.

*******

O LORD, may we be your sons

not just in flesh but in truth;

your compassion be upon us

in the discipline of your Word.

YHWH, thank you for your discipline, for your blessed chastising hand.  It is out of love you correct us; in your compassion you desire us to be with you.  Let us praise you for your kindness.

Forgive us, LORD, all our blindness, all our failure to see your hand at work.  Our disobedience hurts us most of all, for by it we separate ourselves from your love.  In our lives let your will be done!

If you had not compassion on our erring hearts, if you scourged not our sinful souls, where would we be, LORD, where would we be?  From your healing and your teaching let us never be apart.

Come to your native place this day, O LORD.  Those baptized in your NAME please bless.  Let us welcome you with open arms into our houses, treasuring every chastising word, and we shall be at peace in your presence.

(Heb.12:1-4;   Ps.22:26-28,30-32;   Mk.5:21-43)

“Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus,

who inspires and perfects our faith.”

Like the woman in our gospel who saw Him in the crowd and with great confidence made her way toward Him but to reach out and “touch His clothing,” knowing in her heart that by this she “shall get well”; like the official of the synagogue who draws near and falls at His feet begging healing for his daughter, who even after being told, “Your daughter is dead,” does “not grow despondent or abandon the struggle” but takes refuge in the Lord’s encouragement to trust; like all the “cloud of witnesses” that have sought Him, that have believed in Him, that have never taken their eyes off Him or His love – let us be saints who “lay aside every encumbrance of sin which clings to us and persevere in running the race which lies ahead,” and we shall receive our reward even as those who have gone before us have done.  By endurance in faith we shall find Jesus.

Sin it is, of course, that is the greatest obstacle to sanctity in the Lord, to achieving our goal of eternal life in heaven; death and disease are merely the fruits of this poisonous tree.  And so the “fight against sin” is truly our greatest struggle, for once sin is set aside, peace comes to our souls and we are no longer anxious or fearful, despite any workings of the devil – despite the destruction in his hands.  The woman’s “flow of blood” (for as many years as Jairus’ daughter, “a child of twelve,” has been alive) is but symptomatic for us of the greater affliction of transgression against God.  And even the young girl’s death is nothing really, for it is so that “she is [only] asleep,” as the Lord says, and not dead at all… and so death and disease mean nothing unless they are accompanied by sin.  It is this plague which must be overcome.

And for this healing we come to Him.  For this grace we must press upon Him, like the crowds who surround Him this day.  And like the raised child’s parents our “astonishment [will be] complete,” for we shall be clean: we shall be alive in the Lord.  “To Him alone shall bow down all who sleep in the earth”; by Him alone all shall be raised.  So let us keep our eyes and our hearts fixed upon Him, knowing “they who seek the Lord shall praise Him” – in Him our faith is complete.  “To Him alone [our] soul shall live”; therefore, let us bleed with Him this day.

*******

O LORD, let us be freed of all illness;

let us be raised from our graves to walk with you.

YHWH, our faith unites us to you and so we find healing for every disease and every sin, for no evil lives in you.  And so, help us to endure all, keeping our eyes ever fixed on your Son and the hope He brings to our souls, and we shall be well in your presence.

O LORD, you raise us from the sleep of death and sin.  Your Son who walks in our midst leads us to your glory.  And so, let us bow down before Him, humbling ourselves in faith, and our every prayer shall be answered; and we shall be united to you and your glorious majesty.

Why should we be afraid?  Why should we fear placing our trust in you?  Let no obstacle stand in the way of our coming to you that we might join the band of your holy ones in your eternal kingdom.  Though we must shed our blood in the struggle, let us know our salvation is assured.

“Love the Lord, all you His faithful ones!”  Keep “constant” in faith and “from the plottings of men” and “the strife of tongues” He will “shelter” you.  Whether overcoming or being overcome by death in this life, the life of heaven awaits you and is with you.

*******

O LORD, of the least of us you make use,  

joining all to your Body to proclaim your glory. 

YHWH, your power is greater even than that of death, and your power you share with all your holy ones, that in your NAME they might overcome death and all its workings.  What great deeds are we not capable of if we but put our trust in you?  We shall indeed rise from the dead with Jesus your only Son. 

Death surrounds us in this world; it is as if we dwell in a tomb.  For where can we turn where sin does not exist, and so, how can we be free of its clutches?  It is like the lion’s jaw or a raging fire or the devouring sword.  But you give power to conquer sin to those who take refuge in Christ’s blood.  Even in this dark world, they are screened in your abode.  Though we are made to dwell in caves or in holes of the earth, you are yet with us, LORD, we who are to be made perfect in you.  O let us sit at your feet in our right mind all the days of our lives!  Let us declare your goodness to all.

O teacher and father

of the children in your care,

in whose hands

they were not abandoned

but held in patience

by Christ’s love –

teach us, too,

to have that same patience,

to have that same love

for those the Lord places

in our care,

that anger shall be banished

from our hearts and our minds,

that the wisdom of Christ’s sacrifice

you taught and lived

we too might embody,

and so serve

in raising the kingdom of Heaven

among the children of this earth.

And pray that we, too,

may know the Lord’s gentle word and touch

upon our own souls

 and so grow into His likeness.

(Dt.18:15-20;   Ps.95:1-2,6-9;   1Cor.7:32-35;   Mk.1:21-28) 

“A prophet like me will the Lord, your God,

raise up for you from among your own kin.”

Thus does Moses speak to the people as he prepares to leave them, and they prepare to enter the Promised Land.  He prophesies most immediately the anointing of Joshua, who will take his place as leader of the Israelite nation and guide them into the holy land, as well as all the prophets who shall follow… but most especially, of course, he hereby prophesies the coming of the only Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will be raised up from among us, a man as we are, to be God in our midst.  No greater fulfillment of this promise could there be: no more real could God make His presence known to us.  Here on this earth He stands, and speaks.

Our reading from Deuteronomy makes clear the nature and role of the prophet; in this passage we see the inception of this gift, of this power God gives to man.  When the people begged Moses, “Let us not again hear the voice of the Lord, our God, nor see this great fire anymore,” for fear of death after having witnessed the Lord’s most powerful theophany at Mount Horeb, the Most High answered them and promised instead, “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin, and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command him.”  Here is the very definition of a prophet: one who speaks for God.  Out of a prophet’s mouth come the words of the Lord, not his own.

And what a Prophet is Jesus!  And, of course, so much more than a prophet – the only Son.  “For He taught them as one having authority”; His words of rebuke: “Quiet!  Come out of him!” cast out all unclean spirits…  His power is immeasurable as God’s power is immeasurable – all is in His hands and at the command of His voice.  For His words are not His own (though intimately His own); they are His Father’s.  He does only the Father’s will and so is the Father’s Son.  In them together the Spirit moves!  Upon all regions of the earth His Word goes forth.

“Oh, that today you would hear His voice,” brothers and sisters, and “bow down in worship before Him,” knowing who is here before you now and consecrating yourself entirely to Him.  Then you would but “sing joyfully” and be filled with “thanksgiving” as, free from sin, from all darkness – from all that is unclean – you come to full union with the promised One of all the ages and make your home in His heart, obedient to His blessed, protective commands, and so find yourself “free of anxieties” as you think only of “how [you] may please the Lord.”  Alleluia!  He has come.

Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt.

Music: "Speaking for God" from The Whole Whale, eighth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt.

*******

O LORD, let us listen to your Son, Jesus,

who speaks with your authority.

YHWH, let us listen to your voice, O God, and the voice of your only Son, for with authority He speaks in your Name, greater than all the prophets.  He Himself is God, one with you before time, and so should we not bow down and worship Him; should we not heed His Word?  If we desire salvation, we cannot but listen to Him.

Why should we doubt Him who commands even the unclean spirits, whose word is as your own, LORD, able to bring the world into existence, or bring it to an end.  If we but trust in Him and listen to His teaching, this same authority we will share; nothing will be able to distract us from serving you and becoming as your Son.

Cast out all the demons from us, LORD, that we might be free to hear your voice clearly and worship you with a pure heart.  As we kneel before you and praise you for your Son, may we indeed become the flock He guides and so enter into your presence.

(Heb.11:1-2,8-19;   Lk.1:68-75;   Mk.4:35-41)

“Why are you so terrified?

Why are you lacking in faith?”

“Faith is confident assurance concerning what we hope for, and conviction about things we do not see,” our brother Paul would have us know, and realize.  We all hope for something; there is ever something we all long to see.  The eyes are set in the front of the human head and always he is looking at what is before him, straining to see what is ahead.  And what is it we hope to see further along this road we tread?  What is our hope for the future – what is set indelibly in our hearts, calling us forward to tomorrow?  Are we as Abraham, who was “looking forward to the city with foundations,” to the city of God, and so was able to uproot himself from his city here on earth, “not knowing where he was going,” and dwell in tents?  Have we the same hope as he?

If we have his hope, we should have his faith as well, and more.  For what upon this earth is worthy of greater assurance than the coming of the kingdom of God?  Is there any firmer promise in which to believe?  And if Abraham and all the “men of old” were able to live by faith and so find God’s approval and His blessing, how much more should we be ready, how much greater confidence should we have, we upon whom the light which they only “saluted… from afar” has dawned?  To our eyes has been brought what they were kept from seeing; and so our faith should go beyond hope – it should be most real, utterly unshakable by the vicissitudes of this world.  For He is here, He who was “promised through the mouths of His holy ones, the prophets of ancient times.”

Brothers and sisters, it is time to “cross over to the farther shore” with our Lord.  What Moses could only view from afar is now present to us in the flesh of Christ: heaven is in our midst, and nothing should we fear… no room for doubt should we make.  In the words of our gospel we witness the disciples coming gradually to see Him who has entered their boat, who has power over all.  And their fear shall leave them soon, even as awe overtakes them.  And we must be the same, and more.  For upon us the Spirit has already come, completing the Trinity’s presence among us.  Nothing more is there to look forward to than our life in heaven, and nothing for our crossing do we lack.  Sure indeed should we now be.  And so, “rid of fear and delivered from the enemy” by Him who is all-powerful, “we should serve Him devoutly, and through all our days, be holy in His sight.”  Let faith find its fulfillment now in the lives we lead in His name.  Cast all fear away, and love.

*******

O LORD, you are able to raise us even from the dead –

let us put our faith in you.

YHWH, will Jesus not lead us to the farther shore, to the kingdom where you dwell?  Will not He who holds the wind and the waves in His hands and commands them by a word of His mouth, will He not save us from all that would keep us from you?  But are our hearts set on the Promised Land of Heaven as was Abraham’s and all the prophets’ of old?  Are we so willing to give up all the things of this world to find your eternal City?

O LORD, have we the faith that you are able to raise from the dead, that even death and sin and all the wiles of the devil and the trappings of this earth are in your power to command?  If so, then why should our hope ever be dimmed; why should we be afraid?

Save us, LORD, from our faithlessness!  Let us serve you in holiness all our days, our hearts set on the land to which Jesus would take us.

(Heb.10:32-39;   Ps.37:3-6,23-24,39-40;   Mk.4:26-34)

“You need patience to do God’s will

and receive what He has promised.”

Brothers and sisters, “we are not among those who draw back and perish, but among those who have faith and live.”  Whatever “great contest[s] of suffering” may be before us or behind us or upon us even now, we do not “surrender [our] confidence” in the Lord but stand strong, enduring all by our “trust in Him” and so coming by these means to the kingdom of God.

My friends, we know we have “better and more permanent possessions” in heaven, and so “the confiscation of [our] goods” upon this earth, the “insult and trial” we have to endure, and even the prison into which we may be thrown, hold no sway over our souls and do not deter our resolve to follow the way of Christ – in fact, they but increase our firmness in the Lord.  For seeing how “He delivers [us] from the wicked and saves” us when we “take refuge in Him” reveals to our souls the firmness of His hand upon us and the passing nature of any vain temptation or torture.  We comprehend hereby that we need but “commit to the Lord [our] way… and He will act”; He is the one who preserves us from all harm and sees that fruit is born in our lives.

And so, day by day we come to Him; night after passing night we approach His presence.  We grow in His sight even as “the soil produces of itself first the blade, then the ear, [and] finally the ripe wheat in the ear.”  Even unto the day of judgment we shall grow so gradually, so blessedly, steadily producing fruit in His glorious light, and thus avoid any condemnation.  For He has taken possession of our souls; His hand is upon us now, and from such marvelous grace we cannot turn our faces away.

“A brief moment, and He who is to come will come; He will not delay,” says the Lord; and so, brothers and sisters, let us “live by faith” as the Lord’s “just man,” knowing full well that “He will make justice dawn for [us] like the light,” that on His Day we shall be drawn into the kingdom of God.  “Bright as the noonday shall be [our] vindication,” so let us endure all patiently and bravely in this world, ever bearing fruit in His name.

*******

O LORD, help us to endure all persecutions

that we might grow steadily unto your kingdom. 

YHWH, let us take refuge in you and there find protection and blessing.  Let us grow gradually unto your kingdom, enduring all with patience and faith.  Your justice will dawn for the man who remains steadfast in your sight.

O LORD, what should we care if we must suffer persecution, if our goods are confiscated and we are thrown into prison?  For what blessed possessions we have in you, those which last forever.  And so, increase our faith day to day as we see your hand continually rescue us from all distress, from every trial; let us ever grow unto your presence and make our home in your branches.

If we could but be the man you desire us to be, LORD, for our own sakes!  If we could but trust in you and your constant blessings!  Then we would forever be sustained, knowing that you will not delay your coming but very soon we will be with you in eternity.  Be with us as we wait here.

O wise doctor of the Church

who ate the bread of angels

in your long hours

of prayer and study and writing

and shared with us

the knowledge you gained

of the sublime truth of God,

shedding the light of reason

upon the faith we hold so dear –

teach us this day

to know God

that we might better love and serve Him,

that we might not be blind

to His presence in our midst,

to the holiness to which He calls us.

Pray we shall enter into

His Cross, His love, His obedience;

pray we, too, might have knowledge,

true knowledge of His grace

and the everlasting life

which is ours in Him…

and pray the Lord send us holy teachers

to fill your shoes.

(Heb.10:19-25;   Ps.24:1-6;   Mk.4:21-25)

“Since we have a great high priest who is over the house of God,

let us draw near in utter sincerity and absolute confidence.”

Let us shine our light without fear, for it is the light of the Lord and cannot be removed.  “Let us hold unswervingly to our profession which gives us hope, for He who made the promise deserves our trust.”  Do you think He will fail you in your commitment to Him?  No, His love is always first to come; you need but follow.

And let us “encourage one another,” brothers and sisters, even as Jesus does us all in our gospel today.  Let us “rouse each other to love and good deeds,” calling one another to shine our light, the light that is in each of our hearts by the grace of our Savior.  “Our hearts sprinkled clean from the evil which lay on our conscience and our bodies washed in pure water,” ready we are to do His will in this world; “the blood of Jesus assures our entrance into the sanctuary,” and so, with our place in heaven set firm, we hesitate not to put our love “on a stand” and let it pierce the darkness all around.

“We should not absent ourselves from the assembly,” brothers and sisters.  We should not think we need not gather together in His name.  For we cannot take strength alone to fight our battles in this world; apart from one another we will be worn down by sin, by pride.  Our light is not our own but is meant to be shared; indeed, it belongs to the whole community for it belongs only to the Lord.  And it can only grow and increase when given in measure to others; otherwise it will be taken from us.

So let us draw near our Lord as we draw near each other in the sharing of our gifts.  Let us be as “he whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain,” and our gifts will be acceptable one to another, and our lives will be acceptable to God.  And we shall “ascend the mountain of the Lord” and “stand in His holy place” – the place He makes for us by His sacrifice…  “We shall receive a blessing from the Lord, a reward from God our Savior,” if we seek His face alone.

Do not be afraid.  Hide not your light.  Enter His presence, do His will, accepting the grace He imparts to our lives.  He calls you to join in His sacrifice.

*******

O LORD, all the world is ours

if we but come to Jesus for the cleansing of our sins. 

YHWH, let us be the race that seeks your holy face and to shine your holy light to all around us.  This world is your own and we are in your hands, and none of us can ascend to you if we come not through your only Son.  Let us come to Him with confidence and joy and seek to serve one another and the salvation of all.  Then we shall be seeking you; then we shall be serving you – then we shall be standing again in His stead, and so find your holy blessing and receive it more and more.

O LORD, let us give ourselves as Jesus has done.  Let us be His very flesh and blood.  Bless your Church, O God, with His love, with His light shining in every member.  Let us not hide in fear but freely offer the gifts you impart to each of our lives for the service of the whole Body.  The more we give the more we shall receive, for the more we give the more we share in your love.  Let us not fail to shine forth your light as you call us to do.

O holy virgin

and spiritual mother

to the poorest of girls,

whom you protected and guided

in wisdom and love,

keeping them from the snares

of the world

and raising them in Christ;

you who fulfilled so well

the twofold call

to love God and save souls –

pray for those

who so easily go astray

this day

in a world of great corruption,

where souls are in danger

of being captured

by the wiles of Satan and sin;

and pray, too,

that there shall be many

who desire as you have,

with the living love of God,

to bring them into His fold.

(Heb.10:11-18;   Ps.110:1-4;   Mk.4:1-20)

“I will put my laws in their hearts

and I will write them on their minds.”

He will plant His seed firmly upon “good soil,” and it shall yield fruit abundantly.  Let us be open to receive His word each day.

Today we hear Jesus’ well-known parable of seed sown in four places: “on the path,” “on rocky ground,” “among thorns,” and “on good soil”; and the Lord makes clear that only in the last place will the seed bear a profitable yield.  And, of course, the Lord hereby calls each of us to consider what place we make for the seed with our lives.  Clearly, “what the sower is sowing is the word,” and just as clearly, our hearts are the ground into which that word is sown.  Therefore, the question is: What kind of hearts have we for the word of God, for His love?  The seed does not change; in every place it is sown the same.  It is only the soil which changes, and thus determines its fruitfulness.  Are our hearts barren of the Spirit, or wrought with stones or choking thorns… or do we make a welcome place for the love of God to take root in our lives and grow?  Though our tree shall be known by its fruit, only we really know where our heart stands with God, and so this question Jesus would bring to our minds, not to condemn us for our emptiness or hardness of heart, but that we might turn to Him and bear fruit in His light, that He might take away the “sins and… transgressions” that keep us void of life.

Do you know the Spirit at work in your hearts, brothers and sisters, at work in your souls?  Is His word taking root in you and being nourished by the waters of the Lord?  “To you the mystery of the reign of God has been confided,” and so, what a pity it would be to turn from His instruction, or fall short at all in preparing a place for the Lord to reside.  The Spirit burning in our hearts, the blessing of His pure light, is all we should thirst for in our lives.  “Like the dew” before the dawn He comes; each morning you should find yourself wet with that dew and set to do good works in His name.

Yes, brothers and sisters, upon the heart of each of His children, the Lord God writes His name, places His law, His love, by the blood of His only Son.  He thus makes us one with His infinite presence, ever giving growth to our tree.  With His word piercing our souls, our soil is prepared to receive His seed.  Let us therefore open our hearts to His light touch – His finger, His breath, His word, inscribing His NAME at the center of our being – and we shall grow in Him even unto the kingdom.

*******

O LORD, let us be cleansed of our sin by your Son

that we might be good soil

to receive the Word He offers

and bear fruit in your NAME. 

YHWH, our sins and transgressions remember no more; the blindness of our minds and hardened of our hearts take from us forever.  By the sacrifice of your Son this is accomplished in our lives.  Let us be good ground to receive His Word and bear fruit in His Name.

Jesus sits forever at your right hand, O LORD; He remains there ever to cleanse us from our sin.  His sacrifice is complete and whole; let it be made effective in our lives.

Rule over us, O LORD our God, through the scepter of your only Son.  By the power that is His from you, let our days be ordered as holy flowerbeds.  Good soil indeed let us be, not choked by the world or weakened by the flesh or robbed of the Spirit by the devil – let our hearts be set on you alone and in you and in your Son find growth and bear fruit.  May His blood water us well and His light shine through us always.

O blessed disciples of Paul

and shepherds of the Church

who imitated so well

your father in the faith

who imitated only

the Lord Jesus Christ

and thirsted for His Cross –

pray this holy Apostle

be our father, too,

and you with him,

that we too might embrace the Cross;

teach us the sound doctrine

handed on to you

that we may hand it on

and all souls

might fight the good fight

and run the race with Jesus

unto eternal life.

Pray for all the shepherds of the Church

that they be faithful as you have been

to rightful authority.

(Heb.10:1-10;   Ps.40:2,4,7-11;   Mk.3:31-35)

“I have come to do your will, O God.”

But what is this will of God?  How do we know it?  How shall we live it?  The will of God is known through the obedience of the Son, in His sacrifice for our sins; and all who seek to do the will of God must follow in His way, offering themselves freely, innocently, to the Lord for the sake of the Body of Christ.

“Who are my mother and my brothers?” Jesus asks the crowd.  Who enter into His fold, becoming children of God the Father?  “Whoever does the will of God.”  Whoever does the will of God is the only answer He could make.  Whoever is as His mother and says, “Behold the handmaiden of the Lord; be it done unto me according to your word”; whoever is as His brother apostles and suffers martyrdom for the faith, unafraid to speak out in His name; whoever is like the simple sheep surrounding Him in the gospel today, listening so obediently to the heavenly words He utters… these are “brother and sister and mother” to Him.  Oh what a glorious family to be among!

Brothers and sisters, we no longer have “only a shadow of the good things to come” but rather a “real image of them” in the flesh and blood of the only Son.  The salvation of our God is abstract and fleeting no more, for the Lord has come in a body to make ever so real for us the glory of God.  Our hearts should leap up at His presence; our ears should be “open to obedience” to hear and heed His voice.  Our mouths agape, we should wonder at His presence among us and desire only to become one with Him who holds our very lives in His sacred heart, in the Spirit upon the flesh He is.

Oh have we not “waited, waited for the Lord”?  And how should we not act now that He has “stooped toward” us, now that He has humbled Himself to become man?  A spirit of exultation should fill us, for by His presence with us He “put[s] a new song into [our] mouth, a hymn to our God.”  Our hearts are set on fire with the anointing of the Holy Spirit and we can no longer “restrain [our] lips,” but must declare even with our precious Lord: “I have come to do your will,” to join in your blessed sacrifice – to know the glory of kinship with you, my God, by whom we are all called.

O Lord, “I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth in the vast assembly.”  I declare it on these pages.  Please gather me this day into your holy family.

*******

O LORD, help us to join your Son in doing your will

by laying down our lives in this world.

YHWH, let us do your will.  This alone we ask of you.  Let us do your will that we might join with your Son, our Brother, and be sanctified by the offering of His body for our sakes.  Let us join with Him in seeking to do your will, in offering our bodies as sacrifice, in declaring your goodness to all souls.

Put a new song into our mouths, LORD, one that proclaims your glory.  Let us be filled to overflowing with your presence in our souls that we cannot but speak of your kindness and your truth, your faithfulness and your salvation.  Here am I; I come to do your will.  Let this be our song.  Let us be cleansed of sin by the sacrifice of Jesus – let our body be as His own.

O that we might be your holy family, LORD, that we might be as Mary and the apostles, giving our complete “yes” to your call.  May your Son open His arms to gather us into your presence.

O you who persecuted

the Church of God

but then preached the faith

in earnest,

you upon whom

abundant mercy fell,

whose weakness became strength

as each day in bearing

extraordinary torments

you grew closer to God –

show us the way

to Heaven.

Pray we fall continually

from our horse,

from our pride,

and allow the Lord

to change our lives.

Pray repentance

be our constant food,

that the love of Jesus

and His forgiveness

we shall ever know

in greater measure.

(Acts 22:3-16 or Acts 9:1-22;   Ps.117:1-2,Mk.16:15;   Mk.16:15-18)

“Go into the whole world and proclaim the good news to all creation.”

One would not have expected these words to be spoken so profoundly to the heart of St. Paul.  For he, then known as Saul, had spent such time and with such vigor had persecuted the followers of Christ.  Why does the Lord shine His light all about him?  Why does He speak to him and reveal Himself to him?  Why is it this man who is picked to bring the Name of Jesus to all the nations?  Perhaps it was his very vigor in persecuting His followers Jesus admired.  Perhaps his sincerity and commitment to this cause in the name of God He knew He could use for the cause of justice and right.  Perhaps he is a sign to us all that none is beyond the redemption the Lord offers.  We know only that he who was persecuting the Church now works to build it up.  We know only the story of this great Apostle to the world.

“Recover your sight,” Ananias says to this Saul, and so Paul, once blinded by the light of the Lord, now has his eyes open to see.  So he who once went about with scales on his eyes, he whose vision was once so prevented from realizing the truth of the Jesus in his midst… he who was once so like his brother Pharisees, now sees.  And what he sees is not simply Ananias standing before him.  What he sees standing before him in this faithful disciple of Jesus, is Christ Himself.  And he realizes whom he has been persecuting, and repents.  And so he is baptized.  And so his mission, one wrought in the suffering of Christ, begins.

“Praise the Lord, all you nations; glorify Him, all you peoples!” are the words of our psalmist, but they could as easily be the exhortation of the Apostle Paul.  Having himself believed in the Good News proclaimed to all creation and accepted Baptism into its way, he himself now brings so many others to walk along the same path.  Great signs accompany him, and his words to our ears are as those of Jesus to him, for now he is such a strong part of the Body of Christ, persecuted by this world and calling it to salvation.  On this day all our hearts should turn to the Lord, that we might join Paul and profess our faith in His Name.

Written, read & chanted by James Kurt; produced by Carie Fortney.

Music by Carie Fortney; used by permission.

*******

O LORD, help us to believe

and so turn to your Son to be saved.

YHWH, let all men turn to you as has your great Apostle.  Reveal yourself to the eyes and ears of all souls who seek God, all who are zealous for the truth.  Why should we continue so blind?  Let all be baptized into the way of your Son and so be blessed with His power and His love.

Let us not be afraid to lay down our lives for you, O LORD. Let us not turn away from what we must suffer for your Name and that of your Son.  In this we should find our joy; proclaiming the Gospel to all Creation should be the food that sustains us.  Let us be the sign of your presence in this world.

Lay your hands upon us, LORD, that we might be healed.  Send your disciples to us to teach us of your way and your truth.  Let us enter into that way with them and declare to all that Jesus is the Messiah and in Him all souls are saved and brought to light.

O most devout spiritual guide,

great pastor of your flock

and of all souls,

you who speak to us

even this day

with your words of wisdom

and blessed direction –

pray every branch

of Jesus’ vine

may aspire to His perfection;

in whatever state we find ourselves,

let us set our hearts

on loving the Lord

and serving Him and neighbor

prayerfully.

Teach us to pray faithfully,

to offer our lives

in all situations,

all for the glory of God.

Our call may we hear

and heed by your intercession,

following the Christ and carrying His Cross

as He leads.

(1Sm.3:3b-10,19;   Ps.40:2,4,7-10;   1Cor.6:13c-15a,17-20;   Jn.1:35-42) 

“The Lord came and revealed His presence,

calling out as before, ‘Samuel, Samuel!’” 

The call of Samuel, the call of Peter and his brother(s), and the call of us all to “glorify God in [our] body.”  As “Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord” when the Lord called to him, so we must all have the Holy Spirit within ourselves, we must each “know that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit,” if we are to hear and answer the call of God.  As the disciples were so set upon finding the Christ, so our hearts, too, must be set upon Him, if we are to hear the words, “We have found the Messiah.”  He lives, brothers and sisters, and in His Temple He dwells.  And each of us He would make His temple; each of us He calls to be His disciple this day.  Listen for His voice, and go as you are led.

Samuel was but a boy when he was called, and with the pure obedience of a child he responded to God’s voice.  Blessed was he to live with the high priest in the Lord’s temple, a forerunner of Christ in his living with the Lord from his youth, in his dedication to God and His will.  But now the Temple that is Jesus has come into the world, and makes His home with any so inclined, any who would take their rest at this holy Tabernacle of God.  He comes indeed now to make His home with us, even in the Sacrament He offers each day.  And do we respond as the boy Samuel?

“John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God’”; and so the two disciples find themselves called, and so they follow the Lord: “they went and saw where Jesus was staying, and they stayed with Him that day.”  And one called his brother first to the Lord; and so Peter, the rock of the Church, comes to Christ… and so are all gathered unto the Lord.  And John still points to Jesus to this day, and Peter is still the rock of His teaching and the minister of His Body – and we are all now joined to them.

“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” brothers and sisters.  Do you not understand that you are called to a holiness that equals His own?  This you should know, this you should understand – His call you should hear ringing in your ear.  And “with ears open to obedience” you should answer, “Here I am,” and become one with the Blessed Lamb, pure as the flesh of His sacrifice.

Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt.

Music: "This World of Sin" from Cleansing Human Frailty, fourth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt.

*******  

O LORD, help us to abandon sin

and all things of this world

that we might follow your Son to Heaven.

YHWH, help us to turn from our sins that we might find you.  Help us to leave this world behind that we might walk with your Son to the kingdom.  This world is passing away; let us not pass with it but come to your presence on high.

O LORD, you show sinners the way to you.  You instruct us in your mercy to repent and believe in the Gospel your Son brings to us.  As He calls to our souls, let us be humble and obedient to His Word, that like the Ninevites we shall be spared, that like Peter and Andrew and James and John we shall abandon our moorings to follow Him, and so enter into your kingdom.

Heaven awaits us, O LORD, by your grace.  You send your Son to call us there.  But we are attached to so many things of this earth and need your help to find the strength to leave them all behind.  O let our hearts be open to fully receive the goodness you would share with us!

O lover of the least,

the most wretched of society,

whom you embraced

when no one else would;

how like St. Francis you were

in your care for the lepers,

in your living the Gospel

as an image of Christ:

He was hungry and you fed Him,

thirsty and you gave Him drink,

naked and you clothed Him

and cared for Him when He was sick –

pray our hearts will burn

with the same sacrificial love

you bore so well

for those most abandoned,

that truly we shall see Christ in them

and welcome Him

into our homes…

may their suffering be our own.

How else shall we become holy?

How else shall we be welcomed

into the kingdom with you?

O martyr of the Lord extraordinaire

who suffered unspeakable torture

but was not bowed

by such savagery,

who spoke of great faith,

singing of God’s glory

even as your limbs

were crushed,

even as all the brutality

the world could inflict

sought to break

your spirit –

help us to conquer the world

as you have done,

as the Lord has done in you,

not to be afraid

but rather to serve

our Savior and His Cross

in joy

as His blessed disciples;

pray we, too, shall enter the heavenly gates

open to those in whom the Spirit speaks

even unto death.

(Heb.9:2-3,11-14;   Ps.47:2-3,6-9;   Mk.3:20-21)

“Behind the second veil was the tabernacle call the holy of holies.”

To this holy of holies in the temple of Jerusalem only the high priest could come, and only once a year.  So holy was it deemed.  This tabernacle contained the ark of the Lord with the two tablets upon which the commandments of God were written, and some manna from the Israelites’ travels through the desert.  This was truly sacred ground for God’s chosen people, a place they held in awe.

In our gospel the people press upon Jesus; they gather in great numbers at the door of the house where He is staying, sensing that this place is a holy of holies, that there is something inside that makes it sacred.  But from this holy tabernacle they are not excluded for its sanctity, but welcomed by Him who is inside, who makes it holy.  So much does He welcome those who come to His door that He does not take time even to eat.  Better He should feed those who come to Him with His sacred presence than that He should feed Himself, for He will not see any turned away.

My brothers and sisters, Jesus has “entered once for all into the sanctuary, passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation,” and He Himself has become the “holy of holies”: He Himself is the sacred sanctuary in which God reposes.  And He is with us.  To this day He is in our presence.  Do you not know that He rests in every tabernacle of every one of our churches on this earth?  Do you realize the holy of holies that is in our midst?  And when He is exposed upon our altar for all to adore, do you realize that here “God sits upon His holy throne”?  And do you come to Him?  More than a mere image or reflection of the glory of heaven, truly that transcendent glory is present in this bread the angels consume, and which is offered us here.

And so, should we not “shout to God with cries of gladness” or prostrate ourselves in absolute reverence at this the presence of “the Lord, the Most High, the awesome… the great King over all the earth” here in our midst?  Should we not receive Him worthily, realizing that here is the holiest of holies whom we cannot reverence too greatly, whom we cannot worship enough?  “God mounts His throne amid shouts of joy; the Lord, amid trumpet blasts,” and we should join in this celebration and “sing praise to our King” before the throne upon which He sits, before the Tabernacle in which He rests. 

Come to Him in sacred wonder.  In this Sacrament He waits.  May “the blood of Christ… cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God!”

*******

O LORD, your Son has ascended into your presence  

carrying our sins and washing us clean in His own blood –  

how incomprehensible is your great love for us! 

YHWH, let us worship you, O living God, through Jesus your Son, who has entered into your sanctuary carrying all our sins that we might be cleansed of them and offer you holy praise.  He is your Tabernacle in our midst.  Let us come to Him and there find our healing, and there find our salvation. 

O LORD, your Son cares only for our salvation, not for feeding Himself.  His very body He would make our food and so He offers all His life, every hour of His day, for our salvation.  Never would He turn away from us or keep us waiting for your grace.  Let us not fail to come to Him to find the blessing He imparts. 

The blood of the Christ cleanses our consciences and provides for our eternal redemption.  It carries us to the Holy of Holies where you dwell, O Most High God.  In awe let us sing your praise with Him who mounts His throne this day.  Reign over us with your love; through the blood of your only Son may we stand unblemished in your presence. 

(Heb.8:6-13;   Ps.85:8,10-14;   Mk.3:13-19)

“I will be their God

and they shall be my people.”

“Near indeed is His salvation to those who fear Him, glory dwelling in our land”; for absolute oneness do we find with our Lord and God through the ministry of His only Son.  For the Lord has said of His new covenant, “All shall know me, from least to greatest,” promising: “I will place my laws in their minds and I will write them upon their hearts.”  There shall be no separation from His presence for those who believe; His “kindness and truth shall meet” in us as they have in Jesus.  Alleluia!

But yet does the time move toward perfection.  Though the new covenant be fulfilled in Jesus, it is still being fulfilled in the world and among those who dwell in the world.  We know this because the Lord says of the covenant to come, through His prophet Jeremiah: “They shall not teach their fellow citizens or their brothers, saying, ‘Know the Lord’” – there being no need any longer to teach the perfected – and also, “Their sins I will remember no more,” meaning that sin will no longer exist.  But Jesus upon commissioning the twelve apostles sends them out “to preach the good news” and “to have authority to expel demons,” and to this day there is need, and great need, for instruction in the Word of God and healing by the expulsion of sin in Holy Confession.  This ministry still in place, we know we have yet to reach perfection; we know we have yet to find absolute oneness with Christ and His sacrifice… and so, perfect union with the Father yet awaits us.

“He appointed the twelve as follows: Simon to whom He gave the name Peter; James, son of Zebedee; and John, the brother of James (He gave these two the name Boanerges, or ‘sons of thunder’); Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus; Thaddeus, Simon of the Zealot party, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.”  Upon these the new covenant is founded.  By their ministry it shall grow, taking root in the world and bearing much fruit.  And though Matthias must take the place of the traitorous Judas, there is no breaking the line that comes from these foundation stones: all of the coming kingdom is traced to them and from them, for they are anointed by the Son and by them God will make all His children. 

Brothers and sisters, “the Lord Himself will give His benefits; our land shall yield its increase.”  In His Church as in His arms make your home, for His blessings are upon us and shall be fulfilled.

*******

O LORD, let us be companions of your Son

that we might be made one with you.

YHWH, as your Son is joined to you and the apostles to Him, so let us be joined to them that we might be joined to Jesus and you, and your promise might be fulfilled and your NAME be written on our hearts.  O let it be so, that all shall know you, that we shall be your people.

O LORD, let truth spring out of the earth as your justice looks down from Heaven.  Let the union of Heaven and earth accomplished in your Son be accomplished in us as we join ourselves to Him.  O let us walk in the way of His steps that we might find salvation!

LORD, forgive us our sins, remember them no more – cast all evil from us.  May the priests who stand in your Son’s place absolve us of all wrongdoing as we come on our knees before them.  Your power be upon us for good; by your Word let us be taught, till we are entirely one with you, living in your New Covenant, living in the flesh of Christ, as His holy Body.

O holy virgin martyr,

O innocent child

who offered your life

more freely than a bride

to her husband,

more courageously than a warrior

in battle,

who though lacking in years

was not lacking in faith

nor desire to honor

your only Spouse…

you who were honored

by the Fathers of the Church

and are remembered to this day

as a holy offering,

a lamb of God sacrificed in flames

yet professing ever

your love for Christ –

but a small measure of your courage

would save our souls.

Pray but a drop of His blood

we may know

falling from our veins.

(Heb.7:25-8:6;   Ps.40:7-10,17;   Mk.3:7-12)

“Jesus is always able to save those who approach God through Him,

since He forever lives to make intercession for them.”

Oh how the people approach Him today, seeking healing, seeking grace: “a great crowd followed Him from Galilee, and an equally great multitude came to Him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, Transjordan, and the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon” – from all around they came to press upon Him, to press upon Him…  “All who had afflictions kept pushing toward Him to touch Him.  Unclean spirits would catch sight of Him, fling themselves down at His feet, and shout, “You are the Son of God!”  So great were their numbers He needed to take refuge in a fishing boat.  Oh “the press of the crowd against Him,” the press of the crowd.  They could not resist drawing toward Him who stood at the center of the universe, Him who stood in the place of God, Him who was God.  Greater than the pull of gravity was the pull of their hearts toward salvation.

And do you think He has left you, brother?  Do you say, “Where is He now that I need healing, that I may press upon Him myself?”  He has not left you alone; He has multiplied His presence and increased His grace through the ministry of His apostles.  They now go out to those who would press upon Him, and through these priests they find the high priest, He who is “holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens.”  Indeed, He is not on earth anymore and His ministry is not earthly – yet He is ever present to all who stretch forth their hands to Him.  Do you not know the immense mercy available to you in the Sacrament of Confession?  Do you not realize the heavenly food you eat in Holy Communion?  Press upon Him this day; approach the priests who, despite their imperfections, hold the power He has left in our midst, and to your loving God you will come.

“Jesus has obtained a more excellent ministry now,” and “He is mediator of a better covenant,” an eternal covenant.  Brothers and sisters, “we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of Majesty in heaven, minister of the sanctuary and of that true tabernacle set up not by man but by the Lord.”  What greater gift could we ask for?  How much more exalted could we be called to be than to receive mercy from Him who dwells in the heart of the Father, than to take food from the hands of Him who holds the hand of God?

O Lord, “may all who seek you

exult and be glad in you,

 And may those who love your salvation

say ever, ‘The Lord be glorified.’”

*******

O LORD, your Son has taken on our flesh

that He might draw us

into the sanctuary of your presence 

O let us join ourselves to Him!

YHWH, your Son is able to save all those who approach Him, for He sits with you in the heavenly sanctuary having offered Himself for our sakes.  And so the crowds press upon Him, and so the devils cannot but recognize His power over them… and so we are saved from our sin by our faith in Him and offering ourselves to you through His hands.

O LORD, may we be an acceptable sacrifice to you, joined well to the sacrifice of Jesus.  May we say with Him, “I come to do your will,” and think of nothing but obedience to your call.  Write your law within our hearts that we might transcend the darkness of this place as we align our lives with your Son’s and die to all that keeps us from you.  He is made perfect forever in your presence and intercedes for us to be made perfect with Him.  O let us press upon Him this day that we might ever glorify your NAME.

O soldier for Christ

who sought with such courage

to embrace His Cross,

to die a death

worthy of such a Lord,

you whose heart

was so set

on imitating the suffering

only He knew

and so were rewarded

with the crown of martyrdom –

where is our courage;

where is our strength?

Pray for us,

O warrior of our Lord and God,

that our lives

may bear witness

to approach your own,

that we shall not shrink

from the Cross before us

but with your same zeal

seek to make it our own.

Pray the blood of Christ upon us.

O Holy Father of the Church,

Pastor of the sheep of our Lord

who have given your life freely

for the name of Christ

and its spreading

throughout the earth,

you whose blood was shed

by the persecutors

of the body

but whose soul

was ever in the Hand of God –

pray our lives

shall be lived in integrity

and our death correspond,

that a blessed witness

we too shall give

to the glory of God

and His Son Jesus Christ,

and so lead others

to that same glory.

May none of the flock

or their shepherds

fear the sacrifice of their lives.

(Heb.7:1-3,15-17;   Ps.110:1-4;   Mk.3:1-6)

“Without father, mother, or ancestry,

without beginning of days or end of life,

like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.”

We hear today more specifically about “Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God,” whose name means “king of justice” and also “king of peace,” who is therefore so like our King Jesus; it is in his line the Lord takes His place.

“Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor,” King David declares of his Lord and our Lord.  Indeed before the dawn of light upon earth, Jesus is King: He is the only-begotten Son of God whose rule is from everlasting to everlasting; and His priesthood, like that of Melchizedek, is “in virtue of the power of a life which cannot be destroyed” – not by physical descent but by spiritual ascension.  From God Himself He receives His kingship and His priestly anointing.

In contrast to the eternal priesthood and princely headship of our Lord and Savior, we see in our gospel those whose power comes only by “virtue of a law expressed in a commandment concerning physical descent,” and which is, therefore, passing away.  Indeed, before their eyes it passes this day as Jesus stands before the Pharisees at the front of the synagogue and calls them to acceptance of the greater glory now in their midst.  But they “closed their minds against Him” as they refused to realize the limitations of their own calling as leaders of the people, choosing to cling to a dying law and a power which is being taken from them even as a greater is offered, rather than stretching forth their hands to the Lord, in whom the law takes life and finds fulfillment, through whom all power comes…

Yes, the Lord “stretch[es] forth” “the scepter of [His] power” even as the man stretches forth his “shriveled hand” here at the front of the synagogue, before all the people and their teachers on a sabbath day, and finds it “perfectly restored.”  The same He would do for each of them and for all of us, if we but recognized His transcendent power and glory, if we but realized He is the Son of God.

*******

O LORD, your Son is of the Spirit

but we are of the flesh;

help us to offer this poor flesh

through His eternal priesthood.

YHWH, in the line of Melchizadek your Son comes to us, without beginning of days or end of life, for by you He is begotten before the world was brought forth.  And so His power is like your own, and so in Him we shall not die but be healed of all evil upon us. 

We praise you, LORD, for your justice toward us, for the presence of your Son.  For in Him we take our refuge; in Him we find our salvation.  O let us freely reach out our hands to the grace He offers that He might stretch forth His scepter toward us and we be made whole in your sight!

The Day you make is one of peace, O LORD, and so the Son you send brings to us that peace.  Let us give to Him our possessions, even our very body and soul; for all He touches He sanctifies, and so we will thus be blessed by Him.

No hardened heart could ever destroy Him or His love.  Let us sacrifice ourselves with Him, LORD, that we might join Him at your right hand.

(Heb.6:10-20;   Ps.111:1-2,4-5,9-10;   Mk.2:23-28)

“I will indeed bless you, and multiply you.”

God promised to bless Abraham, to make his descendants numerous as the stars; and “He swore by Himself,” “by oath,” to carry out His promise, thus giving an unshakable, “unchangeable” “firmness to [the] promise.”  God does not go back on His word.  And so, “after patient waiting, Abraham obtained what God had promised”; He became the father of many nations, of all those of faith.

Now if God is so faithful, should we who are “heirs of His promise,” who are children of Abraham in the faith and so the sharers of the same blessings promised to him, should not “we who have taken refuge in [God]… be strongly encouraged to seize the hope which is placed before us”?  For we, “through faith and patience, are inheriting the promises”; and greater promises than Abraham do we receive at the hand of our Lord now, for our “hope extends beyond the veil through which Jesus, our forerunner, has entered on our behalf.”  As David “entered God’s house… and ate the holy bread which only the priests were permitted to eat,” and “even gave it to his men,” so Jesus enters His Father’s house, passing through the gates of heaven into the sanctuary, into the holy of holies, and there partakes of bread at His Father’s hand… and indeed shares it with us, His brothers.

Oh brothers and sisters, each day we partake of the bread of the angels from the hand of the Lord; it surrounds us like the “standing grain” around the disciples.  And does it not prove to us that “great are the works of the Lord, exquisite in all their delights”?  Doesn’t it reveal to our souls that our hope in Him is “a sure and firm anchor,” that His love for us is strong and all His promises are fulfilled in our midst, before our eyes?  “God is not unjust.”  No, “gracious and merciful is the Lord.”  “Holy and awesome is His name,” and He shares the glory of His presence with all His children: “He has given food to those who fear Him.”  So, let us “not grow lazy” in faith but take strength in this food He supplies.  “He will not forget [our] work and the love [we] have shown Him by [our] service.”  But let us continue to serve Him in our brothers; let us “show the same zeal till the end,” that all His promises we may taste.  Indeed, the more we eat His bread, the more we accomplish His work, the more His blessings are multiplied, in us and in the world!

“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.”  The gift of God’s rest is ours, releasing us from slavery.  Freedom we find in His name, blessing we find in His promise – His rest is upon us as we remain in Him.  And “He will forever be mindful of His covenant”: His blessings shall ever increase in our souls.

*******

O LORD, your Son has entered into your presence

that we might be fed with the Bread of Life –

let us hope always in Him.

YHWH, if Abraham’s cause for hope was great, how much greater is our own, we for whom Jesus has passed through the veil of death that we might enter your presence?  Now that your Word has been made flesh and been given to us as food for our journey, how much stronger should our faith be, and so, how much surer our work?  We should not bend in the wind like standing heads of grain but know the glory to which we are called as we reach up to you through the grace that is with us by the sacrifice of your Son.

O LORD, you are indeed gracious and merciful; you look upon our needs and answer them.  You promise to be with us always and increase and multiply our works, so long as we remain faithful to you.  Let us trust in your Word to us and find hope always that you are near.  In Jesus your Son, you have walked among us – your great love for man let us never forget.

Give us the food we need even this day, O LORD, the Bread that is our very life.

(Heb.5:1-10;   Ps.110:1-4;   Mk.2:18-22)

“You are a priest forever,

according to the order of Melchizedek.”

 Without beginning or end is the holy priesthood of our Lord; high above all sacrifices reigns His own.

“Taken from among men” is Jesus our high priest “and made [our] representative before God.”  Like others He is in this respect; yet the “gifts and sacrifices” He offers are infinitely greater than any that have ever been, for it is Himself He lifts up for our sins.  “He is Himself beset by weakness,” though not His own; He is Himself pierced for transgression, though not of His making – and in the cross of our condition He bears “in the flesh,” in the crucifixion He suffers at our hands, does the high priest become the victim whose blood covers the earth with redemption.  Yes, “Son though He was, He learned obedience from what He suffered; and when perfected, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.”  What other high priest can boast as much?

And yet the people would limit the grace that pours forth in the blood of His sacrifice, in the sweet-smelling flesh He offers, to a dying law which has been corrupted by the hands of man.  They fail to see that the old is subsumed by the new… and so the Lord seeks to teach them to receive the “new wine” He would pour into their hearts with minds open to the light of God.  They do not yet know the joy His disciples experience just being in the presence of the Messiah, the bridegroom of all faithful souls; as yet their hearts have not been circumcised by the nails of the sacrifice He makes in their name.  But soon their time will come, we pray.  When He is lifted up, perhaps they shall see.

And in our psalm we have David’s verse of Jesus: “The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool.’”  Jesus is David’s Lord even then, for Jesus our Savior has always been.  Beautifully does David speak of this as well, in the voice of God: “Before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you.”  As the dew covers the earth unseen before the sun rises, so before the Father pronounced the words “Let there be light” – first bringing the universe into being by the power of His Word – Jesus was eternally present, even as the water the Spirit moved upon.

And so He has “princely power,” seated at the right hand of God.  And so He “rule[s] in the midst of His enemies,” His sacrifice destroying the death which seemed to take hold of Him.  And so, like the order of Melchizedek, which came well before the institution of the Israelite’s priestly line, from all eternity His salvific priesthood is – and shall last until the end of time.

*******

O LORD, you sent your Son to offer Himself

in our stead;

may we be clothed anew in His grace.

YHWH, the priesthood of your Son is from all eternity and will last until the end of time for the expiation of our sins.  And the sacrifice He offers is Himself in the suffering and death He endures in our midst.  Though He rules forever at your right hand, He humbles Himself to suffer at our hands that the evil in our hearts might be washed clean by the blood He freely sheds.  O let us be made as new wineskins able to receive the grace He pours forth.

Jesus is our Prince who fights our battles and puts all our enemies under His feet.  He crushes the head of the devil and destroys all the weakness by which we are beset, and He does this by the weakness He endures and the death He suffers for our sakes.  O LORD, let us know the glory He would bring to our poor souls, the salvation wrought by His holy sacrifice, and let us join ourselves to that sacrifice by fasting and doing penance in His stead as long as He is apart from us, until the Day He returns.

O father of monks

and all who would give themselves

completely to the Lord,

you who have been so obedient

to the word of God,

to His call

to sell everything,

to renounce all possessions

and follow Him –

how we need your prayers

this day,

when love for material things

possesses our very bodies

and souls,

when prayer and penance

seem things of the distant past.

Make present to us

the blessed call of the Lord,

the renunciation of the world,

that we too might find

the riches of Heaven

you knew so well.

Pray we give up all for God.

(1Sm.3:3b-10,19;   Ps.40:2,4,7-10;   1Cor.6:13c-15a,17-20;   Jn.1:35-42) 

“The Lord came and revealed His presence,

calling out as before, ‘Samuel, Samuel!’” 

The call of Samuel, the call of Peter and his brother(s), and the call of us all to “glorify God in [our] body.”  As “Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord” when the Lord called to him, so we must all have the Holy Spirit within ourselves, we must each “know that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit,” if we are to hear and answer the call of God.  As the disciples were so set upon finding the Christ, so our hearts, too, must be set upon Him, if we are to hear the words, “We have found the Messiah.”  He lives, brothers and sisters, and in His Temple He dwells.  And each of us He would make His temple; each of us He calls to be His disciple this day.  Listen for His voice, and go as you are led.

Samuel was but a boy when he was called, and with the pure obedience of a child he responded to God’s voice.  Blessed was he to live with the high priest in the Lord’s temple, a forerunner of Christ in his living with the Lord from his youth, in his dedication to God and His will.  But now the Temple that is Jesus has come into the world, and makes His home with any so inclined, any who would take their rest at this holy Tabernacle of God.  He comes indeed now to make His home with us, even in the Sacrament He offers each day.  And do we respond as the boy Samuel?

“John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God’”; and so the two disciples find themselves called, and so they follow the Lord: “they went and saw where Jesus was staying, and they stayed with Him that day.”  And one called his brother first to the Lord; and so Peter, the rock of the Church, comes to Christ… and so are all gathered unto the Lord.  And John still points to Jesus to this day, and Peter is still the rock of His teaching and the minister of His Body – and we are all now joined to them.

“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” brothers and sisters.  Do you not understand that you are called to a holiness that equals His own?  This you should know, this you should understand – His call you should hear ringing in your ear.  And “with ears open to obedience” you should answer, “Here I am,” and become one with the Blessed Lamb, pure as the flesh of His sacrifice.

Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt.

Music: "Calling" from Loving Spirit, third album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt.

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O LORD, let the Church be as the Body of your Son,

the Temple of the Holy Spirit. 

YHWH, you call us all to enter your Temple, to be as your tabernacles in this world, holy and true to your Word, to your call to our souls.  Help us to answer you readily, to become as temples of the Holy Spirit, built firmly into your House, the Church.

O LORD, our own bodies you would make temples.  As your Son you call us to be.  And obedient to your Word we shall indeed become as He; offering our lives in union with His, your Law shall be written upon our hearts and we shall be as your sons.

Humble as the child Samuel, simple and pure in our understanding of your presence – in perfect innocence let us come to you, LORD, and all we do shall be blessed.  And we will grow in holiness before you; and we will rest always with you.  Your Son has purchased us at the cost of His life…  Let us glorify you in all we think, say, and do, and we will be a worthy Temple.

That Jesus Himself sees all that is in a man is indicated by His “overhearing the remark” of the complaining Pharisees today, and more clearly elsewhere in His reading their and His disciples’ thoughts without a word being spoken (e.g. Mt.17:25).  As nothing is concealed from the Father, so nothing is concealed from the Son: “The reflections and thoughts of the heart” are open to Him.  And He knows the troubles that affect each of us.  And these, even of the Pharisees, He would heal, even as a wise physician – but we indeed must come with our souls exposed and prepared for surgery.

And though this process can be painful, and though we might say to ourselves, “We are not deserving” – though the questions of the Pharisees might be our own – yet we must witness Jesus’ attitude toward Levi and his fellow tax collectors/sinners.  Yet we must see how He defends these from attack, not bringing their shame before them as the Pharisees would, but with a heart set only on forgiveness.  For indeed “we have a great high priest,” one who takes our sins upon Himself, one who suffers with us our weakness in order to save us from its consequences.  And so with Levi and his friends we should “confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and favor,” both in the confessional and at the Eucharistic table, for our need He has come to fill with His love.

“The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul”; Jesus is this law made flesh.  “The command of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eye”; to remove the darkness of our vision, the all-seeing God has come.  “The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever,” and as long as we come before Him, trembling for our sin, we shall live on in His love.

Shine your light upon our souls, O Lord,

and remove all darkness from them.

In your grace you make us whole;

with you let us be holy.

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O LORD, your Son has come to save us from our sins;

may the light of His Word dispel all darkness

from our souls.

YHWH, let the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart find favor in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer.  For you see into the depths of our hearts; you know well the sin that is within us – yet you are merciful in judging us, desiring only to heal us of our sickness.  O let us always come humbly before you to find your blessing upon our souls, that we might ever serve you well with our poor lives!

O mighty God, O all-seeing and all-knowing LORD, let us treasure your Word, your Law, which is as balm for our troubled spirits.  Let us welcome your Son to our table that He might feed us with your truth, that we might find wisdom and learn by your grace to live forever in joy in your presence.

How we need your Son, our high priest, as our physician, He who gives Himself to take away our sin.  O LORD, may we indeed find your favor through Him, obediently answering His call to salvation.

(Heb.4:1-5,11;   Ps.78:3-4,6-8;   Mk.2:1-12)

“The promise of entrance into His rest still holds.”

But only those with faith in Him shall be made whole.

Paul says of the Israelites in the desert, “The word which they heard did not profit them, for they did not receive it in faith.”  Though they had seen “the glorious deeds of the Lord and His strength and the wonders that He wrought,” they yet became “wayward and rebellious, a generation that kept not its heart steadfast nor its spirit faithful to God.”  Yet they disobeyed and disbelieved.  And so they entered not into His rest; they received not the grace of union with the Lord in His peaceful kingdom, but rather died in the desert in their sin.  Thus does Paul warn us not to “fall in imitation of Israel’s unbelief,” but ever to “strive to enter into that rest” God holds for all His faithful.

And the faith necessary to enter God’s rest is illustrated clearly in our gospel today, as is the woe of unbelief.  It is “when Jesus saw [the] faith” of those who lowered the paralytic through the ceiling to Him that He said to this poor soul, “My son, your sins are forgiven”; and it is upon hearing these grace-filled words from the Savior’s mouth that some of the scribes, those faithless souls so much the descendants of their faithless fathers, grumbled against Him and accused Him of “blasphemy.”  And as the Lord here makes clear the equation of forgiveness and healing (“Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk again’?”), commanding indeed the paralyzed man: “Stand up!  Pick up your mat and go home,” so does this healed soul, washed clean of all his sin, with his companions and all those of faith who stand “awestruck” as they look on… so do these enter God’s rest – even as the scribes gnash their teeth.

Brothers and sisters, “God rested from all His work on the seventh day,” and that rest awaits all at their completion of the Lord’s work in this world.  This truth Jesus reveals in our midst even this day.  And so we “should put [our] hope in God, and not forget the deeds of God but keep His commands”; for “it is we, who have believed, who enter into that rest,” so long as we keep faith in Him.

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O LORD, let us enter into your rest,

that we might rise and carry souls to you.

YHWH, how shall we have our sins forgiven if we have not faith in you and in your Son; how shall we enter into your rest if we turn away from you?  We must come to you and to your Son, believing in the salvation wrought by you and letting nothing stand in our way… and you will bless us and gather us into your arms.

O Lord Jesus, forgive us all our sin this day.  Cast far from us all that keeps us paralyzed, all that prevents us from rising and following you.  Take away our rebellious souls, our unfaithfulness before you – O may we hear your gracious words calling us to stand and walk with you!  O may we know the peace of your forgiveness!

O LORD, you are our God, and in you alone we find our rest, we find healing from all our sickness and sin.  Help us to be strong in faith ourselves and serve to bring others to you as well.  You await our coming to you; let nothing else matter to us at all.

(Heb.3:7-14;   Ps.95:6-11;   Mk.1:40-45)

“Today, if you should hear His voice,

harden not your hearts.”

Today we see Jesus continuing His healing ministry, and we see how it becomes “no longer possible for [Him] to enter a town openly” because of the public proclamation of His wondrous and powerful works.  We see also how, though “He stayed in desert places… people kept coming to Him from all sides,” for His work must be accomplished.  But we see most particularly the way we must come to Him to find our own healing.

“Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the Lord who made us,” David sings, calling all to their proper place before God.  And this the leper in our gospel does today, indicating indeed to all the attitude we must have toward Jesus, the place we must find at His feet.  With soft hearts we must come before our Lord in tears for the sin upon our souls.  Not like those in the Egyptian desert can we be, those who “saw [His] works for forty years” yet “tested and tried” Him constantly.  This generation indeed He “loathed” in His anger, calling them “a people of erring heart” who “know not [His] ways.”  On the contrary, our hearts must burn with a tender love of God and one another as we approach the Lord in the desert where He waits to save us from our sin.  He will match any tenderness of our own.  “Moved with pity” we shall find Him, ready to gather our broken spirits into His arms.

“Take care, my brothers, lest any of you have an evil and unfaithful spirit and fall away from the living God.”  See that your hearts are never “hardened by the deceit of sin.”  It is always “today” and the Lord is always calling to your soul, always requiring your life from you – always offering His love to you.  Offer your own in return, that you shall not be cast from His presence, that you shall not be ostracized like this leper from the community, but remain ever in His holy fold as “the flock He guides” with His gentle hand… and finally that you might “enter into His rest.”  He calls you to healing at His hand; hear and answer on your knees.

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