Daily Mass Readings and Daily Meditation ”The Word Among Us” Friday, 1 November 2013

Daily Mass Readings and Daily Meditation ”The Word Among Us”

Friday, 1 November 2013

Meditation: Matthew 5:1 Seeing the multitudes, he went up onto the mountain. When he had sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 He opened his mouth and taught them, saying,

3  “Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.✡

4  Blessed are those who mourn,

for they shall be comforted.✡

5  Blessed are the gentle,

for they shall inherit the earth.*✡

6  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness,

for they shall be filled.

7  Blessed are the merciful,

for they shall obtain mercy.

8  Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they shall see God.

9  Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they shall be called children of God.

10  Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake,

for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

11  “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12  Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.(Messianic WEB)

All Saints

Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. (Matthew 5:8)

Cultures around the world have a wide range of perceptions about cleanliness. From the crumbs on the floor to the number of showers people take in a week, cleanliness standards are shaped by a mixture of politics, religion, and the availability of clean water.

Today’s readings talk about a different kind of cleanliness, the kind that has been sought by the saints whose lives we celebrate today: purity of heart. The first reading tells us that all the saints in heaven are wearing white robes, which have been washed clean in the “blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14). The responsorial psalm tells us that only “the clean of hand and pure of heart” will be able to stand in God’s presence (Psalm 24:4). And the second reading says that our hope for heaven motivates us to become “pure, as he is pure” (1 John 3:3).

This kind of purity is not something we can attain on our own. It’s a gift graciously given to us by the Lord. At Baptism, he cleansed us of original sin. In Confession, he washes us clean of the sins we have committed. He even cleanses our consciences every time we turn to him in prayer and ask his pardon! Over and over, his grace reaches down to our souls and offers us a new start.

As you celebrate the saints today, think of the many people who have gone before you, all those who have been purified in the blood of the Lamb. Imagine them in heaven, caught up in worship, filled with the love of the Lord. Then picture yourself there with them. This is the promise of the gospel, the promise to everyone who seeks purity of heart. Let Jesus, the Lamb of God, cleanse you all over again today. Stay close to him, and you will end up worshipping him with the great multitude!

“All blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and ever!” AMEN!

Revelation 7:2 I saw another angel ascend from the sunrise, having the seal of the living God. He cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “Don’t harm the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, until we have sealed the bondservants of our God on their foreheads!” 4 I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel:9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could count, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. 10 They cried with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation be to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

11 All the angels were standing around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before his throne, and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might, be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

13 One of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are arrayed in the white robes, who are they, and from where did they come?”

14 I told him, “My lord, you know.”

He said to me, “These are those who came out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes, and made them white in the Lamb’s blood.(Messianic WEB)

Psalm 24:A Psalm by David.

1 The earth is the LORD’s, with its fullness;

the world, and those who dwell therein.

2 For he has founded it on the seas,

and established it on the floods.

3 Who may ascend to the LORD’s hill?

Who may stand in his holy place?

4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart;

who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood,

and has not sworn deceitfully.

5 He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,

righteousness from the God of his salvation.

6 This is the generation of those who seek Him,

who seek your face—even Jacob.(Messianic WEB)

1 John 3:1 See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it is not yet revealed what we will be. But we know that, when he is revealed, we will be like him; for we will see him just as he is. 3 Everyone who has this hope set on him purifies himself, even as he is pure.(Messianic WEB)

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