Reading 1 Is 6:1-8
I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne,
with the train of his garment filling the temple.
Seraphim were stationed above; each of them had six wings:
with two they veiled their faces,
with two they veiled their feet,
and with two they hovered aloft.
They cried one to the other,
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!
All the earth is filled with his glory!”
At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook
and the house was filled with smoke.
Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed!
For I am a man of unclean lips,
living among a people of unclean lips;
yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me,
holding an ember that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
He touched my mouth with it and said,
“See, now that this has touched your lips,
your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
“Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”
“Here I am,” I said; “send me!”
Responsorial Psalm Ps 93:1ab, 1cd-2, 5
The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed:
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
Alleluia 1 Pt 4:14
R. Alleluia, alleluia.If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you,
for the Spirit of God rests upon you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Mt 10:24-33
“No disciple is above his teacher,
no slave above his master.
It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher,
for the slave that he become like his master.
If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul,
how much more those of his household!
“Therefore do not be afraid of them.
Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known.
What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;
what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul;
rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy
both soul and body in Gehenna.
Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?
Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.
Even all the hairs of your head are counted.
So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Everyone who acknowledges me before others
I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.
But whoever denies me before others,
I will deny before my heavenly Father.”
LIP BALM
"Now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged." –Isaiah 6:7
A seraph touched Isaiah's lips with a hot ember from the heavenly altar (Is 6:6). The seraph said: "Now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged" (Is 6:7). Something from heaven touched Isaiah's lips, and his lips were then opened to speak the prophetic Word of God.
How blessed we are, for something sent from heaven touches our lips also: the Eucharist, the body of Christ (Jn 6:32-33; Catechism, 1402). Like Isaiah's ember, the Eucharist touches our lips, removes our wickedness, and purges our sin. Jesus indicated this sin-purging capability, telling us, "This is My blood, the blood of the covenant, to be poured out in behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins" (Mt 26:28; see also Catechism, 1846).
The Church teaches: "The Eucharist cannot unite us to Christ without at the same time cleansing us from past sins and preserving us from future sins" (Catechism, 1393), especially "from future mortal sins" (Catechism, 1395). "As bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens our charity, which tends to be weakened in daily life; and this living charity wipes away venial sins" (Catechism, 1394). However, "the Eucharist is not ordered to the forgiveness of mortal sins – that is proper to the sacrament of Reconciliation" (Catechism, 1395).
How could anyone not want to receive the Eucharist frequently, daily if possible? Let Jesus touch your lips and life.
| PRAYER: | Jesus, I dedicate the rest of my life to Your eucharistic body and blood. May I lead thousands into a Eucharistic lifestyle. |
| PROMISE: | "Whoever acknowledges Me before men I will acknowledge before My Father in heaven." –Mt 10:32 |
| PRAISE: | St. Augustine did not fear difficult situations as he bravely gave up his life for God. |
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