2 Corinthians 3:15-18; 2 Cor 4:1,3-6
15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their minds;
16 but when a man turns to the Lord the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
1 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing.
4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the likeness of God. 5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
Matthew 5:20-26
20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
21 “You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.’
22 But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to the hell of fire.
23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
24 leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
25 Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; 26 truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.
MEDITATION
St PAUL’S EPISTLE seeks to inspire and offer hope to this young Christian community who may still be struggling to make sense and reconcile the new revelation of Christ with the laws and teachings of Moses. Moses descended from the mount with the Word, Christ the word is the new Moses who complete the journey to the promised land. What was formally covered by a veil in the holy of holies has been made present to us by the Spirit. Where the Spirit is, there is Christ and where Christ is their is the Spirit!
The Sacrifice of the Holy Mass is the ministry of mercy where mans venial sins are forgiven when we partake and look upon the one who is able to exonerate us from our sins. It appears that some ‘belivers’ are still blind to the revelation of this truth which Paul lays at the feet of the false god, Satan! The laws of Moses left no room for mercy and forgiveness whereas the new law seeks to transform the heart and conscience of man towards the other which goes against the works of the evil one who despise acts of repentence and forgiveness!
THE GOSPEL READING: Our Lord acknowledge the piety of the scribes and Pharisees in so far as they endeavored to be observant to the laws of Moses. Christ now raises the bar when He address the root causes that permeate in the heart and subconscious of man that leads to actions and words that inflict pain, injury, seperation and ultimately death.
Our Lord in no uncertain terms excoriate and admonish us who approach the altar of Sacrifice to receive His body and blood, when we are not in a state of grace, because our hearts and minds are at odds with the gospel of repentence! To be sure,in order to have our sins forgiven, we need first and foremost be reconciled with one another! We aught not to receive the body, blood soul and divinity of Christ in the Eucharist when we hold grudges against anyone! By delaying our efforts to seek reconciliation with those whom we have hurt, and or those who have hurt us: “…and forgive us our trespasses ‘As We’ forgive those who trespass against us…;” shall delay our release from bondage in this life and extend our state of purgation in the hereafter. Those who are not in a state of grace may join the communion line to receive a blessing from the priest by crossing their arms and bowing before the priest. Do not pass blame or wait for the other party to first seek peace; be the better person and raise the bar by seeking forgiveness and peace quickly!
LET US PRAYER: Psalms 85:9-13
9 Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land.10 Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.11 Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky. 12 Yea, the LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before him, and make his footsteps a way.
Author. Henry R SYLVESTER Note: The daily scripture readings are taken from the Roman Missal which the Catholic Church use in the daily Celebration of the Holy Eucharist throughout the world.Some weekly readings may differ because of the celebration of local feast days.
Morning Coffee Meditations. 
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