GIVE ME COURAGE…

Esther 14:1,3-5,12-14
1 And Esther the queen, seized with deathly anxiety, fled to the Lord;3 And she prayed to the Lord God of Israel, and said: “O my Lord, thou only art our King; help me, who am alone and have no helper but thee,4 for my danger is in my hand.5 Ever since I was born I have heard in the tribe of my family that thou, O Lord, didst take Israel out of all the nations, and our fathers from among all their ancestors, for an everlasting inheritance, and that thou didst do for them all that thou didst promise.12 Remember, O Lord; make thyself known in this time of our affliction, and give me courage, O King of the gods and Master of all dominion!13 Put eloquent speech in my mouth before the lion, and turn his heart to hate the man who is fighting against us, so that there may be an end of him and those who agree with him.14 But save us by thy hand, and help me, who am alone and have no helper but thee, O Lord.

Matthew 7:7-12 

7 “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.8 For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.9 Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!12 So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.

MEDITATION 

THE FIRST READING: Eshter who had drifted from her Jewish faith after she became the wife of King Ahasuerus, hastily returned to God in prayer asking that He make Himself known to her, upon discovering that her husband’s adviser was plotting to eviscerate her Hebrew people. To be sure, Eshter did not only request God’s intercession, she sought to obtain the wisdom to enunciate and proclaim her Hebrew beliefs. Moreover, she asked God to give her the strength, to stand in the breach and defend her people against the enemy!

THE GOSPEL READING: Christ makes the point that a concerned loving father will not give his son or daughter a stone or a snake should they request bread, to illustrate that God wish to give us what we need rather than what we want, which may not nesserarily appeal to our sense and sensibilities, nevermind our temporal desires. 

If the truth be told, the last sixty years have seen the systimatic degradation of society wherefor the objective human identity of the sons and daughters of God, has been called into question, twisted and renamed by secularists and even believers who posit that a stone is also bread and a fish can also be a serpent! If we have drifted away from the faith; twisting, not living, misrepresenting or not understanding God’s word for whatever reason,—now is the time to indulge God to illuminate our heart and mind—giving us the courage to say no to that which is; sinful, evil and contrary to Gods design and His will. We are called to stand up, defend and uphold that which is objectively; rational, true, good, beautiful and holy—never contrary to Gods commandments and design!  

LET US PRAY:Psalms 138:1-3,7-8

1 A Psalm of David.
I give thee thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing thy praise;
2 I bow down toward thy holy temple and give thanks to thy name for thy steadfast love and thy faithfulness; for thou hast exalted above everything thy name and thy word.3 On the day I called, thou didst answer me, my strength of soul thou didst increase.7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou dost preserve my life; thou dost stretch out thy hand against the wrath of my enemies, and thy right hand delivers me.8 The LORD will fulfil his purpose for me; thy steadfast love, O LORD, endures for ever. Do not forsake the work of thy hands

Commentary. 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.