FEAST OF SAINT MATTHEW, APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST – 21st SEPTEMBER
September 21, 2022
FEAST OF SAINT THOMAS OF VILLANOVA – 22 SEPTEMBER
September 22, 2022
21st September, 2022
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have established, I am constrained to ask, “What is man, that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you visit him?” – Psalm 8: 3-4
Heavenly God, Father of the universe, your Majesty and Power tell of the magnificent work of your hands, and display the sheer magnitude of such incredible excellence. Your creative glories are unbelievably brilliant and they exceed all manner of descriptive words we may have. And yet man, who you molded out of the dust of the earth, giving him distinction, by shaping him in your likeness and infusing him with your breath, you have deemed worthy of your love, compassion, deliverance, and the vehicle of spreading your glory throughout the universe.
You have bequeathed to man all powers and attributes you possess and you have given him authority and dominion over all things of the earth. We are pitiful, fragile, weak, sensitive, sinful, and can be destroyed like a speck of dust, which the gust of the wind displaces, blowing it away. Yet, you have bestowed on man the use of every created object on earth, in varying degrees, and have framed him with such exquisite care, that it astounds and confounds, all the more when the beauty of the moon, sun, stars are envisioned with contemplative eye.
In comparison with your fatherly indulgence of man, how selfish, and inconsiderate are we, in contrast with you, Who are so infinite in power and wisdom. The first man, Adam was a rebel and we, his offspring, generation upon generation, have absorbed the sinful nature of our ancestors, betraying your eternal love. Yet, Lord, you favor us, and your love, tender mercy and free grace, you lavish upon us, increasing our faith and trust in you, in Jesus’ Name. Amen
