Luke 21:21-28

 
The good thing about being ‘ready’ to testify is that testifying to the nature of God  - his truth, mercy, power and purpose – is both active and passive.  It is a ‘balanced activity’ if you will.  Yes, to testify to the nature of God actively and purposefully requires  that I ‘show up’, make good choices,  and then dedicate my body and soul to be instruments of the Holy Spirit through committed prayer time, words, and actions to the glory of God. But even when I passively yield my thoughts, words and deeds to God, whether in life,  and even in death, then God’s Holy Spirit can and does manifest his mercy, his truth, his power and his purpose through my whole being, both living and remembered, moment by moment, day by day.  Will I fully yield my heart, mind, soul and strength to the agency of God to bring about his kingdom on earth?  Holy Spirit of God, ready me to testify to your truth and mercy, your power and purpose.   
 
And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?  (Jesus in Luke 12:57)
 
Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee…
Frances R. Havergal (1874)
 
Soli ad gloriam Dei
Gospel Mystery of the Day on FaceBook & www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca
 
 
 
 
 

 
Luke 23:35-43

 
As we head into the first week of the Advent season, it is good to consider where the Incarnation of Christ Jesus is heading – to the Cross, emblazoned as it was with “Jesus, King of the Jews”.  Jesus may have been known as the King of the Jews; but is he known today as the King of the Christians – of you and me? I ponder what a king could be to me… A king is worthy of my full allegiance.  “I work for the King” becomes my full reason for being; All that I am is defined by my position as his emissary. He is the one I look up to.  He is absolutely trustworthy for me. His ways are my ways, his message my message, and he allows me to speak on his behalf. All that I have or gain, I gladly give him. I am convinced that He knows me through and through and needs me – and indeed delights in me-  exactly as I am. I rest in doing his will, knowing that nothing I do out of allegiance to him is wasted as I work for him and .. I love him with a fierce courage. I only hope and pray that I might remain his faithful servant fulfilling all that he needs me to be, to do, and to proclaim with my life. Am I ready to proclaim the Word Incarnate, the infant Jesus, born of Mary, my Lord and my King? Christ Jesus, you are my King!  
 
And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?  (Jesus Luke 12:57)
 
Every Christian is called to take his/her place in the army of King Jesus and to wrestle as a fellow-conqueror with Him. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against power… against spiritual wickedness in high places”. (Ephesians 6:12 )
Corrie Ten Boom
 
Soli ad gloriam Dei
Gospel Mystery of the Day on FaceBook & www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca
 
 
 
 

 
Philippians 4:10 – 19

 
In his letters to the churches of his day, St. Paul often pointed out the trials and troubles he had endured, as well as the many accolades he received during his life time.  More specifically in his letter to the church in Philippi, he mentions how he knows what it is to have little, and what it is to have plenty – and that he has learned to be content with both scenarios.  I too have times of little – food, money, time, energy, friends, family – and of plenty.  And, I too have times of little heartache and of plenty of heartache due to challenges, a.k.a. troubles and trials.  After 5 decades of dealing with life head- on as an adult, I am finally learning, along with St. Paul,  to be content with whatever I have (v. 11)  and that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me(v.13). Living into the joy of my calling as a disciple of Christ in this way, Life, Love and Light in Christ Jesus take on new meaning each day.  What an adventure!   When I face poverty of spirit or of body will I fold up into despair or stand up into the strength that Christ provides?  Holy Spirit of God, help me be content with whatever I have.
 
Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart.  (Philippians 4:6)
 
Do not spend your energies on things that generate worry, anxiety and anguish. Only one thing is necessary: lift up your spirit and love God.  
St. Pius of Pietrelcina, Padre Pio
 
 
Soli ad gloriam Dei
Gospel Mystery of the Day on FaceBook & www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca
 
 

 
Psalm 24

 
So many ideas, issues and imperfections needing to be made right vie for my attention! It is so easy to ‘lift up my soul’ to these things, that clatter and clamber for my time and energy, and to lose my head, heart and even body to their complexities.  Unlike the ‘challenges’ of daily life, the  truths of God’s love and mercy, constantly and quietly at work in all of creation do not fetter me with their urgency or consume my spirit.  Rather, God’s Holy Spirit simply extends moments of joy and times of peace to me, requiring only that I show up, watch for his fingerprints in the world around me and in my own heart, and delight in the reflection of His face in the eyes of other men, women and children… and lift up my soul to his Holy Spirit.  Will I lose myself in the ways and days of social unrest and human error, or will I allow my soul to reach up to the glory and the light of Father God, his Son who desires only to redeem and heal me, and the Holy Spirit who always holds out comfort, protection and wisdom to me?  Holy Spirit of God, help me not lift up my soul to what is false. 
 
And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?  (Jesus Luke 12:57)
 
Do not spend your energies on things that generate worry, anxiety and anguish. Only one thing is necessary: lift up your spirit and love God.  
St. Pius of Pietrelcina, Padre Pio
 
Check out these video versions of “St. Patrick’s Breastplate” … St. Patrick’s Hymn to God’s constant presence with us.
 :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c1b9hqzpaI 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQHWeOnjmHU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuzYaDrwwz8
 
Soli ad gloriam Dei
Gospel Mystery of the Day on FaceBook & www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca
 

 
Ephesians 3: 13 - 21

 
How can I know the love of Christ? Only as I live into the extraordinary love of Christ can I intimately know the love that Christ Jesus used as his ‘operating system’. The Love of Christ strengthened Jesus to teach and to work tirelessly with the crowds who constantly brought him their queries and their quandaries, their sicknesses, their anguish, and their injustices  and sins, for His healing touch.  The love of God motivated Christ Jesus to live on this earth very lightly, turning away from riches and power to embrace the humility, the challenges and the heartaches of his own life.  And it was the Love of God operating in Christ Jesus that strengthened him to walk into Jerusalem, to face the torture that awaited him, and transform it into the Passion of our Lord that allowed him to broker our salvation by being crucified. It is this all-consuming, courageous,  and persevering love that can transform me – from being a tired, tiresome and weak-kneed follower of “Jesus’ teachings” into a true disciple of Christ Jesus, fired by the Love of the Holy Spirit of God.  Will I have the strength to understand – and to love with – the love of Christ?  Holy Spirit of God empower me to know the love of Christ.   
 
Blessed Be the Lord, my rock, my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield in whom I take refuge.  (Psalm 144:1)
 
That same power that raised Jesus from the dead is living in you…
St. Paul’s to the Romans, 8:11
 
Check out these video versions of “St. Patrick’s Breastplate” … St. Patrick’s Hymn to God’s constant presence with us.
 :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c1b9hqzpaI 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQHWeOnjmHU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuzYaDrwwz8
 
Soli ad gloriam Dei
Gospel Mystery of the Day on FaceBook & www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca