Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
Mark 2:18-22 My mantle of mercy is well-worn, but it still keeps me warm-hearted and protects me from the rain of sin; and my wineskin of faith traditions is darkened with age, but it is becoming more and more flexible with every batch of good, aged wine I drink from it, and lends a mellow flavour to the liturgies and prayer disciplines I practice. Humankind, unfortunately has always, still does, and will forever, continue to reach beyond mercy and traditions to seek out ‘new’ mysteries and theories that will turn heads and raise praise. With as many new theories and dogmas as there are scientists and theologians on earth being proclaimed each day by the ever-pervasive media, it is easy to wonder whether I need to patch my mantle, or fill up with ‘new wine’. Jesus cautions against this, saying that an unshrunk and untried piece of cloth will tear an old garment, and that ‘new wine’ can burst an old wineskin, particularly when the wineskin is unused and brittle. Will I try to take on, and take in, all the new theories of spirituality, imagination and intelligence? Or will I continue to use the faith traditions of the gospel of mercy that have thus far led me to Christ Jesus? Holy Spirit of Jesus, help me use the faith given to me. Take me out of the net hidden for me, for you are my refuge. (Psalm 31:4) We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. St. Teresa of Calcutta www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei
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Mark 2:13-17 When Levi left his tax booth to follow Jesus, he had no doubt that he was a sinner thirsty for Grace and that Jesus was a Grace-filled Deliverer. The scribes and Pharisees were as welcome as Levi to hang out with Jesus. Unfortunately however these ‘elite’ members of society did not realize that they were sinners in need of Grace; nor did they recognize that Jesus is the Saviour of the world. And so they turned their back on their chance to be become more whole by sitting at dinner with the Christ Jesus. All too easily they judged and dismissed not only fellow sinners, but also the Messiah that they purported to be waiting for. Do I, like the Scribes and Pharisees, fail to know myself as a sinner and to recognize and engage with Christ Jesus? Or do I know myself well enough as a sinner to, without judgement, recognize our Redeemer in communion with others? Christ Jesus, help me realize who I am and who you are. You bestow on [us] blessings forever; you make [us] glad with the joy of your presence. (Psalm 119:15) Grace is a certain beginning of glory within us. St. Thomas Acquinas www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei Mark 2:1-12 So many of my attitudes based on pride or avarice, appetites for things of this world, and disordered affections or even altercations with others. Sometimes I don’t even notice a paralysis of heart, mind, soul and spirit creeping into my being. I don’t notice that my heart is beginning to love power, fame or possessions more than God; that my mind is fixed in a pattern of judgement or resentment ; my spirit has become unresponsive to mercy either given or received; or that (not surprisingly) my body is becoming lethargic or dis-eased. This is how the deceits of darkness, that are ‘sins’, separate me from the love of God and of others. Jesus’ focus on the forgiveness of sins first and foremost is not secondary or incidental. Jesus’ absolving our sins is at the heart of the gospel and is the core of our salvation, that is healing. Do I realize how paralyzed I am and how much I, like the man let down through the roof, need forgiveness for my sins? Forgive me Lord, that I might be healed. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. (Psalm 119:15) Grace is a certain beginning of glory within us. St. Thomas Acquinas www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei Mark 1:40-45 Jesus healed a man with leprosy and told him to ‘say nothing to anyone’. Because the man didn’t heed Jesus’ counsel and freely talked about his miraculous healing, Jesus had to leave behind his ideal ministry of being able to move freely around in the towns of Judea. Did Jesus search out the man and ‘set him right’? Did Jesus complain about this change in his vision of his ministry? Did this stop him from carrying out his ministry? Not at all. Crowds of people continued to come to Jesus for teaching and healing and he had the ‘holy flexibility’ to be able to continue to do his work, despite conditions not being ideal. When human error or foolishness prevents me from doing the will of God in the way I see fit, will I have the same holy flexibility as Jesus to graciously continue doing the work of healing and extending God’s mercy that I am assigned to do? Christ Jesus, guide me into your holy flexibility. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. (Psalm 119:15) Grace is a certain beginning of glory within us. St. Thomas Acquinas www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei Mark 1:14-20 When I sin, whether by commission (‘I do the things I ought not to have done’) or by omission (‘leaving undone those things I should have done’) I have three alternatives. I can pretend that turning away from God’s will is no big deal and continue to wander away from his mercy, doing the will of the deceiver. Alternatively, I can become so discouraged by my waywardness that I am filled with regret and despair; this too is the will of the deceiver. Or I can repent of my sin, remembering that I am baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection. Then I can stand up to the father of all lies, and turn back to Father God, the father of all Truth. Then through the redemptive work of Christ Jesus I am able to receive the merciful Grace of baptism, to deal with the consequences of my sin with love and wisdom. Will I repent from my sins and allow the efficacious grace of the Holy Spirit of Christ Jesus to redeem me? Christ Jesus, help me repent and live into my baptism. What shall I return to the Lord for his bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. (Psalm 116:1) Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul. . St. Augustine of Hippo www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei |
AuthorBeverly Illauq lives in Kemptville, Ontario, where she greets each morning by seeking the Gospel Mystery of the Day - the Word of the Lord for direct and practical application to the specific challenges & joys of the day. Archives
March 2024
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