Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
Gospel Mystery of the Day Monday, Februrary 4, 2018
Good Morning! Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119) Hebrews 11:32-40 The world dictates that it is by our strengths we are known and that weakness is to be eliminated by all costs. The Gospel of Christ tells a different story down through the ages of man, particularly in the lives of the saints. When I acknowledge the flaws in my own character and the weakness of my own resolve, then I become open in my ‘nothingness’ to the strength, the wisdom and the power of God. My self-reliance deflects my need for mercy, for wisdom and for the breath of the Holy Spirit. A heart-felt, faith-driven cry for ‘Help!’ on the other hand opens my God-shaped spirit to receive divine compassion, inspiration and endurance. Am I willing to live into my weakness and so welcome the Grace of God? Holy Spirit of God, help me find in my weakness your strength. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. (1 Corinthians 13: 7) The endurance of darkness is the preparation for great light. St. John of the Cross www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei
0 Comments
Luke 4:21-30 The people of Nazareth assumed that they knew all there was to know about Jesus. He had grown up in their town and some of them were even related to Joseph his father, and Mary his mother. Because of their assumptions, the sentiments these people had for Jesus stopped short of recognizing the Son of God and so they took offense at his proclamation of the Good News. Because of their limited expectations they could not accommodate Jesus’ real identity and so they drove him to the brow of a hill intending to throw him to his death. How often have I, by my assumptions about another person, failed to recognize who they are in the eyes of God, and so remained ignorant of the Good News being proclaimed to me through them? How often have I myself driven Jesus, present in another person, to the brow of the hill so He must walk past me to continue on his mission of mercy? Am I able to overcome my own petty assumptions and expectations and recognize others for who they are in God’s sight? Christ Jesus, help me love beyond the limits of my assumptions. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. (1 Corinthians 13: 7) Faith sees God’s face in every human face. Catherine Doherty www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei
Mark 4: 26-34 Like day dawning, hearts knowing, and plants growing, the faith, hope and love of the kingdom of God predictably comes to fullness creatively,quietly and predictably in humanity as much as humanity aligns itself with the Holy Spirit of Jesus. In our digitally driven world, we have come to expect everything to be instantaneous and within our control, even our faith, our hope and our love. But still, the development of our hearts, minds, souls and bodies, like the ways of nature around us, is not instantaneous and is outside of our control. Like the ground in Jesus’ parable I, as a member of the human race, can be open to the seeds of life scattered by the hand of God in all life forms, human constructions, and natural phenomenon of the world. Then quietly and predictably Christ’s life that is the essence of the kingdom of God will flourish and mature within me without any programming of outcomes or the pressing of buttons. Once I truly receive and cultivate the seeds of his word in my life, the Holy Spirit of God’s presence can grow up into fullness and fruitfulness my life. That is the way the Kingdom of God evolves, one soul at a time. Christ Jesus, teach me how your life grows into humanity to bring about the kingdom of God. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4) Like a sunflower that follows every movement of the sun, So I turn toward You to follow You, my God. In simplicity and charity I follow, I turn toward you to follow You, my God. St. John Paul II 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
Categories |