Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
Mark 8:27-33 Whether lazing in the luxury of life, or being buffeted by the winds and wild waters of life, it is easy, like Peter, to rely on simply human thought to prompt my words and actions. Jesus pointed his hot-headed disciple to be more mindful about where his thoughts directed him: “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” When I see things from God’s point of view, I am much less likely to panic, to make a fool of myself, or to lose my temper and my dignity with unfounded and ungrounded emotional reactions to the events of life. Am I perceiving the circumstances and relationships of my life from my own earthbound perspective or from God’s perspective? Holy Spirit of Jesus, help me think like God. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. (Psalm 119:15) Listen and attend with the ear of your heart. St. Benedict www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei
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James 1:19-27www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A19-27&version=NIV Made in the image of God as we human being are, we (super) naturally have the imprint of our life-giving Creator within us. By submitting to the Word of truth and mercy, holiness and blessedness, that God has planted deep within our collective and individual hearts, we can choose to live in the light of his love. Will I blame and disrespect, demean and frustrate, ignore or try to manipulate the Holy Spirit of God, or will I listen to, understand, and walk with the Holy Spirit of God within? Holy Spirit, help me submit to God and accept the Word that he plants in my heart. Those who walk blamelessly and do what is right... shall never be moved. (Psalm 15:1,5) Listen and attend with the ear of your heart. St. Benedict www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei Mark 8:14-21 A miniscule amount of bad yeast goes a long way. It can ferment a whole pot of otherwise good food into an unpalatable or even poisonous substance, and if introduced into a human body, can produce a massive and tenacious infection. No doubt with this in mind, Jesus warns us to ‘be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod’, against adopting even one iota of the controlling and fastidious, religiosity of the Pharisees, or one cell of the self-centred, unjust and evil hedonism of Herod, both of which were devoid of God’s love and truth, the Pharisees from the ‘religious’ side of things and Herod from the ‘worldly’ perspective. When I make a choice to say a couple of heartless ‘gimme’ prayers or criticize my neighbour’s lifestyle, I am introducing the yeast of the self-righteous Pharisees into my life. Similarly when I indulge one small craving for that which is not good, or respond to someone in need with ‘just’ five minutes of hard-hearted indifference, I am introducing the yeast of the self-centredness of Herod into my soul. Today, will I be on my guard against miniscule steps towards evil religiosity and the vanity of worldliness, and instead take firm steps into the mercy and truth of the Holy Spirit of God? Holy Spirit of Jesus, help me be on guard against the yeast of ungodliness. O that my people would listen to me, and walk (and talk) in my ways! (Psalm 95:7) Walk with your feet on earth, but in your heart be in heaven. St. John Bosco www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei Christ Jesus, open my ears to hear your mercy, and loosen my tongue to speak your mercy ...2/14/2020 Mark 7:31-37 A man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech was brought to Jesus for healing. Like this man, many of us living in the sheer noise of present day society have become deaf to the sounds that matter most in life – the cries of the marginalized and the persecuted, groans of the imprisoned and the sick, the weeping of those in grief, and the still, mercy-full voice of God. As a result we, too, are impeded in the normal speech of compassion, righteousness and thanksgiving because our hearts are not trusting God, and are not at peace. Like the deaf man in the story, we too - I too - need some private time with Jesus, so that he can touch my ears to open them to hear his voice, and release our tongues from the mundane, self-centred and disheartening conversations we so easily voice. Once opened and released by Jesus, then we – then I –will be able to hear and to speak the message of God’s mercy. Will I go to Jesus in private that he might open my ears and release my tongue? Christ Jesus, open my ears to hear your mercy, and loosen my tongue to speak your mercy. O that my people would listen to me, and walk (and talk) in my ways! (Psalm 95:7) Walk with your feet on earth, but in your heart be in heaven. St. John Bosco www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei Mark 7:14-23 When admonishing the scribes and lawyers of his day, Jesus cited a long list of sins that undergird human error, no matter how many customs, laws or traditions we follow. When I compare my own heart, mind, soul and strength to a list that begins with fornication, theft, murder and adultery, I can easily turn away with a smug smile because I don’t do these things. But the list goes on, citing life products that include deceit, envy, slander and folly. Unfortunately sins such as these all too often creep into my heart and mind, leading my soul and strength (my body), astray. What help is there for me? Thankfully, Christ Jesus died once for all as a sign and a sacrifice that shows me the way to purification and redemption, time and time again. Will I open my heart to God, and allow him, through the atoning work of his Son, to purify my whole being? Father God, purify my heart, mind, soul and strength. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. (Psalm 37:1) Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in his wonderful face, And the things of this world will grow strangely dim, In the Light of his goodness and grace. Lauren Daigle 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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