Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
Isaiah 50:4-9 Flint is a special kind of rock that is very resilient, yet able to be formed. In many cultures it has been worked into arrow heads, knives and even scalpels. It was also used before matches to create a spark that started life-giving fires. Jesus’ heart was like flint as it was resilient, and carefully formed to cut away the deceits of evil from the truth of God, throughout his ministry and along the Way of the Cross. Because his heart was like flint, it sparked mighty fires of light and of love that still burn to this day in our own hearts. Is my own heart enough like flint to that I can say with Jesus: Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who are my adversaries? Let them confront me. It is the Lord God who helps me. Who will [really] declare me guilty? Christ Jesus, help me, like you, set my heart like flint. I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. Let the oppressed see it and be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive. (Psalm 69:30, 32) Although the life of a person is a land full of thorns and weeds, there is always a space in which the good seed can grow. You have to trust God. PopeFrancis www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Soli gloriam dei.
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Isaiah 49:1-6 & Psalm 71
All kinds of remedies purport to save our minds and bodies, but it is only connection with our Creator that is said to save our souls. Similarly only the ancient bed rock of the earth is known to be an unshakeable foundation in times of earthquake, fire and flood. As my rock of salvation God’s faithfulness stands sure beyond the shakes and quakes of social trends in civilizations as they come and go; God’s mercy stands sure above the modern torrents of absurd issues and ideals; and God’s wisdom stands sure amidst the fires of overwhelming pride and greed that daily martyr thousands of men, women and children around the world. Let us not forget that it was this same rock of salvation that sustained Christ Jesus through the torture and crucifixion of Good Friday – and raised him from death to eternal glory three days later. Lord God, be to me the rock of my salvation. Let hearts that seek the Lord rejoice; turn to the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face. (Psalm 104) There is always a space in which the good seed can grow. You have to trust God. PopeFrancis www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Soli gloriam dei. Isaiah 50:4-7 Holy Spirit of God, help me listen as one who is taught... Jesus showed us that being a teacher and a preacher – a proclaimer – of the mercy of God does not preclude being a student. Indeed our Lord, modelled by prayer a man whose ‘ear is wakened to listen as those who are taught’. If Jesus as the Son of God who was the Son of humankind spent time humbly listening to his Father, I too, all the more, need to have enough focus (and humility) to hear, receive and learn the greater wisdom of God. In this way I, like the Master, can consistently be renewed to extend the mercy of God into the world by my life and my attention. Am I open to being a student of God’s truth and love, moment by moment, again and again? Holy Spirit of God, help me listen as one who is taught. Let hearts that seek the Lord rejoice; turn to the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face. (Psalm 104) You have made us for Yourself and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You. St. Augustine of Hippo www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Soli gloriam dei. Ezekiel 37:21-28 Western society today seems bound and determined to separate and scatter nations, communities, families and even friends. While social media connects globally, face to face interpersonal relationships are languishing. Even as individuals we are becoming more fragmented mentally as we try to respond to all the issues, ideas and ideals that vie for our attention; witness the flood of mental health cases blocking emergency rooms of hospitals – and hundreds of empty churches. God’s plan is that we live abundantly socially, mentally, physically and spiritually, present to others within his own merciful presence. He desires that He be our God, and that we truly become his people ... that he might sanctify us and place his sanctuary among us forever. Am I willing to be gathered from all the places I have strayed to the embrace of God’s truth and love? Holy Spirit of God, gather us from every quarter and bring us to yourself. I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for their sorrow. (Psalm 31) You have made us for Yourself and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You. St. Augustine of Hippo www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Soli gloriam dei. Daniel 3:13-95 Christ Jesus, help me continue in your word ... I can strengthen my resolve, bolster my courage and steel my nerves ... and still falter when I face opposition or persecution. Shadrach (Daniel), Meshach and Abednego –and our Master, Jesus the Christ –had a different take on living into life’s challenges. The three young Jewish men consistently continued in the word of God whether they were being bound and led into slavery in Babylon, being tempted by wealth or thrown into a fiery furnace. They held fast to the word of God written in their hearts and tumbling from their lips in hymns of praise. Jesus who was himself the living word of God let his crucified and risen body speak volumes about the love and mercy of God for humankind. Today will my life be a continuing witness to the word of God that the Father’s Son and the Holy Spirit whisper into my heart? Then I too might deal with every situation with faith, hope and love. Christ Jesus, help me continue in your word. If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. (John 8:31) How can we complain when he himself was considered as ‘one struck by God and afflicted.’? St. Therese of Lisieux www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Soli 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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