Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
Isaiah 7:1-19
It is a sure thing that adversity comes from time to time to each one of us as individuals, as family and as community. What can get us through any of the overwhelming situations that sweep over us? Will it be new ideologies and programs or will it be faith in God? When King Ahaz of Judah was about to be besieged and swept away by the two other Jewish kingdoms, the Lord prompted Isaiah to counsel him, “Take heed, be quiet, do not fear and do not let your heart be faint because of these two firebrands (a.k.a. hotheads)”. These words of holy advice still stand today. Am I trying to grasp onto some new ideology or approach to problem solving, or am I standing firm –and quiet –in faith? As the Lord says through Isaiah, “If you do not stand firm in faith, you do not stand at all.” Christ Jesus, in waves of adversity, help me stand firm in faith. I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. (Psalm 16:8) Holiness consists simply in doing God`s will, and being just what God wants us to be. St. Thérèse of Lisieux Soli gloriam dei .
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Isaiah 1:10-17
“Do good to others” rolls off my tongue so easily. ‘Of course I do good to others! I don`t deliberately set out to do others harm!’, I say. But do I deliberately set out to do good to others? Such goodness requires that I cut away my own self-interests and focus on what is good for each person I encounter. When I focus on others’ good, I find myself speaking kind words with a waitress, connecting with a distressed mother alone with a crying toddler, and gently responding to a grouchy young cashier. Each of these deliberate actions of doing good to others lightens their burdens –and mine as well. Christ Jesus, help me do good to others. To those who go the right way I will show the salvation of God. (Psalm 50:23) Holiness consists simply in doing God`s will, and being just what God wants us to be. St. Thérèse of Lisieux Soli gloriam dei . Hosea 10:1-12
Hosea encouraged the people of his day to ‘seek the Lord that he may come and rain righteousness upon you’(v.12). We all seek to right the wrongs of the world, and to find steadfast love that embraces us 24/7. But am I prepared to break up the fallow ground (or those complacent parts of my life caught up with the flow of self-centredness) so that I can sow righteousness into the fabric of my life? As much as I do plant the seeds of righteousness in my mind and my soul, and cultivate the resulting crop of mercy, I receive the steadfast love of God and can then extend His mercy to others along life’s journey. Holy Spirit of God, help me sow righteousness to reap steadfast love. Seek the Lord and his strength. See his presence continually. (Psalm 105:4) Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength. St. Francis de Sales Soli gloriam dei . Hosea 8:4-13
I am sometimes very casual about the instructions of God, the Ten Commandments, the Summary of the Commandments, the Beatitudes –indeed all of scripture. As much as I embrace the godless culture of the day, the instructions of the Lord can become simply ‘add-ons’ to my life rather than its fundamental ‘operating system’. When I find myself drowning in anxiety, clinging to persons, places or things for comfort, or raging rather than praying, I can be sure that I have minimized the instructions of the Lord. Do I favour the self-centred trends of this godless generation in which we live? Or am I sufficiently steeped in the instructions of the Holy Spirit of God to make them not only more familiar than strange, but also central in my life today? Christ Jesus, let your instructions become very familiar to me. Happy are those who keep his decrees, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways. (Psalm 119:2-3) Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength. St. Francis de Sales 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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