Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
Holy Spirit of God, root and ground my thoughts, words and actions in your abundant mercy…8/20/2021 Matthew 20:1-16 The parable of the Hiring of Workers in the Vineyard is an eternal story of the two perspectives of every human relationship. On the one hand is the worldly perspective driven by the workers, particularly those eager-beavers who were hired first thing in the morning. These people were driven by ‘each one for him/herself’; “us and them” ; “get as much as I can” values and based on hierarchical and judgmental beliefs. On the other hand is the divine perspective represented by the vineyard keeper. Like God, the owner of the vineyard was driven by the need to have the vineyard (humanity) tended as well as possible, and based on divine wisdom, compassion and generosity, undergirded by faithfulness. In every connection and contact with others, whether formal or informal, I have a choice to be directed by a self-referenced worldly viewpoint, or to root my thoughts, words and deeds in the eternal and ubiquitous mercy of God. Will I think, speak and act from my own world view, or from the Grace of God’s Mercy? How will a Mercy-full perspective change me and my connections with others? Holy Spirit of God, help me root and ground my thoughts, words, and actions in your abundant Mercy. My soul makes its boast in the Lord. Let the humble hear and be glad. (Psalm 34:2) Without faith there is no communication, there is no love, or if there was a little love it will die without hope, trust and confidence. Even if communication does not die right away, it will be so ill, so weak, and tired that communication will be miserable as well. Faith alone can restore communication. Catherine Doherty, Poustinia, P. 152 Soli ad gloriam Gospel Mystery of the Day on FaceBook & www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca
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Judges 2:11-19 If I hope God remains with me, then it makes sense that I will faithfully remain with God. How, then, do otherwise faithful people turn away from the Holy Spirit of God? It is the thin edges of wedges that allow us to gradually abandon our faith, our relationship with Father God. A small judgment here, a niggling doubt there, giving into a ‘little’ self-serving there, flirting with possessions ‘just because I can’, or courting fame when success seems within reach - and suddenly I am turned away from my Father. Instead I am, like the Israelites in Joshua’s time, making my way along a path of self-centredness and self-deceit to following false gods. If I am serious about faithfully remaining with God, I will need to make many small decisions each day to patiently persevere in choosing faith, hope and love above all else each small moment of every hour, day by day. Will I deliberately turn aside from sin (that is separation from the Holy Spirit) to remain faith full, to remain with God? Holy Spirit of God, help me faithfully remain with you. Many times the Lord delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes. (Psalm 106:43) Holiness does not consist of doing extraordinary things. Holiness consists of accepting, with a smile, whatever Jesus sends us. It consists of accepting and following God’s will. Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta Soli ad gloriam Gospel Mystery of the Day on FaceBook & www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Joshua 3:7-17 As the Israelites approached the Jordan River at its widest, they were daunted by the river as a barrier to their journey into the land promised to them by the Lord. How could the men, women, children, their livestock with all their gear hope to proceed? For three days they needed to wait with Joshua for the Lord to fulfill his promise. The piling up of the upstream waters was their sign that their waiting had not been useless: they walked ahead, over the dry river bottom to arrive safely on the other side, ready to continue their journey and more than ever assured of God’s faithfulness. When I come up against a ‘river’ of challenges and difficulty, God calls me to wait with him on the shore, until the ‘waters upstream’, that are all the things informed against my journey, are held up, and God makes the way plain and solid before me. Will I panic and run away from the barriers in my path forward, or will I faith-fully wait for the Lord to push back the things that seem bent on drowning me, and find the way he prepares for me? Holy Spirit of God, help me remain with you as you show me the way forward. I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. (Psalm 34:2) Holiness does not consist of doing extraordinary things. Holiness consists of accepting, with a smile, whatever Jesus sends us. It consists of accepting and following Gods will. Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta Another song for summer retreat time … A hymn of thanks! You Raise Me Up! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuGD4KqKLtE Soli ad gloriam Gospel Mystery of the Day on FaceBook & www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Gospel Mystery of the Day Thursday, August 12, 2021 Good Morning! Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119) Ephesians 4:30 – 5:2 & John 6;41-51 Christ Jesus, help me receive without complaint what you give to me… Whenever I find myself wanting what I want when I want it, I begin to complain. When I complain, I open the door of my life to bitterness, wrath, wrangling and slander, not to mention malice. On the contrary, as much as I trustingly receive what God brings into my life, whether painful or comforting, challenging or consoling, I open my life to kindness and tenderheartedness towards everyone and the readiness and wisdom to forgive myself and others. Then love like the love of Christ radiates from my thoughts, words and deeds. Yes, it may be that I find my life-blood being spent for the sake of others – there are often times when I am ‘gifted’ with pain or suffering that ultimately purify and strengthen my being. But then I will be even closer to Jesus. Will I complain about the ‘bread’ God gives me to sustain and strengthen my life, like the Israelites of old or the un-faithful of today? Or will I, like Christ, receive God’s gifts to become a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God? Christ Jesus, help me receive without complaint what you give to me. My soul makes its boast in the Lord. Let the humble hear and be glad. (Psalm 34:2) Holiness does not consist of doing extraordinary things. Holiness consists of accepting, with a smile, whatever Jesus sends us. It consists of accepting and following God’s will. Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta Another song for summer retreat time … One way Jesus is the ‘bread of life’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuGD4KqKLtE Soli ad gloriam Gospel Mystery of the Day on FaceBook & www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Matthew 17:14-20 Jesus’ explanation for his disciples’ inability to cast out a demon causing epilepsy - because they did not have enough faith - was clearly jarring to the disciples. They had approached Jesus to find out ‘what they did wrong’. But it wasn’t what they had done wrong, but rather that they had been mistakenly relying on their own skills, instead of relying on the nature of God. The faith Jesus says that his disciples lack is not the so-called faith of a faith-healer, who might say, I command the pain to disappear. That kind of healing is a showy and an exterior fix. The faith that Jesus says will move mountains comes from the kind of relationship he had with his Father in heaven. We are told that during his ministry, Jesus constantly referenced his teachings and his works to the mercy and the creativity of his heavenly Father - and spent hours alone in prayer with him. Every relationship, every meeting and every conversation was founded and grounded in his own relationship with God. As much as Jesus was aligned with his Father, his faith was grounded and sufficient to do anything in the realm of God’s will. This is the constant, clear and powerful faith that the disciples lacked. This is the kind of faith I need, to move, according to God’s will, the mountains of injustice, oppression, suffering, ignorance and stubbornness that plague my family, my community, and our world today. Will I open my soul to God to become so aligned with the Holy Spirit that I will have true faith the size of a mustard seed, enough to allow God to move the mountains of sin and suffering around me? Holy Spirit of Jesus, help me open my soul to your kind of faith. We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. (2 Peter 1:16 ) God has not called me to be successful. He has called me to be faithful. St. Mother Theresa of Calcutta No Christian today can afford to be asleep, compromised, or complacent about anything. The life and death of the glove, to say nothing of billions of souls, is at stake. Jean Fox, in Inflamed by Love, 2002 (Madonna House Publications) Soli ad gloriam Gospel Mystery of the Day on FaceBook & www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca |
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
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