Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
Christ Jesus, help my mountain top experiences empower me to bring your glory into the world…8/6/2021 Mark 9:2-10 As holy and wonder-full as our mountain top experiences are, they are primarily meant to encourage and empower us interiorly and are not given to us for purposes of fame or success, or even to become ‘a good story’ worthy of becoming a movie. These pinnacle experiences are life-giving because they empower us to love and to be loved by God when we are shoulder to shoulder with the warts and wrinkles of humanity, down in the communities and the market places of the world. So it was that Jesus counseled his three faithful disciples on the way down from the glorious experience of the Transfiguration to keep what they had seen and heard to themselves until after he had risen again from death. The day of the Transfiguration they could not comprehend how their glorious Lord could ever die, particularly in the not too distant future. But it seems that they did keep their mouths shut – and that the experience of the Transfiguration of Jesus became part of what interiorly compelled them to fearlessly lead the early Church through the first century of is lively and persecuted history. We can be thankful that Peter, James and John told their treasured story to give us, as Jesus’ disciples today, a glimpse of what it meant to be in close communion with the Beloved Son of the Ancient of Days. What will I do with my mountain top experiences – cast them as pearls before swine to gain fame, fortune and success, or guard them in the secret recesses of my heart to inform my journey on earth? Christ Jesus, help my mountain top experiences empower me to bring your glory into the world. 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 ) Just as it is better to illuminate than to shine, it is greater to pass on the fruits of contemplation to others than just to contemplate. St. Thomas Aquinas A song for summer retreat time … Perhaps Peter, James and John sang this song in his own way as their journeys as disciples of Jesus proceeded…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuGD4KqKLtE Soli ad gloriam Gospel Mystery of the Day on FaceBook & www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca
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Gospel Mystery of the Day Thursday, August 5, 2021 Matthew 16:13-33 Peter almost missed the message Jesus was trying to give his disciples, that he would soon die for the sake of humanity, and rise again. Peter reacted with fear, a sense of powerlessness and a flash of anger. "No!" The glaring lights and sirens of this present world can be very captivating, and in-form my mind with desires for comfort, fame, luxuries and success, and cause us to react like Peter to God's will. It is then that fears, unrelenting grief, complaints and consternations well up in my mind and it becomes set on earthly things. Then there is no room left for belief, hope, compassion and the deep peace and joy of God that accompany such rich fare. But when I, like Peter did eventually, accept the God's days and ways then I, like Peter, can leave a legacy of Life, Light and Love in the world as Jesus did. Will I allow my mind to be set on human things, or release its powers to be aligned with the Holy Spirit of God? Christ Jesus, help me set my mind on divine, not human things. O come, let us sing to the Lord... let us come into his presence with thanksgiving. (Psalm 95:1,2) 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 A song for summer retreat time … Perhaps Peter sang this song in his own way as his life proceeded…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuGD4KqKLtE 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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