Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
Malachi 3:13-4:2
As much as we know and turn to God, our view of justice and peace become aligned with God’s ways of love and faithfulness. In this way the warmth and light and life-producing effect of true “rightness”, or connection, with God, with others and with the earth, can come into being. This restoration of ‘right’ and peaceful connection brings about healing, or wholeness, in ways we can never imagine. Holy Spirit of God, let the sun of righteousness rise upon us, with healing in its wings. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. (Psalm 23:5) Preach the Gospel at all times –if necessary use words. St. Francis of Assisi Soli gloriam dei .
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Jonah 4:1-11
When I am so involved with making money to spend on household expenses and all the trappings of modern living styles, it is easy to become focussed on my own and my family’s comfort rather than the deeper agenda of extending God’s love and faithfulness to others. But when I am engaged first, and foremost, in developing God’s styles of love, faith and purity I cannot help but be moved by mercy. By his grace, I can deliberately expend my time and energy reaching out to others without judgement. Holy Spirit, help me be moved by God’s mercy not my own comfort. For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you. (Psalm 86) To undertake the journey to God the heart must be burned with the fire of divine love and purified. St. John of the Cross Soli gloriam dei . Jonah 3:1-10
Jonah had learned his lesson: running away for self-protections landed him in the jaws of a whale, on the way back to his starting place. When he stayed in place, and ‘got up’ to be used as an instrument of God’s mercy, Jonah was privileged to witness God’s healing grace sweep through a city of 120,000 people, redeeming them from the pit of eternal death. What wonders of mercy is God waiting to perform through the alignment of my will with His? Holy Spirit, help me be instant in obeying the mercy of God. I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you. (John 13: 34) To undertake the journey to God the heart must be burned with the fire of divine love and purified. St. John of the Cross Soli gloriam dei . Jonah 1: 1-10, Luke 10:25-37
At any given juncture in life, several directions open before me - paths well trodden, roads less taken, rabbit trails and jet streams, as well as the footsteps of Christ Jesus. Am I willing to follow in His steps, along with the uncertainties of a life of servant - love, faith and purity, through the tortures of disrespect and disregard, and beyond the many deaths of life into the fullness of Resurrection and Light in God’s nearer presence? My own ways may seem easier and more pleasant at first but will invariably lead to their own dead ends. Only Christ’s direction has the hope of full and abundant life. Holy Spirit, help me embrace the direction of Jesus, not my own way. The Lord speaks of peace to his people and his holy ones and to those who turn to him in their hearts. (Psalm 85:8) To undertake the journey to God the heart must be burned with the fire of divine love and purified. St. John of the Cross Soli gloriam dei . Baruch 4:5-29 & Psalm 69
Yes, at times my heart is heavy, conflicted, and choked with self-centredness and pride. Notably this dis-ease of heart is directly related to how much I have turned away from God, to become distracted by my own inclinations, passions, plans and projects. Often these are ‘good’ things, lauded and affirmed by society, but they keep me from the ‘best’ – which is being fully aligned, fully alive, in God’s truth and love. Thankfully, as much as I seek God and his mercy, all the people I meet, the places I go and the thoughts, words and actions that occur through my being, faulty as they may be, remind me of the song of Jesus and revive my heart. Lord God, let my heart revive as I seek you. I am lowly and in pain; let your salvation, O God, protect me. I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. (Psalm 69: 29, 30) 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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