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Romans 8:11-17 Holy Spirit, remind me that as much as I suffer with Christ Jesus, I rise with Him... Call it ‘pain’, call it ‘hurt’, call it ‘rejected’ or ‘loneliness’, call it what you will, it is all suffering – of the kind Jesus experienced in his own life. When I suffer, I am tempted to slink into a corner, lick my wounds and withdraw into personal problem solving, or to complain anxiously to those around me as I attempt to right all that I perceive to be wrong around me. But Jesus calls me to share my suffering with him, as he shares his own suffering with me. As I vacate my own little corner and suffer with Christ Jesus, and with Him in others, I find my own challenges to be transformed. Indeed, no matter what hurt, what rejection, what injustice, what discomfort I experience, with Jesus I am able to rise above the pain and inconvenience of the moment, and live into my heritage of Life, Light and Love as a beloved child of God. Am I prepared to join my suffering with Christ Jesus? Holy Spirit, remind me that as much as I suffer with Jesus, I rise again. Let the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God; let them be jubilant with joy. (Psalm 68:1) Pain and suffering have come into your life, but remember pain, sorrow, suffering are but the kiss of Jesus - a sign that you have come so close to Him that He can kiss you. St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Soli gloriam dei.
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Romans 6:12-18
I have experienced several ‘close calls’ with death in my lifetime. Each time it happens, I am very thankful and joyful, for a short time, to be alive. Eventually, though, I again slip into the complacency of taking life for granted. What if I were to be so continually thankful and joyful for the gift of life, that I constantly presented myself to God as one who has been redeemed from death, to be used as his instrument to reach out to his people around me? Perhaps God could set my corner of the world on fire with his light and mercy through me! Holy Spirit, help me present myself to God as one who has been redeemed from death. We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 124:7, 8 ) I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world. St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Soli gloriam dei. Romans 5:12-21
If we could only see it, the phenomenal grace that was made manifest by Christ Jesus is around us continually. The grace of God that is available to me every moment of every day is the same light and love of God that split open the curtain that separated humanity from the Presence of God in the Temple when Jesus died, and raised Jesus from the grave. Down through the ages, the Grace of Christ Jesus has held back armies and demons from the saints, healed sinners and situations, and has saved souls from hell on earth and beyond death. This Grace of Jesus, he told us, is available to anyone who turns to Him in faith. Am I faith-full and wise enough to con-vert – turn around- to receive the grace of Jesus? Holy Spirit, help me receive the Grace of Christ Jesus. You have made many wonderful plans for us, O Lord our God; I could never speak of them all-their number is so great! (Psalm 40:5 ) True Christian discipline is the human effort to create the space in which the Spirit of Christ can transform us into his lineage. Henri Nouwen, The Selfless Way of Christ: Downward Mobility and the Spiritual Life www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Soli gloriam dei. Romans 4:13-18
No matter what calm waters or stormy waves come my way, all events of my life are designed to bring me closer into God’s mercy, by helping me grow in faith. Unfortunately, sometimes growth in faith leads me think that it is all for my glory, that it is in order to gift me with fame or success or fortune that God allows me to survive and even thrive through various challenges. In reality, God designs my life to grow faith in me, for the glory of God. When my life reflects the glory of God, I become fully human, fully alive, and an integral part of God’s beloved people bound together, as we are, by the love of the Holy Spirit. Am I really committed to allowing the glory of God to shine through my life? Holy Spirit, help me grow in faith, to the glory of God. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who has visited and redeemed his people; he has raised up a mighty salvation for us, in the house of his servant, David. (Luke 1:68,69 ) The glory of God is man fully alive, and the life of man is the vision of God. St. Irenaeus www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Soli gloriam dei. Romans 4:13-18
Because having faith in God can release so much light and love into my life, I am tempted to think that it is I, by my own will, whether expressed through prayers or sheer determination, who has the power to change the course of my life and the lives of others. This is only true when I am so aligned with God that my prayers reflect God’s purposes, my determination depends on God’s strength and wisdom, and my “will” is fully aligned with God’s. God’s promises fundamentally depend on God’s grace –and a divine perspective of human life and activity. Am I willing to lean so entirely into the grace of the Holy Spirit of God that my actions are only His? Holy Spirit, help me remember that God’s promises rest on his grace, not on my works. Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. (Psalm 32:2) We are not the bread we offer, but people who are fed by the word of God ... Henri Nouwen, in The Selfless Way of Christ: downward Mobility and the Spiritual Life. 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 2023
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