Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
Luke 11:29-32 We live in such evil times when the culture of death surrounds us, when reality and truth are considered to be relative to one’s own perceptions, and when nature itself is groaning under the weight of the arrogance of human kind. And yet, because we live in the age of history in which Jesus redeemed the world, it is also one of the most privileged times. It is a time when the Holy Spirit of God is mightily available to those who choose ora (or ‘mouth’), or ‘prayer’ - those who choose to be mouth to mouth with God and to receive their inspiration only from the Holy Spirit of God, rather than from the random spirits of this world. Do I turn to the world (the flesh, and the devil) for resuscitation, or to God? Christ Jesus, help me be faithful to your Holy Spirit. By the tender mercy of God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to give light to those that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death and to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Psalm Luke 1: 78-79) God alone matters. Hunger for God. Belong to God. Give everyone to God and God to everyone. Catherine Doherty, In the Footprints of Loneliness www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei
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Luke 11:27-28 There are so many words written, spoken and even virtual, swiriling around us today. Advertisements serving up human greed, video proclaiming violence and pornography, volumes of academic arguments: the list goes on and on. How can I find the words of God in all of the rubble of the human intellect gone mad? When I watch Jesus preaching, teaching and healing in the Judean countryside, or read the stories of the holy lives of the saints who have lived both B.C. and A.D., there I see and hear the word of God, and develop relationship with the One who love, forgives and sustains them in holiness and mercy. Then I receive the wisdom and courage or ‘heartfulness’ from the Holy Spirit to obey God’s word as a child does the guidance of his Father. It is my spiritual relationship as a child of God, not my status in humanity, that prompts me to align myself with God as I am designed to do. What words am I incorporating into my life? Holy Spirit, Help me hear the word of God and obey it. By the tender mercy of God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to give light to those that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death and to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Psalm Luke 1: 78-79) The word of God is living and active, sharper than any tow-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. The Letter to the Hebrews, 12:12 www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei Luke 11:5-13 When I ‘don’t know’ or ‘don’t have’ that which I perceive that I need, I question God’s faithful provision, that ‘it’ can’t be found. But it is not the finding that is the problem, or the absence of God’s provision. Rather, the problem is that I am do not actively and persistently seek, or ask, or knock, or give up altogether. Jesus confirms to his disciples in Judea – and to all of his followers through the ages –that when we actively persevere in seeking, asking and knocking that we will find the doors opened to the abundant life that comes with being in good relationship with our Abba Father, God. Today, how will I actively seek the good that I need from Father God? Christ Jesus, help me seek so that I can find. By the tender mercy of God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to give light to those that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death and to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Psalm Luke 1: 78-79) What constitutes our dignity is the sacred shrine where God speaks to us to show us the way to good, and to turn us away from evil. Jean Vanier, A Cry is Heard: My Path to Peace www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei Luke 11:1-4 God knows that I need forgiveness! I constantly need forgiveness from God and from others for the things I have thought, and said, and done, and for those things I have left un-thought, unsaid, and un-done. But thanks be to God! As much as I align myself with Christ’s universal statement of forgiveness, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!” I become a conduit for the divine mercy and forgiveness that brokered our salvation through the life, the death and the resurrection of Christ Jesus. Each irritation that I fuss about, each root of bitterness or petty resentment I pay attention to, and each persecution I endure on a broader scale can become an opportunity to allow the forgiveness and mercy of the Holy Spirit of God to flow into the dark recesses of human error and ignorance, when I forgive others, as God forgives me. Is my life a channel of human pettiness or of divine mercy? Forgive me, Father, as I forgive others. By the tender mercy of God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to give light to those that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death and to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Psalm Luke 1: 78-79) What constitutes our dignity is the sacred shrine where God speaks to us to show us the way to good, and to turn us away from evil. Jean Vanier, A Cry is Heard: My Path to Peace www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei Luke 10: 38-42 Jesus description of his friend, that Martha ‘was distracted by many things,’ precisely describes me so much of the time. I am constantly too engrossed in the day to day challenges of living that I, too, forget that the one central task of my life is to sit and listen at Jesus’ feet, while I am washing dishes, working with others or even doing paper work. When I am primarily sitting at Jesus’ feet, I am less likely to judge others, and to worry about justifying my own life in a Martha-esque way. Today will I take moments to sit at the Lord’s feet and listen to what he is saying, no matter where I am or what I am doing? Christ Jesus help me always listen to you. You know when I sit down and rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away... (Psalm 139) The awful fuss we sometimes make of the little unavoidable tribulations of life robs them of their fruitfulness. It turns them into occasions for self-pity or self-display, and consequently makes them useless. Thoman Merton. www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad 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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