Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
Titus 2, 1-4, Psalm 37 &Luke 17, 7-10 It is all very simple! I no longer need to depend on my own resources to puzzle about what to do, where to go or even how to get there. What I do need to do, is to trust God, and based on this unwavering trust, to do good. In any given moment, no matter what happens, I can choose to do good. I can inject gentle answers into any conversation. I can care for the homeless and the impoverished. I can visit those who are in prison – or shut up inside their own grief-stricken or traumatized world. I can share my goods with anyone I connect with today. Do I trust God enough to do good? Holy Spirit, help me trust the Lord and do good. Our steps are made firm by the Lord when he delights in our way. (Psalm 37) To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless. GK Chesterton. www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei
0 Comments
Luke 16:9-15 & Mark 12:38-44 It can seem that each day I have a myriad of decisions to make –what to do, where to go, when to do and go, whom to connect with, how to connect with them, etcetera. In reality, though, at any given moment, there is really only one decision to make: Will I be faithful or unfaithful to the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within and through my life? Christ Jesus, help me always be faithful, even in small ways. The righteous will never be moved ... their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid. (Psalm 112:6,7) To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless. GK Chesterton. www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei Luke 17:1-6 When I am driving on the highway, my actions, both intentional and unintentional, malicious or respectful, legal or illegal, can cause another vehicle to have an accident. So it is in life - With the way I act or do not act, I can cause other people to stumble away from the mercy of God. When I speed through life, briefly cutting in and out of other people’s paths, love is compromised or forgotten altogether and disrespect or all kinds of maliciousness can take root. When I jam on the breaks in relationships by refusing to work through times of conflict and reconciliation, I can cause such hurt and anguish in others, that they fail to find the face of Jesus. When I don’t ‘maintain’ myself, by coming to the Lord for the repairs accomplished only by the healing sacraments, I can lose my temper, act out of pure passion or deceit, and so cause others to keep their backs turned to Christ Jesus. How can I be a support rather than an impediment to others’ faith journeys? Christ Jesus, guard me from causing others to stumble. Who shall ascend the mountain of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift their souls up to what is false. (Psalm 24) To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless. GK Chesterton. www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei Luke 14:25-33
Even though it may not have a price, everything has a cost. Every project demands that I accept some things and cut away others. So often I am tempted to focus on the profits of being a follower of Jesus – the peace, the joy, companionship with the Living Christ etcetera - without counting the cost. These profits that I enjoy cost Christ Jesus his life. Being a true disciple of Jesus costs me my coziness with family members, and all of my time, treasure and talents. Have I truly considered these costs? Will I be able to finish my journey with Jesus with the same enthusiasm that I started it? Christ Jesus, teach me the true cost of being your disciple. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13) Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. Dittrich Bonhoffer, The Cost of Discipleship See https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/29333.Dietrich_Bonhoeffer www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei
Philippians 2:1-11 & Luke 14:12-24 When my mind if full of my own interests, there is no room, and no time, for consideration of the interests of others – and of God. “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit ... let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus”, Paul counsels us. With the same mind as Jesus, I too will be able to welcome the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind, either physically or figuratively, into my life. With the same mind as Jesus, I too will not hesitate, but will immediately leave my own interests behind to attend the feast God sets before me. Is there room in my heart, mind and soul for others and for God? Christ Jesus, help me be mindful of the interests of others before my own. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is a work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13) How pure our eyes and hearts must be to see Jesus in [others]. How clean our hands must be to touch him in [others] with love and compassion. How clean our words must be to be able to proclaim the Good News to [others].. Saint Mother Teresa of Kolkata 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
Categories |