Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
Psalm 72 & Matt 1:18-24
Joseph’s idea of God’s righteousness needed to be tweaked by a surprising dream, for the Lord to bring about his redemptive purposes through Joseph’s obedience. How often do I act on my own understanding of God’s purposes, without taking time to let the Holy Spirit work on my soul, and so disrupt God’s healing work in my life, and the lives of others around me? Thanks be to God! Joseph was a ‘righteous man’ who was willing to lay down his own conceptions, ideals, and plans, and embrace God’s call to ‘be not afraid’ and take Mary as his wife. Christ Jesus, help me, too, embrace your redeeming grace. His name will be called Emmanuel, which means God-with-us. (Matt 1) Soli ad gloriam dei
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Zeph 3:1-13 & Matt 21:28-32
Being near to God is an action. As Jesus points out in the parable of the two sons asked to work in the vineyard, it is not in the saying, but rather in the doing –deliberately taking time in prayer and meditation to turn away from worldly distractions and ideals, and turn toward the Lord –that we draw close to God and do his will. Lord God, help me have the discipline and commitment to deliberately come near to you. The Lord is near to the broken hearted, and saves the crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34) Soli ad gloriam dei Psalm 25 & Matthew 21:23-27
The chief priests and elders of the people did not know the ways of the Lord. Their lives of indulgence, materialism and the individualism of their day did not allow them the humility to be led and taught God’s ways. Am I like Jewish priests and elders, so involved with the ideals and goods of this world that I, too, “do not know” the ways of God and the truth of Jesus Christ? Or am I open and humble enough to be led by God and to learn his design for human life? Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. (Psalm 25) Soli ad gloriam dei Luke 1:39-47
Adoration: Christ Jesus, I rejoice in you, my Saviour . . . Mary, who is not only the young virgin who gave birth to Jesus, but also a mother who knew many sorrows, teaches us the key to living grace-fully –through public shame (as an unwed mother), as a refugee (from Herod’s Israel to Egypt), as the mother of a ‘different’ adolescent and ultimately standing by while her son was unfairly tried, tortured and crucified. “I rejoice in God, my Saviour,” she says. When I am facing challenges and struggles in life, am I, too, prepared to rejoice in God, my Saviour? Christ Jesus, I rejoice in you, my Saviour. May [my children, my spouse, those I am praying with] rejoice in you, their Saviour. My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour. (Luke 1:47) Soli ad gloriam dei Isaiah 40:25-31 & Matthew 11:28-30 It is interesting that Christ likened himself not to a high-stepping horse, but to one of a pair of oxen … carefully and plodding, leaning into the yoke when the burden is heavy, slogging through mud and picking a way through rough terrain, making the journey one step at a time. Jesus invites each one of us to slide into the yoke beside him and see how he finds his way through life’s circumstances, promising to give power to the faint and strength to the powerless. What better way is there to align myself with the Holy Spirit of God than to take on the yoke of Jesus and follow him? Christ Jesus, I take on your yoke to learn from you. Help [my sister, my brother] take on your yoke and learn from you. Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40) 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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