Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
Luke 7:24-30
St. Luke tells us that the Pharisees and the lawyers of Jesus’ day ‘rejected God’s purpose for themselves’ –and ended up condemning the Son of God to crucifixion. Like the Pharisees and lawyers and the people of Jesus’ day, we are offered the gift of Life, through repentance, forgiveness and trust in God. Do I, like the Pharisees and lawyers, reject the opportunity to dump my own sinful behaviours and thoughts? Or do I, like the tax collectors and other humble people following John and Jesus, repent of my own pride and greed, fears and bitterness, and accept the Lord’s custom-made purpose for my life? Lord God, help me accept your purpose for me. Look to him and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed. (Psalm 34:5) Christ does not force our will. He takes only what we give him. St. Teresa of Avila Soli gloriam dei.
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Zephaniah 3: 1-13
Just as I constantly correct the direction and speed of my bicycle or van when I am driving, to accommodate the turns and bumps in the road, so the Lord corrects the direction and speed of my life –as much as I entrust my life to him. When I resist the correction of the Lord, whether it come in the form of comments from others around me, or in the form of limiting circumstances or events, I become a wobbly wheel or a frozen steering wheel. But when I do trust God and accept his holy correction, he leads me, as he did Christ Jesus, along fertile and beautiful paths through all of creation and through the hearts of his beloved people. Holy Spirit of God, help me accept your correction and trust in you. Look to him and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed. (Psalm 34:5) A quarrel between friends, when made up, adds a new tie to friendship. St. Francis de Sales www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Soli gloriam dei. Zechariah 2:10 – 13
As human beings we are made for completion by joining ourselves to another to give birth, either literally or figuratively. As social individuals, we join others in groups for collective support and enjoyment. As spiritual beings, we are designed to be joined to our Creator in heart, mind, soul and strength, by love. By joining myself to the Lord through prayer, fasting and acts of mercy, I become truly who I am meant to be... a beloved daughter (or son) of the Lord. Then the Holy Spirit of God can come into the midst of my time, energy and relationships, and dwell with me there. ‘O come, O come, Emmanuel’ (God with us) we sing throughout Advent. Lord God, help me join myself to you. My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour. (Luke 1:46) “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world.” St. Teresa of Avila www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Soli gloriam dei. Ephesians 1:3-12
I breathe and live day by day, year by year – and wonder about the purpose of my life. Is it to amass and secure great wealth? Is it to become successful at all the things I do for a living? Is it to be loved and respected by many people? Or is it simply to be an instrument of Christ’s peace –peace of heart, mind, soul and strength? Am I disposed today to let God accomplish his will, his mercy, and his redemption, through my life? Lord God, accomplish your will with my life. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth. (Psalm 96) As waters flow from the mountains down into the valleys, so, too, do God’s graces flow easily into humble souls. St. Faustina www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Soli gloriam dei. Isaiah 40:1-11
In the noise and hustle of daily routines, comfort me in my mind with your light and your truth. In the loss and fragmenting of relationships, comfort me in my heart, O Lord, with your light and your truth. In the despairing swamps of my own sinfulness and the spoiling of your creation by humankind, comfort and purify my soul – our souls – with your light and your truth. Lord God, comfort me with your light and your truth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth. (Psalm 96) Prayer makes your heart bigger, until it is capable of containing the gift of God himself. St. Teresa of Calcutta 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
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