Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
Daniel 1:1-20 Daniel and his three friends, when facing the challenge of capture and Babylonian indoctrination, did not panic and fearfully submit to the trauma drama they were living. Rather they embraced the peace of their connection with the Lord God, and fearlessly continued to live into the customs of their faith. Although it seemed sure that they would be persecuted in the end, their simple and pure life-style separated them as sheep are separated from goats. Much of the fragmentation that complicates my life occurs when I allow myself to be stressed by the complexities of modern materialism and our social dictates of ‘success’. But when I live ‘off the grid’ of fame and fortune, and choose instead a simple life style consuming and doing that which is pure, like Daniel and his friends I become healthier. Then being true to my faith in God is more possible and life-giving. Am I willing to exchange the ‘goods’ of this world for simplicity with purity? Holy Spirit of God, help me like Daniel and his friends to live in simplicity with purity. Be faithful until death, says the Lord, and I will give you the crown of life. (Revelation 2:25) You don't think your way into a new kind of living. You live your way into a new kind of thinking. Henri Nouwen www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Soli gloriam dei.
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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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