Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
Daniel 13:1-64 Daniel and his friends had a lot to be afraid of. They had witnessed the temple being destroyed in Jerusalem, and thousands of their people being killed, and then had been taken captive to serve the king of Babylon. And now a white-hot fiery furnace was before them, because they refused to renounce their faithfulness to the God of Isarael. Their prayer as they were being bound to be thrown into the flames demonstrates a courage beyond steely resolve. It is the prayer of those who are faithful to a god who is not materially made, but a ‘Father’ God, with whom they have an intimate and trust-worthy relationship. “If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us, .. O let him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods…” Just like Daniel and company, It is this faithfulness to Father God that carries me through seemingly fear-full situations, knowing that there is One with me who is mercy and protection beyond any frightful fiery furnace human kind can devise. Daniel and his friends were brought out unharmed from the furnace of Babylon – without even smelling like fire –and caused the King and all his kingdom to witness and seek the glory of the God of Israel with Daniel and his people going forward. In the end, even the Temple in Jerusalem was reconstructed by the Babylonian Government. Will I, like Daniel fearlessly hold onto my faithfulness to God, wrapped as I am in His love and mercy when I face the fiery furnaces of my life? Holy Spirit, help me be fearlessly faithful to Father God. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake… Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” (Psalm 23:3) Our hearts were made for you, O Lord, and they are restless until they rest in you. St. Augustine of Hippo Listen to Surrender, Purify My Heart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WppYk89xn9E Soli ad gloriam Dei Gospel Mystery of the Day on FaceBook & www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca
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Daniel 13:1-64 & John 8:1-11 Attempted rape, perjury, and condemnation of a virtuous woman to death! Daniel as a holy judge of Israel had every right to condemn the two Jewish elders to death themselves! But it was the sin-breeding deceits they themselves proclaimed that was their own death sentence; the darkness of their own hearts condemned them. Jesus turned the tables on condemnation, whether it be self-inflicted or socially imposed, by proving time and again that, although by virtue of his own righteousness he had every right to condemn any sinner, condemnation of one’s self or of others is not the way for human beings to right wrongs. “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her,” he told the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees. Unfortunately, there are many stones we/I pick up these days to throw at those ‘sinners caught in the act’. I am all too ready to stoop down to sling criticisms, judgments, verbal slurs and thoughts of disdain at my nunaqatiit (Inuktitut: the people I live on earth with). Woe is me! When I consider the sin of these stones, let alone the other sins of omission and commission that I myself commit on a daily basis, I like the crowd who would stone the adulterous woman have to slink away and again consider the depths of God’s life-giving Mercy. Will I continue to condemn myself and others with hard pebbles, stones and rocks of half-truths born of my own turning away from God? Or will I remember that I, too, am a sinner who has fallen short of the glory of God, and likewise need to receive and extend the Mercy of God? Holy Spirit of God, help me not condemn, because I, too, am a sinner. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake… Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” (Psalm 23:3) Our hearts were made for you, O Lord, and they are restless until they rest in you. St. Augustine of Hippo Listen to Surrender, Purify My Heart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WppYk89xn9E Soli ad gloriam Dei Gospel Mystery of the Day on FaceBook & www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Exodus 32;7-14 & John 5:16-47 ‘We adore you, O Christ… because by your Holy Cross we have redeemed the world’. I caught this slip in words with horror, realizing that this is often exactly what I do! ‘I’ try to redeem the world in the name of Christ, and using all the powers he gives me – when all that is asked of me is obedience to the will of Father God! Like the Israelites in Moses’ day, I also too quickly bring all my treasures of heart, mind and gifts to be melted into the purposes and plans that ‘we’ have developed to ‘make a difference in the world’ on our own terms, bowing to the ‘success indicators’ of present societal norms! Jesus sets my heart and my sight straight! Jesus, who had powers far beyond mine, could have done all kinds of things to redeem his people from the iron hand of the Romans, and the weighty laws of the Jewish faith leaders. I take note, though, that Jesus did not bring all of his strengths and powers together to do what he thought best. Rather Christ Jesus continually presented himself in heart, mind and soul and strength to Father God in order in order to do the will of him who sent him into the world. It was Jesus who said, ‘seek and you will find’. If I truly seek the will of God, I, too, am assured that I will find it, and then I will ‘know what to do’ – in my thoughts, words and actions. We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world. Holy Spirit of Jesus, help me seek to do your will, not my own. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:3) Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me. Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger. Saint Patrick’s Breastplate, v.7 Listen to St. Patrick’s Breastplate: https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tVP1zc0zDKuyMgqqCgxYPSSLS5RKEgsKcpMzlYvVkgqSk0sLinISSxJVciozM0DAGicEDw&q=st+patrick%27s+breastplate+hymn&rlz=1C1SQJL_enCA890CA891&oq=St+Patrick%27s+Breas&aqs=chrome.1.0i131i433i512j46i512j0i512j69i57j0i512l6.8566j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:760ce1e9,vid:dWdZ13cH5lU Soli ad gloriam Dei Gospel Mystery of the Day on FaceBook & www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Ephesians 5:8-14 It is the light returning to the world that is the hopefulness of spring! Each day, Increasing light increasingly prompts sap to flow in the trees to make syrup, and to awaken the leaves and the branches to grow. Snow is melting to expose grass and perennial plants, to awaken their leaves to draw on the energy of the sun and make food for themselves and for us. St Paul calls out the light in the believers of Ephesus: “Once you were in the darkness, but now in the Lord you are light!” As we look forward to the Resurrection of Jesus, we, too, can let the Son shine into our hearts, so that we can give our life’s essence as the syrup of kindness and our leaves, our works, as peaceful shelter for others from the storms of life. We can face the Son more and more each day to absorb the rays of compassion and joy to feed the citizens of the world that are so hungry to be known and loved. As we head into this new season of springtime, will we cling to the unfruitful fruits and stories and the works of darkness, or will we live as children of the light – lifting our beings to all that is good and true, and living in light with our Lord, Jesus Christ? Holy Spirit of Jesus, help me to be light in the dark. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:3) Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me. Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger. Saint Patrick’s Breastplate, v.7 Listen to St. Patrick’s Breastplate: https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tVP1zc0zDKuyMgqqCgxYPSSLS5RKEgsKcpMzlYvVkgqSk0sLinISSxJVciozM0DAGicEDw&q=st+patrick%27s+breastplate+hymn&rlz=1C1SQJL_enCA890CA891&oq=St+Patrick%27s+Breas&aqs=chrome.1.0i131i433i512j46i512j0i512j69i57j0i512l6.8566j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:760ce1e9,vid:dWdZ13cH5lU Soli ad gloriam Dei Gospel Mystery of the Day on FaceBook & www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Daniel 3, 25-43 Fire destroys – there is no doubt about that! Yet when fire is tried by the faithful, that is, when the faithful are tried by fire, it does not so much consume, as it purges and brings out the strength and the brightness of a person’s heart. There is fire that consumes from without that burns bodies, buildings and busts of simple and great people. Then there is the fire that consumes from within, the fire of our passions and pleasures, plans and projects, that comes from within our minds and souls and can destroy all holiness (wholeness) and any human being that stands in its way. Both kinds of fire can be tremendously destructive, and even kill us. But when faithfulness, like that of Daniel and his friends, meets any kind of fire instead of being consumed the person being ‘tried by fire’ can become proof positive of the Mercy, the purity, and the liveliness of God. When I find myself flung, yet again!, into a fiery furnace stoked by the world, the flesh and the devil, will I have the courage and strength to remain faithful to God and his ways to walk amidst the flames without being consumed or burnt to a crisp? Holy Spirit of Jesus, help me remain faithful in fire. I hear a voice I had not known…”In distress you called, and I rescued you.” (Psalm 81:7) I pray to God to give me perseverance, and to deign that I be a faithful witness to him to the end of my life. Saint Patrick Listen to St. Patrick’s Breastplate: https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tVP1zc0zDKuyMgqqCgxYPSSLS5RKEgsKcpMzlYvVkgqSk0sLinISSxJVciozM0DAGicEDw&q=st+patrick%27s+breastplate+hymn&rlz=1C1SQJL_enCA890CA891&oq=St+Patrick%27s+Breas&aqs=chrome.1.0i131i433i512j46i512j0i512j69i57j0i512l6.8566j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:760ce1e9,vid:dWdZ13cH5lU Soli ad gloriam Dei Gospel Mystery of the Day on FaceBook & www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca |
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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