Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
Exodus 2:1-15 In their oppression by the Egyptian nation, the Israelites were ordered to throw every boy that was born to them into the Nile River to drown them. The mother of Moses chose life, even in the face of punishment by death. She hoped beyond her deepest wishes; she trusted God’s love of her baby son beyond her fears; and she loved her son beyond her own limitations. By preparing a waterproof reed basket with all her skill Moses’ mother saved the life of her infant son, even while obeying the law of throwing him in the Nile. By assigning her daughter to watch over her baby brother, she got others involved in his well being. By trusting God she obediently gave her son to Pharoah’s daughter – for upbringing, even though it was in their oppressors’ courts. Her skill, her collaboration and her trust paved the way for Moses to eventually save all of the Israelite nation, a vision beyond her wildest dreams. How is God calling me to protect life, at all costs? Holy Spirit of God, strengthen my, strengthen our, protection of life. Let the oppressed see the salvation of God and be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive. (Psalm 69) If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. Saint Mother Teresa www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Soli gloriam dei.
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Exodus 1: 8 – 22 When he was finally welcomed and nurtured by the Egyptian people, Joseph the Israelite arguably saved the whole of Egypt and all of Israel’s family from extinction by famine. If he and his family had continued to be welcomed by the Egyptian populace who knows what good could have come from continued collaboration between these two nations. Instead, a new Egyptian king who did not know Joseph (did not pay attention to God’s intervention in their history) along with his people dreaded the Israelites and chose to oppress Joseph’s people, and the lives of the Israelites became bitter with ruthless forced labour. The end result of this dread-full mistreatment or God’s people was the fall of the dynasty of Egyptian pharaohs. Who do I not know and so dread because of my own ignorance or the inconvenience of ‘knowing’ them? Whom am I (are we) being called to welcome and nurture relationship with? Help me (us) not dread but welcome and nurture others. Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 124) It is only when we stand up, with all our failings and sufferings, and try to support others rather than withdraw into ourselves, that we can fully live the life of community. ― Jean Vanier, Community And Growth www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Soli gloriam dei. Genesis 46:1-30 Holy Spirit of God, make me an instrument of your peace in my family… Like Joseph, his brothers and his father, Israel, we sometimes need to wait years, or even decades to receive the full restoration of family relationships in good season. With true reconciliation fulfillment of family is not only possible but probable this side of heaven when we choose to be instruments of God’s peace in our families, letting his mercy and truth flow through us to other family members, in good time. What relationships in my family are hurting badly and ready for healing? Is it the season of reconciliation? Holy Spirit of God, make me an instrument of your peace in my family. Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37) It is only when we stand up, with all our failings and sufferings, and try to support others rather than withdraw into ourselves, that we can fully live the life of community. ― Jean Vanier, Community And Growth www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Soli gloriam dei. Genesis 49:29-50:26 It looked like disaster, a most heinous act of family trauma drama! Out of jealousy the most beloved and promising son was kidnapped, tortured and sold into slavery by his older brothers - in a huge family cover-up that spanned decades. How despicable! How unjust! But Joseph, the victim, chose to live into God’s greater intentions that far out-weighed the pettiness of jealously. Choosing forgiveness and eventually reconciliation with his brothers, according to God’s mercy and truth, Joseph’s slavery eventually allowed his father’s family to relocate to Egypt to benefit from the stores of grain he himself had stored up for his people. His statement of reconciliation resounds for all families –whether nuclear, extended, community or global – throughout all generations: “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good.” What are God’s intentions in the injustices of all the families I belong to? Holy Spirit of God, help me live into your intentions for my family(s). Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually. (Psalm 105) Those whose hearts are pure are temples of the Holy Spirit. St. Lucy www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Soli gloriam dei. Genesis 27:1-29
Deceit in any form is reproachable, and perhaps even ridiculous in the eyes of God. Jacob, aka ‘the heel’ approached Isaac, his blind father, dressed in his twin brother’s clothing and wearing animal skins his mother had designed for him to smell and feel like Esau. This seems to be a despicable deed, matched only by Esau’s own long kept secret, that one night he had sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of bean soup. Does God, who frames his mercy with truth and love honour or expose deceit? Certainly the deceitful actions of Rebecca and her boys had serious and complex consequences, that have been exposed in Hebrew scriptures for three millennia. What deceits of commission or omission am I participating in with friends, family, community or governing agencies? What connections in my life need an application of ‘truth detergent’ to bring about more grace-full relationships? Holy Spirit of God, guide me away from deceit into your ministry of Truth. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (Jesus, recorded in John's Gospel 8:32) A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it. G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting man |
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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