Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
Ephesians 2:1-10
I can expend much of my life searching for ‘what I’m supposed to do” and maintaining a lifestyle that is comfortable and secure. But what of the path of life that Jesus walks through the world, proclaiming the Good News of human redemption and doing Mercy? As a true follower of Jesus, I too need to do as Jesus did here on earth, both literally and figuratively, next best step, by next best step. My tasks are no less than those of Jesus: proclaiming the Good News (using words only as necessary, as St. Francis said), healing the sick, freeing the prisoners, and visiting those who sit in darkness. Like the Way of Jesus, this is a custom-made path for my life. Sometimes along this path I will meet sorrow and suffering, but truly it is the path of holiness and abundant life. Lord God, help me live, step by step, day by day, into the way of life you have prepared for me. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name. (Psalm 100:4) It is better to keep silence and be something than to talk and be nothing. St. Ignatius of Antioch www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Soli gloriam dei.
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Ephesians 1:11-14
At baptism we are given the ‘good inheritance’ of daughtership or sonship in God. Like a seed that contains all of the DNA, all of the energy and all of the potential to become a fruitful ‘tree of life’, baptism is the germ of divine life given to me when I accept God’s gift of salvation. In order to live into the ‘good inheritance’ that is in my spiritual ‘DNA’, I need to be planted in the soil of life, to be nurtured with the bread of heaven, to be watered with the tears of repentance and forgiveness and to receive the ‘sun of righteousness’. Am I growing into my full potential as one who has received the good inheritance that Christ’s sacrifice won for us, once and for all? Lord God, fulfill the good inheritance given to me at baptism. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. (Psalm 33) Love is the beauty of the soul. St. Augustine www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Soli gloriam dei. Ephesians 1:1-10
Everyday I have a choice, to be whisked into the conundrums of fear, grief and rage, which are really despair, or to be drawn into the mystery of the will of God, which is really love. Part of the mystery of God’s will is made visible in the wonder of creation in nature and in other human beings. When I seek to understand the will of God in all that is honourable, just, pure, lovely, and praise worthy (Philippians 4:8), I find that gratitude replaces trepidation. Then I can follow Jesus along the path of life with confidence and trust. Lord God, make me to know the mystery of your will, set forth in Christ. Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the Lord . (Psalm 1:1) We are here to cultivate a flourishing garden of life. St. John XXIII www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Soli gloriam dei. Colossians 3:12-17 Following Christ is an active pursuit. As St. Paul reminds us, ‘the only thing that counts is faith working through love.’ It is faith-driven love that guides us to engage in physical and spiritual works of mercy. And it is faith-driven mercy, not acts of self-justification, that leads to full and abundant life. Holy Spirit, let my faith continue to work through love. I shall walk at liberty, for I have sought your precepts. (Psalm 119:45) Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do. St. John XXIII www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca Soli gloriam dei. Galatians 3:22-29
It is easy to clothe myself with the fad of the day. ‘Justice!’ might be my cry. Or perhaps I choose the habit of peace and beauty, thinking that this is how I want to present myself to others. In his letter to the Galatians, however, St. Paul points out that as a baptized person, my clothing, the persona I ‘put on’ and become, is to be no more and no less than Christ Jesus. Am I prepared to clothe myself in Christ the incarnate Son of God? Will I wear the habit of Christ, minister of the Good News? Will I put on Christ the suffering servant? With I clothe myself with Christ, resurrected and glorified? Holy Spirit, help me clothe myself with Christ. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. (Psalm 105: 3) I have what God wished me to have, and I want no more. St. Germaine Cousin 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
March 2024
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