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Luke 21:12-19

Being persecuted or arrested for having faith is an unnerving experience as so many of our Christian brother and sisters around the world know.  But the fact is, it is to be expected, particularly when godliness is replaced by godlessness in public forums. Do I need to worry about such atrocities? No! As much as I resolve to stand firm amidst the landslide of our society as it slips away into oblivion, I am able to face the future no matter what antagonism it brings.  Why?  Because such events only give good cause to proclaim the love and the truth of our living Creator God, and contrast our ‘culture of life’ with a ‘culture of death’.  Will I stand firm under persecution?  Christ Jesus, help me to stand firm in all events of the world.


 Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice; turn to the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face. (Psalm 104)


One who desires nothing but God is rich and happy. 
St. Alphonsus Liguori


www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca  
Soli gloriam dei.

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.

1 Maccabees 4:36-59
Adoration: Lord God, I offer to you my well-being....
Intercession: Christ Jesus, help N._____ to offer her/ his well-being to you...
Well-being has become a ‘sacred cow’ of today’s society. The world would have me believe that my physical and mental well-being, whatever I conceive it to be, is my most important asset. This is not true. It is my connections – with God, with the humus (earth), with people close and with the world at large –that are even more critical than my subjective and time-bound view of what I consider at any given moment to be ‘well-being’. Offered up to Creator God, my well-being can be redesigned and transformed into a beautiful and holy offering that is worthy to be integrated into my life as a disciple of Jesus.  Am I willing to sacrifice my own idea of well-being to fully integrate God’s love and mercy into my life? Christ Jesus, help me, my brother, my sister, offer up our well-being to God.


Offer to God your sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High.  (Psalm 50)


In every generations wisdom passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God, and prophets...
The Book of Wisdom 7:27


www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca  
Soli gloriam dei.

Luke 20:27-40

Many people today take it for granted that they will be entering the ‘age of resurrection from the dead’ when they die. But Jesus referred more than once to ‘those who are considered worthy of a place in that age’. How can I be sure that I or any of my loved ones will be resurrected from the dead? It is Christ Jesus himself who provides the one hope of my becoming worthy of resurrection.  Aligning myself with Jesus in his Incarnation, Ministry, Passion, and Death on earth is the only way to shape one’s heart and soul to fit into the kingdom of those resurrected from the dead. This takes a lifetime of living into faith, hope and love, being obedient day by day, moment by moment to God’s character – and embracing God’s free gift of love and mercy when[ I] fail to do so.  Do I realize how critical it is to be worthy to enter the kingdom of heaven?  Christ Jesus, help me be worthy of resurrection from the dead, here on earth and in heaven.   


The Lord has made himself known, he has executed judgement; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.  (Psalm 9)


In every generations wisdom passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God, and prophets...
The Book of Wisdom 7:27


www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca  
Soli gloriam dei.

1 Maccabees 2:15-29

Societal pressure can so often dictate my use of time and energy and bend my mind and spirit to its sway.  Appointments and deadlines, trends and issues are so intense that I feel pressured to sacrifice my compassion and wisdom to the gods of convenience, comfort and greed on the altar of my life, much like the Israelites were pressured to sacrifice to idols by the king’s officers at Modein. We see Mattathias and his sons stand up to the pressures of their day and swiftly take decisive action against it, proclaiming, ‘I and my sons and my brothers will continue to live by the covenant of our ancestors!’ Notably they survived to become the leaders of a revolt that fanned the faith of the Israelites to stand up to their oppressors, both then and two hundred years later when the Romans occupied Judea at the time of Jesus’ birth.  Am I faith-full and zealous enough to stand up to pressure and not sacrifice to the gods of society today? Holy Spirit, help me live not by societal pressure but by faith.   


Offer to God your sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High.  (Psalm 50)


In every generation wisdom passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God, and prophets...
The Book of Wisdom 7:27


www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca  
Soli gloriam dei.