Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
Matthew 18:15-20 As human beings we are made in the image of God, and so what we do and say does have an impact on the world, for evil or for good. Jesus told his disciples that what they bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever they loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Unfortunately, I often get it backwards – I bind God’s good by ignoring or minimizing the gifts I receive from His hand, by complaining about the details of my life, or by attempting to control others’ behaviours, and then loose or set free deceitful ideas and issues with words that are born of my own anxiety, discontent and folly. But I do always have the option to bind evil, by not giving into despair and destruction, and then to loose or set free the goodness of God, by practising the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel, fortitude, piety and fear of the Lord. Today will I choose to bind evil by not giving into expressions of anger, angst and bitterness? Will I instead set loose the glory of God with expressions of the fruits of the Holy Spirit: joy, peace, love, faithfulness, hope, generosity, kindness, humility and self-control? Holy Spirit of Jesus, help me bind evil and set free God’s goodness. Come and see what God has done; he is awesome in his deeds among mortals. (Psalm 66:6) A person who prays lives out the mystery of existence, and a person who does not pray scarcely exists. St. Sharbel Makhluf Soli ad gloriam Dei Gospel Mystery of the Day on FaceBook &www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca
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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
November 2023
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