Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
Luke 1:26 – 38 (Gospel for the Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord, March 25) The Word of God is not all nicey- nicey, although it is always true and merciful, as Mother Mary well knew. Mothering the Word Incarnate, Mary had to clean soiled clothing, deal with a twelve year old who took off without telling his parents where he was going, and suffer the anguish of her son leaving the family business high and dry to wander the countryside with an (albeit good) group of friends – and then had to endure the trauma of seeing her 33 year old tortured by the religious establishment and cruelly crucified by the reigning oppressors. And yet, Mary of Nazareth was willing to write her young man’s Father, the Holy Spirit of God, a blank cheque on her life, and did not flinch from praying and praising Him when things got tough. Like Mother Mary, I too have experienced some of the bite of the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God, not as concretely as Mother Mary, but certainly spiritually over the six decades of my life. I have noticed that the Word of God is surprisingly ‘interruptive’ and even at times disturbing as it works through the course of my life’s journey. Am I happy to allow the Holy Spirit of God to direct my life according to His Word? Absolutely, because the Light, the Saltiness and the Mercy, both given and received, that it generates in my life is absolutely life-giving, far beyond the cuts and bruises that sometimes swell up. Will I allow the Lord to rule my life according only to His Word? Will we as Church allow the Lord to rule our lives according to His Word? Let it be done to me according to your Word, O Lord. I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart… I have not hidden your saving help within my hear, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation. (Psalm 40: 8, 10) Sin is believing the lie that you are self-created, self-dependent and self-sustained. St. Augustine Soli ad gloriam 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
March 2024
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