Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
James 5:13-20 & Psalm 141
St. James points out in his letter to the early church that prayer is essential for life. Prayer, speaking and listening from the heart in the presence of God, is the antidote to suffering, he says. Prayer, affirming God’s blessings with gratitude, is the true and fitting expression of joy, James counselled his readers. “The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up,” he continues. And finally he says of prayer that, “Anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.” These four fruits of prayer are mine for the praying, continually, everyday and in any circumstance. Do my prayers rise up constantly to the Lord as the holy fragrance of the burning incense of my life? Let my prayer be as incense before you, O Lord. Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice. (Psalm 141:2) ) Tend within your hearts the sacred fire that the Holy Spirit lights there. St. Eugene de Mazenod. Soli gloriam dei .
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
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
Categories |