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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“…what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?

Is anything worth more than your soul?

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For the Son of Man will come with His angels in the glory of His Father

and will judge all people according to their deeds.”

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– Matthew 16:26-27 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Christ’s words are crystal-clear:

every person has to bear in mind the Last Judgment.

Salvation, in other words, is something radically personal

and each one of us will be judged according to our deeds.

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Our purpose on earth is not the accumulation of worldly goods,

for these are only means to an end.

Our last end, our ultimate goal, is God Himself.

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Jesus shows us the route to take to achieve this ultimate goal,

to reach our final destination

and be with Him fully and forever in Heaven:

there is only one way

and that is denying ourselves and taking up the Cross.

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Every earthly good is temporary

and cannot be compared with the salvation of the soul, which is eternal.

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Selfishness, self-centeredness, attachment to temporal goods

and preferring ease and comfort over personal sacrifice,

knowing that we are going against God’s will and Commandments,

is a rejection of the Cross

and is suicidal for the soul.

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The choice is ours to make

and we basically have two options:

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One is to listen to and follow that inner voice

that keeps telling us that we have only one life

and that we should live it to the full for ourselves.

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The other is to continually strive hard to be always ready

to abandon everything to please God.

It involves enduring all kinds of sacrifice

and denying ourselves

as we take a firm decision to follow Christ,

faithfully clinging to His words:

“If any of you wants to be my follower,

you must turn from your selfish ways,

take up your cross,

and follow me.” (Matt 16:24)

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord, I give You my heart, I give You my soul,

I want to live for You alone!

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