A LAMP TO MY FEET. A LIGHT FOR MY PATH.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven.

Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever;

and the bread that I will give for the life of the world

is my flesh.”

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– John 6:51 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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Just like bread sustains,

so does Jesus…and more!

….….

Just like we need to eat bread for nourishment,

so it is with Jesus

– we need to eagerly, spiritually and mentally ingest and take Him in,

if we truly want Him to become part of us.

….….

It is through the Blessed Eucharist

that we “physically” achieve this intimate union with Jesus Christ.

The very word "communion"

suggests sharing in the life of our Lord

and becoming one with Him who gave up His life for us,

in that glorious act of redemption

which opened the door to everlasting life.

….….

When we believe so wholeheartedly in Jesus,

and with Him as our welcome guest

deep inside our being,

our eyes will be opened

and it will not be just our heart,

but also our reason

that will acknowledge and proclaim that Jesus is Lord!

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QUOTE…

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“…love always sighs for,

and tends to a union with, the object beloved.

….….

True friends wish to be united in such a manner as to become only one.

The love of God for us being immense,

He destined us to possess Him not only in Heaven,

but also here below,

by the most intimate union,

under the appearance of bread in the Eucharist.

….….

It is true we do not see Him;

but He beholds us, and is really present;

yes, He is present in order that we may possess Him

and He conceals Himself, that we may desire Him,

and until we reach our true homeland

Jesus Christ wishes in this way to be entirely ours,

and to be perfectly united to us."

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– St. Alphonsus Liguori

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Thank You, Lord, for giving of Yourself to me.

Come, Lord Jesus, nourish me and make me whole.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“Of all women

you are the most blessed,

and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”

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– Luke 1:42 (JB)

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REFLECTION…

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What a loving Mother

Jesus gave us!

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How could we fail to love

her whom our Lord loved so much?

It is impossible to love Christ adequately

without also loving the Mother who gave Him to us.

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If we choose to ignore her

we may end up ignoring Him

– for the two are inseparable

in the great drama of redemption.

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[inspired by a reflection on The Glorious Assumption, by Archbishop Fulton Sheen]

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QUOTE…

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“Taken up into heaven,

Mary shows us the way to God,

the way to heaven,

the way to life.

She shows it to her children baptised in Christ

and to all people of good will.

She opens this way

especially to the little ones and to the poor,

those who are dear to divine mercy.

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The Queen of the world

reveals to individuals and to nations

the power of the love of God

whose plan upsets that of the proud,

pulls down the mighty from their thrones

and exalts the humble,

fills the hungry with good things

and sends the rich empty away”

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– St. Pope John Paul II

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Hail Mary, full of grace,

the Lord is with you,

blessed are you among women

and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

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Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for me – a sinner –

now

and at the hour of my death.

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Amen.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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How can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ

if you favour some people over others?

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… suppose someone comes into your meeting

dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry,

and another comes in who is poor

and dressed in dirty clothes.

If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person,

but you say to the poor one,

“You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”

– well, doesn’t this discrimination show

that your judgments are guided by evil motives?

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– James 2:1-4 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Snobbery

is prejudice against others on the grounds of social standing,

and it is as condemnable

as any racial and religious discrimination.

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Snobbery denotes conceit and arrogance.

It is an attitude

which reflects a belief that others are inherently inferior

for any one of a variety of reasons

– including real or supposed intellect,

wealth, education, ancestry, taste, etc.

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Snobbery,

or any other form of discrimination against people,

felt or expressed,

shows clear inconsistency

between one’s Christian faith and ones actions.

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QUOTE…

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"… all men possess a rational soul

and are created in God’s likeness,

since they have the same nature and origin,

have been redeemed by Christ

and enjoy the same divine calling and destiny…

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[…] every type of discrimination,

whether social or cultural,

whether based on sex, race, colour,

social condition, language or religion,

is to be overcome

and eradicated as contrary to God’s intent.”

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– “Gaudium et Spes” – Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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O Lord, my Creator, remove my prejudices

and fill me, to overflowing, with love for all others.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning against me,

how many times do I have to forgive him?

Seven times?”

“No, not seven times” answered Jesus,

“but seventy times seven.”

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– Matthew 18:21-22 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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Peter’s question,

and particularly Jesus’ reply,

prescribe the spirit of understanding and mercy

which should govern our behaviour,

as Christians.

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In Hebrew,

the figure of seventy times seven

means the same as "always"

– our Lord therefore declares

that our forgiveness must be

continuous and forever.

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Humanly, it can be easy

to justify an attitude of contempt, hatred or the seeking of revenge.

But, by the grace of God,

may our lives be free from these things

and marked by an openness to reason,

a bearing of no malice,

an eagerness for reconciliation

– a willingness to forgive as He forgives us..

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QUOTE…

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"Force yourself, if necessary,

always to forgive those who offend you, from the very first moment.

For the greatest injury or offense that you can suffer from them

is nothing compared to what God has pardoned you"

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– St. Josemaria Escrivá

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord, have mercy on me

and hold my hand…as I forgive.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“I tell you, most solemnly,

unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies,

it remains only a single grain;

but if it dies,

it yields a rich harvest.”

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– John 12:24 (JB)

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REFLECTION…

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Jesus teaches us

and encourages us.

He desires us to see every type of suffering and contradiction

as a sharing in His cross,

which redeems us and exalts us.

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To be supernaturally effective in sowing love, peace and joy

under any circumstance – good or bad –

I have to die to myself,

forgetting my comfort

and shedding my selfishness..

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QUOTE…

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"If the grain of wheat does not die,

it remains unfruitful.

Don’t you want to be a grain of wheat,

to die through mortification,

and to yield a rich harvest?

May Jesus bless your wheatfield!"

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– St. Josemaria Escrivá

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord Jesus, help me forget my comfort and shed my selfishness.

Lord, help me be more like You.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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I will proclaim the name of the LORD.
Oh, praise the greatness of our God!
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He is the Rock, His works are perfect,
and all His ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just is He.

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– Deuteronomy 32:3-4 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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God is the Rock

because He is the foundation of everything.

He alone is immovable and unbreakable.

God is the foundation for our lives.

..

In God there is no need to fear

because He will not crumble,

and, as long as we trust in Him,

neither will we.

..

He is the Rock

in whom we take refuge;

He shields from evil;

He is saving strength.

..

God is like that,

and He is worthy of our praise,

and our trust,

and our love.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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O Lord, my God, I love You. You are my Rock and in You I trust.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said to Peter,

“…go to the lake and cast a hook;

take the first fish that bites,

open its mouth

and there you will find a shekel…”

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– Matthew 17:27 (JB)

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REFLECTION…

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This is such a lovely little episode

in which Jesus performs a rather quaint little miracle – a conjuror’s trick almost!

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The apostles must pay what is their annual contribution for the upkeep of the temple,

but they don’t have the money – a shekel, which was equivalent to a day’s wage at the time.

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And so, Peter has a problem

and what does he do?

He goes to Jesus

who, instead of perhaps simply producing the coin,

gives Peter the somewhat odd instructions

…which Peter follows with full faith and humility

…and he catches the fish with a shekel in its mouth!

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Wow!

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Jesus is like that

– if we go to Him with our anxieties

and if we place our full trust in Him

and humbly do as He tells us,

we will find that suddenly and out of the blue,

sometimes in the most unexpected circumstance,

Jesus provides a solution!

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We must be so thankful to the Lord

for all the miracles in our life – big or small.

But we need to recognise and acknowledge them first.

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QUOTE…

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“Cast all your anxieties on Him, for He cares about you.”

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– St. Peter (1 Pt 5:7)

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, my Lord, my God, my Provider!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven.

Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever;

and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

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– John 6:51 (NRSV)

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O taste and see that the Lord is good;
happy are those who take refuge in Him.

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– Psalm 34:8 (NRSV)

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Gesu qal,

“Jiena hu l-hobz il-haj, li nizel mis-sema.

Jekk xi hadd jiekol minn dan il-hobz jghix ghal dejjem.

U l-hobz li jiena naghti huwa gismi ghall-hajja tad-dinja.”

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– Gwanni 6:51

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Ippruvaw u taraw kemm hu tajjeb il-Mulej;

hieni l-bniedem li jistkenn fih.

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– Salm 34:8

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REFLECTION…

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O taste and see that the Lord is good;
happy are those who take refuge in Him.

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Ippruvaw u taraw kemm hu tajjeb il-Mulej;

hieni l-bniedem li jistkenn fih.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Here I am, Jesus, feed me with Your Truth!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“Those who love their life lose it,

and those who hate their life in this world

will keep it for eternal life.

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Whoever serves me must follow me,

and where I am, there will my servant be also.

Whoever serves me, the Father will honour.”

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– John 12:25-26 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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A true Christian,

should see every type of suffering and contradiction

as a sharing in Christ’s cross,

which redeems us and exalts us.

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To be supernaturally effective,

we have to die to ourselves,

forgetting our comforts

and shedding our selfishness.

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Jesus wants each of us to serve Him.

To serve Him means to follow the One who is the Way.

To do otherwise means that we can easily become self-centered

as we focus on the trifling concerns of this life

which can so easily lead us astray.

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QUOTE…

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“In all of His life Jesus presents Himself as our model.

He is "the perfect man",

who invites us to become His disciples and follow Him.

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In humbling Himself, He has given us an example to imitate,

through His prayer He draws us to pray,

and by His poverty He calls us to accept freely

the privation and persecutions that may come our way.”

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– Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 520)

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, my glorious hope, please help me

– I truly want to serve only You.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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The Lord carried you,

as a man carries his child,

all along the road you travelled.

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– Deuteronomy 1:31 (JB)

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REFLECTION…

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God is the father

of each and every one of us.

He has a plan for us all

and wants no harm to come to us

as we go through life’s ups and downs.

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His gentle and untiring arms

bear us up…and on…through life.

But, it is really up to us

– we either let Him carry us,

or we wander off on our own.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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I need You to carry me, Lord.

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