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

TODAY’S WORD…

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He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly

and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God.

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– Micah 6:8 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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Being Christian is not only a matter of formal religious worship:

it involves obedience towards God,

which in turn means

practising justice and benevolent love towards our neighbour

as we walk, with total humility and submission,

with the Master

along His way.

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Today’s verse provides us with three areas of advice

on how we Christians are to live our lives

– in whatever situation we find ourselves in.

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To act justly,

we must live our life according to Jesus’ golden rule:

"In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you." (Mat 7:12)

This clearly means that I should treat others with love

irrespective of how they treat me.

Acting justly means that I must always try to treat others

in the way I would want to be treated myself.

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To love mercy,

we must be ready and willing to forgive all others,

for all the hurts they may cause me, big and small.

Just as God has forgiven me,

and because He requires us to love one another,

I must always bring myself to willingly forgive.

I must not base my forgiveness

on whether or not I think others deserve it,

but on the fact that it is what God wants

and it is also because forgiveness and healing are essential

for love and peace to reign in my heart

and in my relationships.

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To walk humbly with your God.

We must never forget that we are nothing without God.

All we are and all we have are gifts from God.

I know that the love I can share with others

is possible only because God first loved me

and because I know that God is the source of all true love.

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To walk humbly with God

means gladly accepting the love God gives me

and sharing it with family and friends,

and with all those I encounter in my life in Christ.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord Jesus, grant that I will always act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with You.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Restore us again, O God of our salvation…

Show us Your steadfast love, O Lord,
and grant us Your salvation.

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– Psalm 85:4a,7 (NRSV).

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PRAYER…

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Restore me, O Lord.

Renew me, O Lord.

Forgive my selfishness

and my pride;

remove my weaknesses.

Heal me, O Lord,

and fill me once again,

with the serenity that only You can bring,

and with the joy of Your salvation.

Hear my humble prayer, O Lord,

and have mercy on me, a sinner.

Lord, help me rejoice in You once again

and fill me with Your love.

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Amen.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Restore me, O Lord, and fill me with Your love.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us!

What joy!

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Restore our fortunes, Lord,
as streams renew the desert.
Those who plant in tears
will harvest with shouts of joy.
They weep as they go to plant their seed,

but they sing as they return with the harvest..

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– Psalm 126:3-6 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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How wonderful it is

to always acknowledge God’s blessings

and recall His wonderful works in our lives.

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How appropriately humble

and trusting

it is for us, who claim to be true believers,

to acknowledge God’s love

as we seek His divine intervention

to lift our spirit

and see us through

the trying deserts of life.

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With God always by our side,

and with a strong unwavering faith

in Him and His boundless love for us,

we can look ahead with great anticipation

to receiving more of that eternal joy

which only He can bring.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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My Lord and my God – my strength, my eternal joy!

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TODAY’S WORD…TODAY’S REFLECTION…TODAY’S PRAYER…

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O my Strength,

it is You to whom I turn,

for You, O God, are my stronghold,

the God who shows me love.

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As for me, I will sing of Your strength

and each morning acclaim Your love

for You have been my stronghold,

a refuge in the day of my distress.

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O my Strength, it is You to whom I turn,

for You, O God, are my stronghold,

the God who shows me love.

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– Psalm 59:9-10;16-17 (The Grail Psalms)

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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O Lord, my God, my Strength,

it is You to whom I turn, for You are my Stronghold and my Hope.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Never say or do anything except in the name of the Lord Jesus,

giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

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– Colossians 3:17 (JB)

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REFLECTION…

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All genuinely human things can and should be sanctified.

Yes, everything that we say and do can be made holy

by being done caringly and perfectly

and for love of God.

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We must not separate our ordinary life

from our union with Christ.

He is with us always,

And we too should be with Him always.

And because we live for Him,

then we should do so appropriately.

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Through the very performance of our tasks, which are God’s will for us,

we can actually promote the growth of our union with Him.

This is the path along which we must advance,

fervently…joyfully.

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QUOTE…

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“Heaven and earth seem to merge, my children, on the horizon.

But where they really meet is in your hearts,

when you sanctify your everyday lives”

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– St. Josemaria Escriva

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Come, Lord Jesus, and take over my heart and my mind.

Guide me, O Lord, in all that I say and do. Amen.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
I have set my heart on Your laws.

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– Psalm 119:30 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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My heart beats fast

as I read these words

and want to make them mine.

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My heart beast faster

as I realise that the Lord is looking at me,

lovingly waiting

for me to utter those words,

determined to follow His way

and to obey His laws.

“I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
I have set my heart on Your laws.”

What better unselfish alternative is there

then choosing His way of faithfulness?

Which laws and principles shall I allow to rule my life,

if what I want is to move away from self-centeredness

towards generous love and compassion?

Am I seeking instant gratification and snatches of pleasure,

or everlasting peace and joy in the Lord?

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What shall I choose? The Lord is waiting for me to decide.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord Jesus, I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
I have set my heart on Your laws!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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The Lord is my strength and my song,
and He has become my salvation.
This is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God,

and I will exalt Him.

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– Exodus 15:2 (NET)

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REFLECTION…

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The Lord is my strength and my song,
and He has become my salvation

– this is what my heart proclaims

from that defining moment

when I acknowledge the Lord as my God and Saviour.

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The Lord is my strength and my song.

Christ is the author and giver of my strength,

the strength of my life and my heart.

He strengthens me

to do His will and work,

to exercise His every grace,

to withstand corruptions,

to resist temptations,

to bear afflictions,

and to overcome every evil.

He is the sum and substance of my song of praise.

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He has become my salvation.

He saves me with an everlasting salvation

– He is not only my Saviour, but salvation itself.

He is my all in all;

my righteousness,

my peace,

my light,

my life,

my joy,

my eternal glory and happiness.

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He is my God

Jesus is God, truly God,

my Immanuel,

God in my nature,

the God in whom I believe,

the God of my salvation,

the Lord of my righteousness.

He is my Lord,

my King,

my beloved,

my heavenly Father,

my brother,

my friend,

my guide.

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I will praise Him…and I will exalt Him.

As from that crucial, life-changing moment of conversion,

my entire being praises Him

and my soul magnifies and exults Him

because He is above all;

He is my Lord and Saviour,

my glorious Redeemer.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, You are my strength and my song.
You are my salvation, my Redeemer.

You are God!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place

and get some rest.”

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– Mark 6:31 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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Too much to do,

but too little time!

We need to recognise our limitations

and we need to set our priorities.

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Work is a priority;

rest is a priority;

the mind is a priority;

the body is a priority.

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The soul, must also be a priority

– for the believer it should be the priority above all priorities –

and the soul needs Jesus,

who we really must make time for

because the peace and the rest that He gives us

are nothing like what anyone or anything else may give us.

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“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place

and get some rest.”

Go with Jesus, every day,

just you and Him,

to a quiet place

and “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,

will guard your hearts and your minds” (Phil 4:7)

and He will give you rest beyond description.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, with whom shall I go to get some rest if not with You?

Lead me, Lord, to that quiet place – every day.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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The Spirit helps us in our weakness;

for we do not know

how to pray as we ought,

but that very Spirit intercedes for us

with groanings too deep for words.

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– Romans 8:26 (JB)

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REFLECTION…

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When we go before God,

we can find it difficult

to express ourselves.

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We can, sometimes, feel tongue-tied

in His awesome presence,

and unable to find words

fit for addressing His Divine Majesty.

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When we go before Him

with a complexity

of thoughts and feelings,

due perhaps to difficult situations

which we find ourselves in,

we are unable to adequately articulate

our feelings,

our sorrow,

our confusion,

our anger,

our regret…

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That is when,

if we let Him,

the Holy Spirit takes over,

and from deep within us

will come sighs,

and moans,

and groans,

and even words

– unintelligible to us,

but meaningful to God –

as our soul reaches out

to its Maker.

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QUOTE…

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“In time of dryness

we must remember the very sweet word of the Apostle:

"the Spirit helps us in our weakness".

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He, without our being aware,

fills our words and sighs with the desire of God,

of humility, of love.

Then the Paraclete becomes the strength of our "weak" prayer,

the light of our extinguished prayer;

in a word, the soul of our prayer.

Truly…He "waters that which is arid" – "rigat quod est aridum."
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All this comes through faith.”

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– Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Come Holy Spirit, help me when I am weak.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“‘I desire mercy,

and not sacrifice.’"

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– Matthew 12:7 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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It is not that our Lord does not want the sacrifices we offer Him,

but He is stressing that, above all,

He desires steadfast love and compassion and mercy;

and He asks that every sacrifice should come from the heart,

because charity should imbue everything a Christian does

– especially his or her worship of God.

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This phrase reflects one of the fundamental elements of the entire Christian message:

True religion consists in the love of God and neighbour.

To act otherwise would be non-observance of Christ’s teachings

and liturgical worship will thereby lose its value.

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It is essential therefore, that when we attend church on Sundays,

or whenever we go before the Lord,

we go not just with love in our hearts for the Lord,

but also for our neighbour,

towards whom we must be generously merciful

just like Jesus is with us,

and to whom we must always show forgiveness,

just as Jesus forgives us.

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QUOTE…

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“If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body,

I could boast about it;

but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.”

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– St. Paul (1 Cor 13:3)

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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O Lord my God, let my mercy for all others reflect my love for You.

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