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

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Raphael [one of the seven angels

who stand in the glorious presence of the Lord, ready to serve Him],

but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven." [Mt 10:32-33]”

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– Catechism of the Catholic Church [para. 1816]

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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O Lord, my God, fill me with a desire to shout Your praises;

to lift Your Glorious Light so everyone can see;

to always be thankful as I praise Your Holy Name!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Yours, O Lord,

are the greatness, the power, the glory,

the victory, and the majesty;

for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is Yours;

Yours is the Kingdom, O Lord,

and You are exalted as Head above all.

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– 1 Chronicles 29:11 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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Having read this verse from Chronicles, please stop

…and If possible, go to a quiet place,

where you can sit or kneel comfortably in peace

…and then read the verse again, slowly.

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Call upon the Lord.

Remember who it is you are calling

and let your heart beat faster in anticipation.

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The Lord is there right beside you.

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He is always there,

but it is in moments like these

that we become more aware of His presence.

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Acknowledge His presence

and remove all other thoughts from your mind.

Let your heart rest.

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Do not ask Him for anything

– He already knows what you truly need.

Just look at Him with the eyes of your heart

and, with great faith, lift these words of praise to Him:

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Yours, O Lord,

are the greatness,

the power,

the glory,

the victory,

and the majesty;

for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is Yours;

Yours is the Kingdom, O Lord,

and You are exalted as Head above all.

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Repeat the words until you are convinced that you mean them,

and if tears flow, let them

…and offer them up to the Lord, Your God,

as you spend a few more moments with Him there by your side.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Yours, O Lord,

are the greatness,

the power,

the glory,

the victory,

and the majesty;

for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is Yours;

Yours is the Kingdom, O Lord,

and You are exalted as Head above all.

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Thank You, O Lord.

I love You, my God.

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

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To You, O Lord, I offer my prayer;

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Teach me Your ways, O Lord;
make them known to me.
Teach me to live according to Your truth,
for You are my God, who saves me.
I always trust in You.

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Remember, O Lord, Your kindness and constant love
which You have shown from long ago.
Forgive the sins and errors of my youth.
In your constant love and goodness,
remember me, Lord!

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– Psalm 25:1;4-7 (GNT)

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Teach me Your ways, O Lord,

I want to walk in Your truth.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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A gentle answer quiets anger,

but a harsh one stirs it up.

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– Proverbs 15:1 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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God loves peacemakers – He blesses them greatly.

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The wisdom of this short proverb is simple…and practical…

if someone is angry, use gentle speech to calm them.

Do not use defensive or harsh words, for that will increase anger.

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You can end conflict and fighting by calming words.

Reject the foolish and wicked response of fighting fire with fire.

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This rule – if only we would remember it and follow it –

shows us how we should handle all confrontation.

It is a blessed rule, from the Prince of Peace!

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If a person is angry with you, whether it is your fault or not,

you can end the matter peaceably by responding gently and kindly,

rather than with your own anger in defence.

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Remember that

when a fool is annoyed, he quickly lets it be known.

Smart people will ignore an insult (Pr 12:16);

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also that hot tempers cause arguments, but patience brings peace (Pr 15:18);

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and that people with quick tempers cause a lot of quarrelling and trouble (Pr 29:22).

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Crush your pride, therefore,

and bring peace.

That will truly please God!

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[*]

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Teach me, O Lord, never stop teaching me.

Change my heart, Lord, and help me sow love and bring peace – always!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar,

and give to God what belongs to God.”

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– Mark 12:17 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Jesus is telling us that we belong totally to our Creator.

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Coin and paper money carry images to indicate the state or country they belong to,

and so it is clear why what is subject to the coin

is subject to the state and its laws.

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We, as persons, belong to our Creator.

We have been made in His likeness

and that is why we must give our whole being to Him;

that is why we are subject to the Lord our God.

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Jesus words are also asserting a very important principle,

which should guide the action of all of us Christians in our public life.

He is indicating that whilst we are bound to recognise the rightful autonomy of earthly realities,

we also have a duty to take initiatives

and to strive resolutely

and use Christian influence and argument

so as to infuse the spirit of the Gospel

into the mentality, customs, laws and structures of the communities in which we live.

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Yes, as citizens, we must give to the state what belongs to the state,

but as Christians we must also give to God what belongs to God.

And for us believers, God is supreme!

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Is God truly supreme for me?

Do I accept Him as my Ruler and my Lord, without exception?

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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O Lord, my God, I belong to You.

Help me be a true Christian in all I say, think and do!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Praise the Lord!

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Happy is the person who honours the Lord,
who takes pleasure in obeying His commands.

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– Psalm 112:1 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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The just and honest person,

who honours the Lord by obeying His commandments and teachings

and by seeking to be more like Him,

is practicing life’s highest wisdom.

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The behaviour of such good and kind persons

and the kind of life that they lead

reflect Christ’s own way of acting

and this instils incomparable joy in their hearts

– the sort of joy that is not dictated by circumstance

and which, in any case, no situation can eradicate.

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Such is the inner joy

of the person who loves and honours and trusts in the Lord.

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Praise the Lord!

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, O most Divine Mercy, I trust in You!

Jesus, my Awesome God, I adore You

and I thank and praise You for Your love.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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For the word of the Lord holds true,
and we can trust everything He does.
He loves whatever is just and good;
the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth.

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The Lord watches over those who fear Him,
those who rely on His unfailing love.

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We put our hope in the Lord.
He is our help and our shield.

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– Psalm 33:4-5,18,20 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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The unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth,

but we so often ignore it;

regard it as interference;

take advantage of it;

even misuse it.

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He loves whatever is just and good.

And what about us,

do we also love and choose all that is just and good,

or is it a matter of what suits us best at a given moment in time?

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We can trust everything He does.

But do we,

or have we greater trust in our capricious and selfish instincts?

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Ultimately

and hopefully when it is not too late,

we will in one way or other realise

that the word of the Lord holds true.

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Let that “ultimately” be now.

Stop

and call upon the Lord

and welcome Him into your heart

– into its darkest recesses –

and allow Him to fill you with His great love

and to change you

and to strengthen your determination to keep the faith.

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The Lord watches over those who fear Him,
those who rely on His unfailing love.

We put our hope in the Lord.
He is our help and our shield.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord, You are my help and my shield

and I put my hope in You!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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I am determined to put [Wisdom] into practice,

I have earnestly pursued what is good,

I will not be put to shame.

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– Sirach 51:18 (JB)

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REFLECTION…

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Dictionary definitions of “wisdom” include

– the quality of having knowledge and good judgement;

– the ability to discern;

– good sense;

– a wise attitude

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In the Christian context, Wisdom means

always acting according to the spirit of the Commandments

and not looking for an ambiguity or omission

which we can use then to evade their true intent and to justify our actions.

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Wisdom means

understanding the consequences of our life choices, actions and words

before we decide, act or speak.

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Wisdom means

having the knowledge and understanding to recognise the right course of action

and having the will and courage to follow it.

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Following the ways of Wisdom

helps bring us in harmony with God

because these ways are in accordance with His will, as revealed in the Bible,

and are pleasing to Him.

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The ways of Wisdom

also bring us in harmony with other persons

because respect for others is the very essence of the Commandments.

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Acting with Wisdom

brings us in harmony with ourselves,

giving us a sense of self-worth and inner peace.

This is because Wisdom helps us avoid the shame and guilt

that come from following our baser instincts.

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We often fail in our daily struggle to act with wisdom

– it does not come easily or naturally.

Although it is easier to follow our less-than-wise impulses,

the reward for acting with wisdom and living in God’s grace

is great

…and it is eternal!

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[*]

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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You, Lord, are wisdom and harmony, and Your great love sustains me.

Help me always act in accordance with Your will.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“I tell you, you can pray for anything,

and if you believe that you’ve received it,

it will be yours.

But when you are praying,

first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against,

so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”

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– Mark 11:24-25 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Jesus speaks to us here about the power of prayer.

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For prayer to be effective,

absolute trust

and a keen and living faith are required.

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For prayer to be effective,

we also need to love our neighbour,
forgiving them everything.

If we do, then God our Father will also forgive us.

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When we go humbly before the Lord,

we need to admit the fact that we are sinners

and seek His pardon.

When Christ taught us to pray,

He required that we have these predispositions.

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Even when in the state of sin,

we must still seek God out in prayer.
Do not let your personal unworthiness

ever be an excuse for not praying.

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Go, therefore, before Him,

ask Him to heal you,

to forgive you,

to fill you with His Spirit and change your heart and your ways.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.

Heal me, Lord, and renew me as You fill me with Your Spirit.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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And so, my dear friends,

if our conscience does not condemn us, we have courage in God’s presence.

We receive from Him whatever we ask,

because we obey His commands and do what pleases Him.

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What He commands is that we believe in His Son Jesus Christ

and love one another, just as Christ commanded us.

Those who obey God’s commands live in union with God

and God lives in union with them.

And because of the Spirit that God has given us

we know that God lives in union with us.

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– 1 John 3:21-24 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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God knows everything;

not only does He know our sins and our frailties,

He also knows our repentance and our good desires,

and He understands and forgives us.

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If our conscience tells us we have done wrong,

we can seek forgiveness and strengthen our hope in God;

if our conscience does not accuse us,

our confidence in God is ardent and bold.

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The divine and merciful love of God is mightier than our sins

and when we keep the commandments

– believing in and loving Jesus and loving one another –

we are reassured that we are abiding in God.

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Faith and love cannot therefore be separated

and it was our Lord Himself who told us

that what would mark His followers out

would be their love for one another.

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QUOTES…

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"We cannot rightly love one another unless we believe in Christ;

nor can we truly believe in the name of Jesus Christ without brotherly love."

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– St. Bede

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"When we realise that God’s love for us

does not cease in the face of our sin or recoil before our offenses,

but becomes even more attentive and generous;

when we realise that this love

went so far as to cause the Passion and Death of the Word made flesh

who consented to redeem us at the price of His own blood,

then we exclaim in gratitude:

‘Yes, the Lord is rich in mercy’,

and even: ‘The Lord is mercy.’”

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– Pope St. John Paul II

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord, You are love.

Lord, You are mercy.

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