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

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“As the Father has loved Me,

so have I loved you.

Now remain in My love.

If you keep My commands,

you will remain in My love,

just as I have kept My Father’s commands

and remain in His love.

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I have told you this

so that My joy may be in you

and that your joy may be complete.”

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– John 15:9-11 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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Jesus, as always, leads us by His own example

– He obeyed the Father,

and He and the Father are one,

united in love.

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Jesus’ love for us is beyond our understanding

but the certainty that He loves us is the source of Christian joy.

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This great love calls for a fruitful response on our part

and this should take the form of a fervent desire to imitate Jesus

and do the Father’s will in everything.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, You are the joy in my heart

– help me be more like You!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Always be joyful.

Never stop praying.

Be thankful in all circumstances,

for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

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– 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Always be joyful.

It is when we fail to accept God’s will,

that sadness overwhelms us.

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On the other hand,

when we are at peace with God and with others,

we are filled with joy and serenity,

so much so that even great suffering and sorrow, if borne with faith,

cannot take away our joy.

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Never stop praying.

Our Lord insists on the need for us to pray at all times,

and He underlined this by His own life of prayer.

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Our life – as believers and, particularly, as Christians –

should be one of constant prayer.

And prayer is a duty,

but it is also a great joy,

because it is a dialogue with God through Jesus Christ!

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Be thankful in all circumstances.

As St. Bernard says,

"There is no one who, if he just thinks about it a little,

cannot find very good reasons to express his gratitude to God."

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Gratefulness should be our permanent attitude as children of God,

whether we find ourselves in pleasant or in disagreeable circumstances,

for we know that "in everything God works for good with those who love Him." (Rom 8:28).

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord Jesus, You are my Joy!

Lord, help me always trust in You and fill me with great faith, hope and love,

that I may always praise and thank You, my God, with all my heart.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Stay alert!

Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.

He prowls around like a roaring lion,

looking for someone to devour.

Stand firm against him,

and be strong in your faith.

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– 1 Peter 5:8-9 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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We are urged

to be sober and clear-headed,

because it puts us on guard against the evil one.

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There is always need to be watchful

against the assaults of the devil

– that liar, detractor and tempter,

who will pounce on us if we lower our guard.

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If we are strong in faith;

if we adhere to our Christian principles;

if we truly love God above all,

above ourselves,

above everything else;

then we shall be able to resist the attacks of the devil..

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QUOTE…

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"He (the devil) moves round each one of us,

like an enemy who has us surrounded

and is checking the walls

to see if there is some weak, unsecured part,

where he can get in."

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– St. Cyprian

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul,

for You are my support, my strength, my protection.

My Saviour, I need You – help me overcome temptation and deliver me from all evil.

Forgive me, Lord God.

thank You, Lord God.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“Peace is what I leave with you;

it is my own peace that I give you.

I do not give it as the world does.

Do not be worried and upset;

do not be afraid.”

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– John 14:27 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians…

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Don’t worry about anything,

but in all your prayers ask God for what you need,

always asking Him with a thankful heart.

And God’s peace, which is far beyond human understanding,

will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.

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– Philippians 4:6-7

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord Jesus, give me peace.

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your peace.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“Those who accept my commandments and obey them

are the ones who love me.

My Father will love those who love me;

I too will love them and reveal myself to them.”

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– John 14:21 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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What more is there to say.

Jesus is very succinct and clear.

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Do I truly love Him?

Am I determined to obey and follow Him?

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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TODAY’S WORD…

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My children, our love should not be just words and talk;

it must be true love, which shows itself in action.

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This, then, is how we will know that we belong to the truth;

this is how we will be confident in God’s presence.

If our conscience condemns us,

we know that God is greater than our conscience

and that He knows everything.

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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.

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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 3:18-24 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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When I stop and reflect on God’s love for me,

and then look inside myself to see if I love Him back through my thoughts and deeds,

and whether I truly obey His commandments…all of them…fully…

does my conscience condemn me?

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God knows everything;

not only does He know my sins and my frailties,

He also knows my repentance and my good desires,

and He understands and forgives me.

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This teaching on divine mercy is very clear:

if our conscience tells me I have done wrong,

I can seek forgiveness and strengthen my hope in God.

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The love of God is mightier than our sins

and He is rich in mercy – He is Mercy!

So we must always strive to live in union with God

that God may live in union with us.

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May God be your house and you God’s;

dwell in God that God may dwell in you.

God dwells in you to support you;

you dwell in God in order not to fall.

Keep the commandments, have charity.

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QUOTE…

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“His love for us does not cease in the face of our sin

or recoil before our offences,

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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– St. John Paul II

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Forgive me, my Saviour, I want to dwell in You that You may dwell in me.

Lord, You know everything. You know that I love you!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“I will do whatever you ask for in my name,

so that the Father’s glory will be shown through the Son.

If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.”

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– John 14:13-14 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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Jesus Christ is our Divine Intercessor in Heaven;

therefore, He promises us that

whatever we ask for in His name, He will do.

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Asking in Jesus’ Name – in our Saviour’s name –

means asking for what is conducive to our salvation,

or to the salvation of the person or persons we are praying for.

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When we ask in faith, in Jesus’ Name,

we are appealing to the power of the Risen Christ,

believing that He is all-powerful and merciful because He is true God.

Therefore, when the Lord says "whatever you ask"

we must understand

that He is talking about that which is for the good of the asker.

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When our Lord does not give what we ask for,

the reason is that it would not make for our salvation.

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In faith and trust we therefore know and acknowledge that Jesus is our Saviour

both when He grants what we ask for

and when He refuses us.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, my Saviour, I need You so much, I ask for so much

– but Lord, Your will be done!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.

Believe in God, believe also in me.”

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– John 14:1 (NRSV)

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FIRST REFLECTION…

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“Do not let your hearts be troubled.”

Jesus is so tender and comforting,

and, knowing that our minds can be so full of anxiety, perplexity and preoccupation,

He addresses all of us with tender and inimitably beautiful truths of His gospel.

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His truths allay every fear;

they silence every complaint;

they give every needed consolation to the soul

bringing peace to the troubled heart.

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"My peace I give to you," Jesus also tells us (Jn 14:27),

and it is this divine peace, this unsurpassable gift

that is available to all of us

as we strive to trust in Him

and to do what He tells us.

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Jesus’ peace is that enabling grace

which helps those who trust in the Lord

in their efforts to deal with the worries and situations of daily life.

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Jesus’ peace begins in the hearts of believers

and becomes the fruit of their efforts.

It is a peace that produces that indescribable inner joy of faith and hope

which endures all circumstances.

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SECOND REFLECTION…

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“Believe in God, believe also in me.”

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“That Jesus is a man, no one denies.

That He is a prophet, one sent from God,

is also admitted almost universally.

Many stay at that point.

But it is not enough. […]

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The leap by which one passes to be a Christian in the true sense

is when one proclaims, like the man blind from birth,

that Jesus is "Lord"

and adores Him as God.

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Christian faith is not primarily to believe in something

– that God exists, that there is something beyond –

but to believe in someone.

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Jesus in the Gospel does not give us a list of things to believe;

He says, "Believe in God; believe also in me." .

For Christians,

to believe is to believe in Jesus Christ.”

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– Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, give me Your peace – look not on my sins and failings, but at my faith in You.

Lord, forgive me and heal me…and fill me with Your peace.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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I will sing for ever of Your love, O Lord.

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– Psalm 89:1 (JB)

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REFLECTION…

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Faith in the boundless mercy and everlasting truth of God,

brings comfort and great joy

even in our deepest trials.

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As our hearts revel in this great Truth,

our mouths will want to gladly proclaim it!.

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SING A SONG TO JESUS…

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Sing, earnest Christian, sing

…for the Lord our God is with us, always!

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Praise, grateful believer, praise

…because He is worthy, ever so worthy!

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Worship, humble disciple, worship

…for Christ is King and Lord of Lords!

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Proclaim, joyful follower, proclaim

…that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life,

and that His love lasts for ever!

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and then lift your hands and let your heart sing to Jesus!

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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You have set me free, Lord, and You have opened up my heart.

Lord Jesus, I could sing of Your love forever!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge;

on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge.”

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– John 12:48 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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We will be judged

in accordance with whether we accept or reject the Son of God;

with whether we accept or reject what Jesus tells us,

and what He teaches us.

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Jesus wants us to act in a way consistent with being Christians

and not make any separation

between the faith we profess and the way we live.

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If Ibelieve in God,

then I must accept His Word, which is written in the Scriptures,

and I must wholeheartedly seek to live my life accordingly.

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If I reject Jesus’ teachings, His warnings and His counsel,

then I am rejecting Him – I am rejecting God.

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QUOTE…

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"What matters…

is whether we try to practise the virtues

and surrender our will to God

and order our lives as His Majesty ordains,

and not want to do our will

but His.”

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– St. Teresa of Avila

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord Jesus, Your Word is a lamp to my feet, a light for my path.

You are my Light and my Salvation!

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