“a Lamp to my feet. a Light for my path.” – Ephesians 4:23-24

Posted on 8 April 2015 by Christ the King Prayer Group

TODAY’S WORD…

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Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.

Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy.

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– Ephesians 4:23-24 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Christian Baptism effects the transition

from the life of sin

to the life of grace,

thanks to the merits of Christ.

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In Baptism we "put on Christ" (Gal 3:27).

From that moment onwards a Christian’s life is so radically different

that to revert to one’s previous conduct

is the greatest insult we could offer the body of Christ.

That is why we must strip ourselves entirely of our old nature

and urgently put on the new.

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The change from the old to the new nature

does not involve any external change, as when someone changes his

clothes,

but rather an inner renewal,

whereby the Christian, by becoming a new creature in Jesus Christ,

is enabled to practice righteousness and holiness

in a manner that exceeds his natural human capacity.

This inner renewal of the person is something which takes a lifetime.

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It is not enough, then, for one to have simply a veneer of piety.

As St Anastasius of Sinai tells us,

"Entering the church and venerating sacred images and crosses

is not sufficient for pleasing God,

just as washing one’s hands does not make one clean all over.

What truly pleases God is that a person flees from sin

and gets rid of his stains by means of confession and penance.

Let him break the chains of his faults by being humble of heart."

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QUOTE…

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"The power of God is made manifest in our weakness

and it spurs us on to fight, to battle against our defects,

although we know that we will never achieve total victory during our pilgrimage on earth.

The Christian life is a continuous beginning again each day.

It renews itself over and over"

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– St. Josemaria Escriva

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Here I am, Holy Spirit – renew me, change me!

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“a Lamp to my feet. a Light for my path.” – Galatians 2:20

Posted on 7 April 2015 by Christ the King Prayer Group

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TODAY’S WORD…

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My old self has been crucified with Christ.

It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.

So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God,

who loved me and gave Himself for me.

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– Galatians 2:20 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Through the sacrament of Baptism we have been united to Christ

in a union which far exceeds mere solidarity and support:

we have been crucified with Him,

dying with Him to sin, so as to rise reborn into a new life.

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This new life requires us to live in a new, supernatural way,

which, with the help of grace, gradually becomes stronger and stronger

and acts to perfect a person’s behaviour.

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When we embrace this grace

we will no longer be living on a purely natural level.

This is why a Christian should seek to live as Christ lived

and to act accordingly.

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All this is a consequence of Christ’s love:

He freely gave Himself up to die on the Cross

out of love for each and every one of us.

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Through faith, therefore, we can come to appreciate

that Christ’s passion effects us personally,

and that our life in Christ is not a matter of feelings,

but something very real.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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O Lord, grant me the grace to gladly cry out in faith and truth,

that it is no longer I who live, but You who lives in me!

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“a Lamp to my feet. a Light for my path.” – Colossians 2:9,12

Posted on 6 April 2015 by Christ the King Prayer Group

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TODAY’S WORD…

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In Christ lives the fullness of Divinity,

and in Him you too find your own fulfilment.

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You have been buried with Him, when you were baptised;

and by baptism, too, you have been raised up with Him through your belief in the power of God who raised Him from the dead.

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– Colossians 2:9,12 (JB)

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REFLECTION…

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In Christ lives the fullness of Divinity.

The union of Christ’s human nature with His divine nature

is not just something which lasts for a while; it is permanent.

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And, where the Son is present,

so are the Father and the Holy Spirit

– that is the fullness of Divinity.

Always and in every circumstance,

where one divine Person is present

the other two Persons are also present.

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You have been buried with Him, when you were baptised;

and by baptism, too, you have been raised up with Him

"By the sacrament of Baptism,

whenever it is properly conferred in the way the Lord determined

and received with the proper dispositions of soul,

man becomes truly incorporated into the crucified and glorified Christ

and is reborn to a sharing of the divine life.” (Vatican II)

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To be baptised…is to be buried – a sure sign that you have died to sin.

To be baptised…is to be resurrected – to a new life; to the life of grace.

By the Sacrament of Baptism

we are associated with Christ’s death and burial

so as to be able to rise with Him. Amen!

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QUOTE…

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“Christ by His resurrection signified our new life,

which was reborn out of the old death which submerged us in sin.

This is what is brought about in us by the great Sacrament of Baptism:

all those who receive this grace die to sin […]

and are reborn to the new life.”

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– St. Augustine

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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My Jesus, my Lord, in You I live and have my being.

In You I find my fulfilment!

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“a Lamp to my feet. a Light for my path.” – Luke 24:34

Posted on 5 April 2015 by Christ the King Prayer Group

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“It is true! The Lord has risen…”

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– Luke 24:34 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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Christ is risen!

After descending to earth, to death,

and to the grave (to the place of the dead)

Christ rose again!

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Christ is risen!

This is the Good News,

the capstone on the great story of salvation,

the winning stroke in the battle!

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Christ is risen!

The incredible news that God had become a man,

died to save us from sin,

and rose to save us from death;

to win our salvation, our eternal life

– that is the Good News!

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Christ is risen!

And not only in our hearts

but Christ is risen in the real world.

It really happened, right here in our world.

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Christ is risen!

The most important task of your life from now on

is to announce this Good News

and draw others to Jesus,

as you live in union with the risen Saviour,

incorporated into His body by faith and baptism,

and fed by His Eucharistic Body and Blood.

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Christ is risen!

The Resurrected Christ is the all in all throughout mankind:

all that is Beautiful, Good, True, Precious, Harmonious, Sacred, Wise, and Everlasting.

He is all of our Love, all of our Truth, all of our Joy, all of our Life,

He is Life Eternal.

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Christ is risen!

Make the Resurrected Christ the centre of your life.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Come Lord, be the centre of my life.

Rise up within me, Lord,

breathe life into my heart,

and make me whole.

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“a Lamp to my feet. a Light for my path.” – Matthew 12:40

Posted on 4 April 2015 by Christ the King Prayer Group

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“…the Son of Man will be three days and three nights

in the heart of the earth.”

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– Matthew 12:40 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…ON HOLY SATURDAY…

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Today a great silence reigns on earth,

a great silence and a great stillness.

A great silence because the King is asleep.

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The earth trembled and is still

because God has fallen asleep in the flesh

and He has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began.

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He has gone to search for Adam, our first father, as for a lost sheep.

Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death,

He has gone to free from sorrow Adam in his bonds and Eve, captive with him

– He who is both their God and the son of Eve…

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[from an Ancient Homily for Holy Saturday].

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QUOTES…

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“The state of the dead Christ

is the mystery of the tomb and the descent into hell.

It is the mystery of Holy Saturday,

when Christ, lying in the tomb,

reveals God’s great Sabbath rest after the fulfilment of man’s salvation,

which brings peace to the whole universe.”

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– Catechism of the Catholic Church: 624.

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“Truly, "that Sabbath was a high day," as St. John tells us:

the highest in history,

because it was then that the "Lord of the Sabbath"

brought to fulfilment the work of creation,

raising man and the entire cosmos

to the glorious liberty of the children of God”

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– Pope Benedict XVI.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Thank You for dying for me, Lord.

Thank You for setting me free!

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“a Lamp to my feet. a Light for my path.” – Isaiah 52:13-15; 53:5-7

Posted on 3 April 2015 by Christ the King Prayer Group

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TODAY’S WORD…

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…He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
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Just as there were many who were appalled at Him –
His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
and His form marred beyond human likeness –
so He will sprinkle many nations,
and kings will shut their mouths because of Him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
and what they have not heard, they will understand.

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But He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on Him,
and by His wounds we are healed.

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We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on Him
the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet He did not open His mouth;
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so He did not open His mouth.

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– Isaiah 52:13-15; 53:5-7 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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Today, we pray and reflect upon on these words

as we fix our gaze on the Crucifix.

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As we look at Christ on the Cross

we can identify the stages of His Passion,

which He undertook to save us:

the arrest,

the humiliation,

the blows,

the spitting,

the contempt suffered,

the unjust sentence,

the scourging,

the crowning with thorns,

the mocking,

the carrying of the Cross,

the crucifixion

and the agony.

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Jesus suffered on account of the sins of all of us.

By bearing the penalty of those sins

He atoned for the guilt involved and redeemed us.

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He paid the price to set us free.

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QUOTE…

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“The sufferings of our Saviour are our cure.”

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– Theodoret of Cyrus

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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My Lord and my God.

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“a Lamp to my feet. a Light for my path.” – Revelation 1:8

Posted on 2 April 2015 by Christ the King Prayer Group

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God,

“who is, and who was, and who is to come,

the Almighty.”

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– Revelation 1:8 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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Jesus is Lord, and He is God,

the Alpha, or Beginning

and the Omega, or End of all things,

of the world and of history.

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The Lord is the Beginning

– the Author and Creator of all things,

who proposes, declares, and promises such great things.

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He is the End

– He brings all scriptural revelation

to a complete and glorious conclusion.

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Jesus is present at all times

– times past, present and future –

and He is the same

yesterday and today and forever,

yet He continually makes all things new.

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He is the Beginning and the End,

the Alfa and the Omega of the whole creation.

All has been created through Him

and all achieves fulfilment in Him.

He is the centre of humankind’s history.

All is summarised in Him.

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All spiritual paths begin in Christ.

It is He who calls upon us to be His disciples.

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Follow Him and offer yourself to Him,

and you will be uniting yourself to His living sacrifice with your whole being,

thus fulfilling the work of God.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord, You are the Alpha and the Omega – the Beginning and the End –

and I want to make You the centre of my life.

Here I am, Lord, I offer myself to You.

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“a Lamp to my feet. a Light for my path.” – Matthew 26:14-16

Posted on 1 April 2015 by Christ the King Prayer Group

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TODAY’S WORD…

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One of the Twelve,

the man called Judas Iscariot,

went to the chief priests and said,

‘What are you prepared to give me

if I hand Him over to you?’

They paid him thirty silver pieces,

and from that moment

he looked for an opportunity to betray Him.

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– Matthew 26:14-16 (JB)

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REFLECTION…

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Do we identify ourselves with Judas Iscariot at all?

With Peter yes, many of us will admit,

but not with Judas – “God forbid!”

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Peter’s denial – three times before the cock crowed –

may appear (to us) to have been a milder form of betrayal,

and so we tend to feel less uneasy admitting that we may sometimes act like Peter did.

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Peter didn’t go and hang himself in the end like Judas.

In fact, he was filled with deep and sincere contrition, and he wept bitterly.

Afterwards, Peter also endeavoured to compensate for his fault

by increased fidelity and unshaken attachment to the Lord.

Are we really like St. Peter in this respect?

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But back to Judas.

He betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver,

and sealed his infidelity with that infamous kiss.

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Have I ever done anything worse

than being afraid to publically admit that I am a follower of Jesus?

Have I ever betrayed Jesus in a big way

through my actions, words and thoughts

or even through my inaction?

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Have I never taken advantage of certain situations,

to satisfy my own selfish worldly desires,

betraying the Lord in the process?

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Have I never broken any of God’s ten Commandments?

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Most importantly, have I truly repented before God?

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Peter and Judas both sinned

but only one of them repented and put his faith in Christ

…and only one found hope and peace and love.

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Am I truly like St. Peter?

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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I love You, Lord, You know I love You.

Forgive me, my Lord.

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“a Lamp to my feet. a Light for my path.” – 1 Corinthians 1:18-19

Posted on 31 March 2015 by Christ the King Prayer Group

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TODAY’S WORD…

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For the message about Christ’s death on the cross

is nonsense to those who are being lost;

but for us who are being saved it is God’s power.

The scripture says,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise
and set aside the understanding of the scholars.”

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– 1 Corinthians 1:18-19 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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Human wisdom ought to be in line with the wisdom of God,

but it has gone off course and it has become "the wisdom of the world".

We seem to rely only on logic or on science,

yet it is only God’s grace that can make a person truly wise.

Therefore, no true Christian can boast of obtaining wisdom by his or her own efforts.

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Divine wisdom, which all of us are called to have a share in,

is the plan of salvation revealed by God and taught by the Holy Spirit.

It is through divine wisdom

that we begin to understand Christ’s death on the cross.

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The cross of Christ, therefore, leads the way to true wisdom and prudence,

and no one may remain indifferent to it.

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However, some people see the message of the Cross as irrational:

these are on the road to destruction.

Then there are others – those who are on the road to salvation –

who are discovering that the Cross is "God’s power".

The Cross is "God’s power" because on it hung the Saviour of the world

and through it He conquered the devil and sin.

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Simplicity and humility are needed

if one is to discover the divine wisdom of the Cross.

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Go therefore before the Cross, with faith and reverence,

and fix your eyes on Jesus,

and the Holy Spirit will shed the light of the truth on you

…and you will be filled with awe

and with a great love for Jesus your Saviour.

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QUOTE…

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"O most precious gift of the Cross!

How splendid it looks! […]

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It is a tree which produces life, without causing death;

which sheds light, without casting shadows;

which leads to Paradise and does not expel anyone therefrom;

it is the wood which Christ ascended, as a king mounting his chariot,

to defeat the devil who had usurped the power of death,

and to set mankind free from the slavery in which the devil held it."

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– Theodore the Studite

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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I adore you, O Christ, and I bless You,

because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

Thank You, Jesus. I love You, Jesus.

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“a Lamp to my feet. a Light for my path.” – John 12:1-3

Posted on 30 March 2015 by Christ the King Prayer Group

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Six days before the Passover,

Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus was,

whom He had raised from the dead.

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They gave a dinner for Him there;

Martha waited on them

and Lazarus was among those at table.

Mary brought in a pound of very costly ointment, pure nard,

and with it anointed the feet of Jesus,

wiping them with her hair;

the house was full of the scent of the ointment.

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– John 12:1-3 (JB)

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REFLECTION…

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Jesus pays another visit to Bethany

to see His friends, siblings Lazarus, Martha and Mary.

It is very touching to see this friendship,

at once divine and human,

expressed in the form of frequent contact.

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This anointing of Jesus, by Mary, had a particular meaning

and should be seen in the context of Eastern hospitality.

The cost of the flask of perfume

would have amounted to a year’s wage

and Judas is recorded as having lamented this `waste’ of so valuable a perfume

– in his greed, he totally missed the significance

and had only been calculating the price.

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Are we so welcoming and generous with Jesus, like Lazarus, Martha and Mary,

or are we stingy and calculating with Him, like Judas?

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Do we give Jesus

the time and the special attention He deserves as our Lord and God,

or do we, in spite of our declarations in church and in prayer,

treat Him just like, or even worse than, everybody and everything else,

and take Him for granted…

unless we want something from Him?

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And last but not least,

am I prepared to express and let others see how much I love Jesus,

and how special He is to me?

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, my Lord, my God, my Saviour, my Friend,

I welcome You into my heart!

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