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

TODAY’S WORD…

The Lord is my light and my salvation;

whom shall I fear?

– Psalm 27:1

REFLECTION…

“The Lord is my light…” He is to me the source of light that guides and leads me. Darkness symbolises distress, trouble, loss of direction, and sorrow. Light is the opposite. God’s light makes our troubles disappear, and our way becomes bright and joyful.

“…and my salvation…” The Lord finds me in the dark, but He does not leave me there – He saves me and He sets me free.

“…whom shall I fear?” When I walk with the Lord; when I put my trust in Him He protects me; He defends me; – I can rely on Him…fully.

What better security is there than the conviction that the Lord, my God and Saviour, is my friend!

PRAYER…

My Lord and my God,

You are my Light and my Saviour,

my Teacher, my Friend.

Lord, I place my trust in You, and I will walk with You

as You lead me through the dark moments of life with Your saving light!

Lead me, Lord;

fill me with hope, Lord;

show me the way, Lord.

You are my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear?

I love You, Lord.

Thank You, Lord.

TODAY’S WORD…

Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!

– Mark 11:9,10b

REFLECTION…

Hosanna is the cry of praise or adoration shouted by the welcoming crowds as Jesus entered Jerusalem and they hailed Him as the Messiah – “the Anointed”, the King and Saviour. This excited crowd acclaimed Jesus as messianic King, in spite of the fact that it was a dangerous act for them to do before the Jewish and Roman authorities of those days.

…..

Today, 2000 years later, are we Christians still prepared to acclaim the Lord publicly with shouts of joy? Am I prepared to do so? Do I consider it “risky” and “embarrassing” and “not quite the done thing” to be seen publicly acclaiming Christ in this world which seems to scorn the devout, and encourage godlessness?

PRAYER…

Hosanna, Lord! Hosanna!

You deserve the glory and the honour,
and I lift my hands in worship for You are great!
There is no one else like You,
Lord, there is no one else like You!

Lord, I want to always gladly acclaim You,
in all situations,
in good times and in bad,
in private and in public,
through my words and my deeds.

There is no one else like You, Lord!

Hosanna, Lord!

TODAY’S WORD…

If we say we have no sin in us, we are deceiving ourselves and refusing to admit the truth; but if we acknowledge our sins, then God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and purify us from everything that is wrong.

– 1 John 1:8-9

REFLECTION…

Loss of the sense of sin is a danger that has always threatened man…which makes these two verses, this a warning from St. John, so particularly relevant in our own time.

St Pope John Paul II teaches: “Deceived by the loss of the sense of sin, and at times by an illusion of sinlessness – which is not at all Christian – the people of today also need to listen again to St John’s admonition, as addressed to each one of them personally: ‘If we say we have no sin in us, we are deceiving ourselves and refusing to admit the truth […] Every individual therefore is invited by the voice of divine truth to examine realistically his or her conscience, and to confess that he or she was born a sinner, as we say in the “Miserere” Psalm (cf. Ps 51:5)“

QUOTE…

“If you confess yourself to be a sinner, the truth is in you: the truth is light. Your life does not yet shine as brightly as it might, because there are sins in you; but now you are beginning to be enlightened, because you confess your iniquities”   –  St. Augustine

PRAYER…from the “Miserere” Psalm 51 (vs 1.2.9-12)…

Have mercy on me, O God,

because of Your unfailing love.

Because of Your great compassion,

blot out the stain of my sins.

Wash me clean from my guilt.

Purify me from my sin.

Remove the stain of my guilt.

Create in me a clean heart, O God.

Renew a loyal spirit within me.

Do not banish me from Your presence,

and don’t take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,

and make me willing to obey You.

Amen

TODAY’S WORD…

I love You, Lord, my strength,

my rock, my fortress, my saviour.

My God is the rock where I take refuge;

my shield, my mighty help, my stronghold.

– Psalm 17:2 (The Grail Psalms)

REFLECTION…

When you truly love God, and you stop to reflect on His magnificence, your soul reaches out to Him with intense yearning, and your heart leaps and is unable to contain its joy, and from deep inside come words of praise and honour, giving glory to the Maker.

A true believer is a praying person, and knows that God is a prayer-hearing God. A true believer wholeheartedly heaps praise on the Almighty, and glories and finds joy and comfort in the safety of His loving presence.

PRAYER…

I love You, O Lord, my Strength,

my Rock, my Fortress, my Saviour.

My God, You are the Rock where I take refuge;

my Shield, my Mighty Help, my Stronghold.

I love You, Lord, because You first loved me.

Teach me, Lord, how to remain in Your love.

Amen

TODAY’S WORD…

Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys My word will never see death.”

– John 8:51

REFLECTION…

Our Lord promises eternal life to those who accept His teaching and remain faithful to it.

The believer, the true Christian, lovingly receives the Word of the Lord Jesus – the Gospel; firmly believes in it; and gladly obeys it from the heart.

The believer, the true Christian, has a spiritual and comfortable experience of Jesus’ doctrine, and joyfully yields to Christ’s commands keeping and holding fast to them – in faith, love, and trust.

PRAYER…

Jesus, thank You for Your Word which You shared with us,

and for Your Spirit who You have sent to teach us.

Lord, I greatly desire to do Your will,

and to love in the way You teach me to.

But, Lord, I need You to build my faith,

which constantly needs strengthening.

Lord Jesus, You know that I believe,

but please help my unbelief.

Fill me, through Your Spirit,

with determination, with knowledge, and with perseverance.

Remove from me all that is not from You, O Lord.

Fill me with love for every human person and every created thing

– for it is only through total and complete love

that I can know what it means to be called a child of God,

and can look forward to eternal life.

Amen

TODAY’S WORD…

Jesus said, “If God really were your Father, you would love Me, because I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own authority, but He sent Me.

Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to listen to My message.”

– John 8:42-43

REFLECTION…

In today’s context, Jesus seems to be speaking to what seems to be an increasing number of Christians whose faith has become almost non-existent. These so-called Christians tell you, somewhat dismissively, that of course they believe in God, however, many will also readily admit that they do not really go beyond that.

God? “Erm, yes I believe in God.”

The Christian religion? “OK…but not as cool as, say, Buddhism. Besides, too demanding; too many Thou-shalt-nots.”

The Crucifix? “Yes, yes, but too violent an image, don’t you think!?”

The Holy Spirit? “That’s a difficult one!”

Church? “Boring! I don’t really bother anymore.”

Claiming to believe in God, does not necessarily mean loving and honouring Him

and obeying His Commandments. When we truly love God, we determinedly seek to do His will. We embrace His Son, Jesus, place our full trust in Him, acknowledge Him as our Teacher and Saviour, and we joyfully proclaim Him – through the power of the Holy Spirit acting in us – as the Son of the Living God.

However, what Jesus teaches doesn’t always suit everybody, and when self-centredness takes over, many of us would rather not listen. We pretend not to understand…and we wander off…

PRAYER…

Lord Jesus, You are the Son of the Living God…and I want to love You with all my heart, mind, soul and strength!

TODAY’S WORD…

The language of the cross may be illogical to those who are not on the way to salvation, but those of us who are on the way see it as God’s power to save.

– 1 Corinthians 1:18

REFLECTION…

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

Some have chosen the dark road with the bright and beckoning artificial lights and the promise of instant gratification. These see the message of the Cross – “the language of the cross” – as totally illogical, and so they disregard it and, inevitably, lose themselves.

Others are set on walking with Christ along that straight and narrow path which is lit by the pure glow of God’s Word and the radiance of His saving grace. These are discovering

that the Cross is “God’s power”, because it has conquered the evil one and sin, and leads to glorious salvation. Let us rejoice in this truth!

QUOTE…

O most precious gift of the Cross! How splendid it looks! […] It is a tree which begets 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 thrall in which the devil held it.”   – St Theodore the Studite

PRAYER…

Lord Jesus, my Saviour,

I look at You on That Mighty Cross and I see Love.

I look at You on That Mighty Cross and I see Kindness and Humility.

I look at You on That Mighty Cross and I see Life…everlasting.

Thank You, Lord, for the precious Gift of the Cross.

Thank You for setting me free.

Amen

TODAY’S WORD…

“Joseph was a man who always did what was right.”

– Matthew 1.19

REFLECTION…

St Joseph “always did the right thing”, he was a man of God, a just man. God would show him what was to be done, he trusted in God’s guidance – and God did show him the way.

We are often in a state of uncertainty as to what will be the right thing to do. We fret and worry, and blame God for allowing this or that to happen to us. We must pray that like Joseph we will put our problems before the Lord, who will then tell us what is the right thing for us to do.

Joseph was a man who listened. No spoken word is recorded of him. He was able to hear God’s word; he knew how to be silent so as to allow God’s word to come through to him. In our world today we are surrounded by noise and distraction. Our spiritual “senses” become deadened by the intrusive noises of radio and television, of vehicles and planes. Is it any wonder we don’t hear God speaking to us? Let us ask St. Joseph to help us to know how to be silent before God, how we can carve out a “quiet time” in our day.

In our days many fathers of families have lost their sense of place in the family; many provide weak leadership, especially in the area of religious practice. We must pray that the example of Joseph will inspire Christian fathers to assume their rightful role of leading their children in worship of our heavenly Father. May fathers provide firm and clear standards of Christian behaviour to their families in a society that is losing its spiritual foundations.

PRAYER…

Saint Joseph, patron of fathers, foster-father of Our Lord Jesus,

guide us along our journey

as we strive for family unity, fidelity and holiness

and as we seek to answer the Holy Spirit’s prompting in our hearts

and set an example of faith for others.

St Joseph, be our guide and help us follow the way of Christ

and look to Mary as the Mother of God and our loving Heavenly Mother,

and to our Lord Jesus as our Way, our Truth and our Life.

Amen.

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TODAY’S WORD…

Jesus said, “Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.”

– John 12:25

REFLECTION…

Persons who put aside God’s commandments so as to preserve their worldly life, and their comfort and security, and short-lived pleasures, will lose eternal life.

Those who are prepared to risk or lose their comfort and worldly life in order to do God’s will and live His commandments, shall find everlasting life.

QUOTE…

“…this fundamental principle that the Lord establishes is, in the final analysis, simply identical with the principle of love. Love, in fact, means leaving yourself behind, giving yourself, not wanting to hold on to yourself, but becoming free from yourself: not getting preoccupied with yourself – what will become of me – but looking ahead, toward the other – toward God and the people whom He sends to me.

It is this principle of love that defines man’s journey, it is once again identical with the mystery of the cross, with the mystery of death and resurrection that we encounter in Christ.”    – Pope Benedict XVI

PRAYER…

My Lord, my God, I want to look ahead and do Your will.

Help me place my entire trust in You.

TODAY’S WORD…

“Open your ears, and come to Me! Listen so that you may live!”

– Isaiah 55:3

REFLECTION…

“Come to Me!” God is urging us to go to Him, because He has so much to tell us.

“Open your ears.” If we listen to His Word, focus on Him, obey His Commandments, and embrace His promises, only then shall we truly live.

“Listen so that you may live!” The Word of God is divine sustenance – good, solid, substantial food, which will build me up and inspire me and lead me to live comfortably and plentifully with Him in my heart…forever!

PRAYER…

My most loving God and Father,

I seek You with all my heart;

I want to live in accordance with Your Word.

Open my ears that I may listen to Your Wisdom.

Open my eyes that I may see Your Truth.

Open my heart that I may gladly welcome You inside me.

I want to live in accordance with Your Word.

I want to be with You forever!

Amen.