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

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Show me Your ways, Lord,
teach me Your paths.
Guide me in Your truth and teach me,
for You are God my Saviour,
and my hope is in You all day long.

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– Psalm 25:4-5 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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The Psalmist himself, provides us with a reflection on today’s passage:

Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore He instructs sinners in His ways.
He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them His way.

He will instruct them in the ways they should choose. (Ps 25:8-9,12b)

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QUOTE…

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“The ways of the Lord are not comfortable,

but we were not created for comfort, but for greatness, for good.”

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– Pope Benedict XVI

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord, show me Your ways,

guide me in Your truth and teach me.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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So now you are no longer strangers and foreigners.

You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people.

You are members of God’s family.

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Together, we are His house,

built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets.

And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus Himself.

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We are carefully joined together in Him,

becoming a holy temple for the Lord.

Through Him you are also being made part

of this dwelling where God lives by His Spirit.

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– Ephesians 2:19-22 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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God gives the Holy Spirit

so that we can be joined to the body of Christ,

that is to the Church,

to the Christian community.

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A new life in the Spirit

will allow you to be more closely united with other Christians in the Church

and to experience a communion with them in the Spirit.

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The head of the Church is Christ Himself,

and in His Church are assembled the children of God,

who are to live as brothers and sisters, united by love.

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Grace, faith, hope, charity and the action of the Holy Spirit

are invisible realities

which forge the links bringing together all the members of the Church.

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If the physical body of Christ

is the true temple of God because Christ is the Son of God,

the Church can also be seen as God’s true temple,

because it is the mystical body of Christ.

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Every faithful Christian, every living stone of this temple of God,

must, through a desire to become holy and more like Jesus,

stay fixed on the solid cornerstone of Christ,

and do as He says, accepting His will and commandments.

This is how we become

part of this dwelling where God lives by His Spirit.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Come Holy Spirit, draw me closer to Jesus,

that I may become one with Him.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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The particular way in which the Spirit is given to each person

is for a good purpose.

One may have the gift of preaching with wisdom given him by the Spirit;

another may have the gift of preaching with instruction given him by the same Spirit;

and another

the gift of faith given by the same Spirit;

another again the gift of healing through this one Spirit;

one, the power of miracles;

another, prophecy;

another the gift of recognising spirits;

another the gift of tongues

and another the ability to interpret them.

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All these are the work of one and the same Spirit;

who distributes different gifts to different people

as He chooses.

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– 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 (JB)

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REFLECTION…

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As you grow with the Holy Spirit in you,

you will begin to experience Him working in new ways so that you can serve others.

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The Holy Spirit will equip you with spiritual gifts,

gifts which give you a new power to do His work. .

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QUOTE…

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“A charism [spiritual gift] is something more than a personal quality or a predisposition of which one might be gifted.

A charism is a grace, a gift lavished by God the Father, through the action of the Holy Spirit.

And it is a gift that is given to someone, not because he is better than others or because he merited it:

it is a gift that God makes so that, with the same gratuitousness and the same love,

he can put it at the service of the whole community, for the good of all.

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[…]The very diversity of the Spirit’s gifts invites us to share them generously for the good of all,

and never to let them become a source of division.

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Today let us ask the Lord to help us recognise with gratitude this great outpouring of spiritual gifts

which enables the Church to persevere in faith,

to grow in grace

and to be an ever more credible sign and witness of God’s infinite love.

In a particular way, may each of us consider the special gifts he or she has received,

and how we choose to use those gifts to advance the Church’s unity, life and mission in the world.”

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– Pope Francis

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Come Holy Spirit, fill me with love, joy and humility.

Guide me and use me for the glory of God.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,

goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

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– Galatians 5:22-23 (RSV)

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REFLECTION…

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When you allow the Holy Spirit to dwell in your heart,

you will begin to experience a new kind of life.

You will know God in a new way.

That new life will grow in you as you become a changed person.

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When you welcome the Holy Spirit and ask Him to take over,

you will be entering into a new kind of life

lived in a fuller power of God.

St. Paul describes the result saying:

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,

goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

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We will need perseverance to lead this new life,

since going on will not be automatic,

but it can and will happen…if we want it to.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Come, Holy Spirit, You are welcome in my heart.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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When they heard this, they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Paul placed his hands on them, and the Holy Spirit came upon them;

they spoke in strange tongues and also proclaimed God’s message.

They were about twelve men in all.

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– Acts 19:5-7 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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You can experience the Holy Spirit the same way these early disciples did.

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Whether you have been a Christian for a while

or have never believed in Christ before but have now started on your Christian journey,

you can receive whatever is missing in your experience of the life of the Spirit.

What happened to these disciples can happen to you.

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When St. Paul placed his hands on these men,

they began to experience a new relationship with the Spirit of God.

It was the beginning of a new kind of life lived in a fuller power of God.

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When we live in the Spirit, the Spirit prays in us.

We must allow Him to pray in us often during the day

– most times in our own language;

sometimes in other languages known to us;

and, at times, in tongues – a language which is unintelligible to us

and which comes from deep within.

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Tongues is a gift of the Spirit,

freely available to all of us when we throw the doors of our heart wide open

to allow the Holy Spirit to take over.

It is a humble gift,

but it is also a humbling one, which draws us closer to God

because it allows us to really communicate with Him when simple words fail us;

when ordinary language feels totally inadequate;

when our heart wants to burst out into praise and prayer beyond what we can ever express.

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Proclaiming God’s message is an extraordinary grace bestowed by God;

a gift that one should earnestly desire.

The message is the Word of God.

It is the gospel.

It is Jesus Christ promised and fulfilled.

It brings unbelievers and ordinary people to their knees, repenting and worshiping God.

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We can only truly proclaim God’s message in our everyday life

when are walking closely with Him.

As we reflect and contemplate upon His awesome Word,

we will want, more and more, to speak of His glory

which we will experience in everyday happenings in our life;

and we will want to share His greatness

and pass on the Good News and message of hope to others.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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My Lord, grant that all that I say and do

is in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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When the day of Pentecost came…

they were all filled with the Holy Spirit

and began to talk in other languages,

as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

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– Acts 2:1a,4 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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On the day of the Pentecost,

Jesus’ disciples were gathered together in one room in prayer,

and the Holy Spirit, which Jesus promised, came on them.

From that moment on, they were changed persons.

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All Christians have already received the Holy Spirit…when they were baptised.

But for many, unfortunately, the Holy Spirit is like that forgotten gift

that has remained in its original wrapping

…unopened and boxed in.

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That gift is the most precious one we can ever receive,

because the Holy Spirit is the source of new life!

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When we unwrap and open that forgotten gift,

we will set the Holy Spirit free to mould us into true followers of Christ,

and we will become changed persons.

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When we unwrap and open that forgotten gift,

we come to know God by experience;

we come to know God as our Father who loves us and cares for us;

we experience God’s love and presence like never before;

we experience God speaking in our heart, teaching us, guiding us;

we come to know Jesus as our Lord;

the lordship of Jesus begins to be the basic principle for our way of life.

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When we unwrap and open that forgotten gift,

we start to pray in a new way;

our prayer becomes more centred on God and less on ourselves;

our prayer becomes more often prayer of praise and thanksgiving;

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When we unwrap and open that forgotten gift,

we discover that we can pray in tongues:

that humble gift which serves as a means of spiritual growth;

that prayer language which the Holy Spirit inspires within us to praise God;

that prayer language which the Spirit inspires within us when we cannot pray adequately.

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When we unwrap and open that forgotten gift,

the Bible comes to life;

we get to understand Jesus’ teachings;

the Fruit of the Spirit develops within us (“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” – Gal 5:22-23);

we will receive one or more spiritual gifts by which we can serve God.

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Yes, When we unwrap and open that forgotten gift,

with faith, hope and expectation,

and out of our own free will,

the Holy Spirit will inflame our hearts with love and boldness

and we will truly become changed persons…and true Christians, followers of Christ!

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord, I desire to know You better, I desire to love You more – I welcome Your Spirit within me!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said:

“If you love me you will keep my commandments.

I shall ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate

to be with you for ever,

that Spirit of Truth whom the world can never receive since it neither sees nor knows Him;

But you know Him, because He is with you, He is in you.

I will not leave you orphans.”

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– John 14:15-18 (JB)

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REFLECTION…

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Jesus promised before He died

that He would give His followers the Holy Spirit – the Advocate.

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The Holy Spirit is your Consoler

your Counsellor, Protector and Defender.

He purifies your heart.

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The Holy Spirit will live in you and give you a new life.

The promise of Jesus is for everyone.

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QUOTE…

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“In spite of our great limitations,

we can look up to Heaven with confidence and joy:

God loves us and frees us from our sins.

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The presence and the action of the Holy Spirit in the Church

are a foretaste of eternal happiness,

of the joy and peace for which we are destined by God”

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– St. Josemaria Escriva

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Come, Holy Spirit, and purify my heart.

Come and live in me, that I may be renewed.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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The Lord God says this…

I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed…

I shall give you a new heart, and put a new Spirit in you;

I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies

and give you a heart of flesh instead.

I shall put my Spirit in you…

You shall be my people and I will be your God.

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– Ezekiel 36:25a,26-27a,28b (JB)

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REFLECTION…

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Throughout the ages,

prophets have predicted that the day would come

when God would give His Spirit freely to humankind.

Those who turned to Him and received His Spirit would be changed.

They would be new men and women…with a new life.

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A stony heart does not give life to man,

cannot be moulded by God,

and cannot welcome God.

It has no room for anyone else by itself.

A natural heart, given by God and filled with God’s Spirit,

is a heart that gives life,

allows God to teach it and form it according to His law,

and is a place where God can reign.

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Those who turned to Him and received His Spirit would be changed.

Do I want to be changed?

Do I have this yearning to turn to the Lord my God

and seek to be cleansed and renewed?

Do I desire to purposefully open my heart to the Holy Spirit;

to let Him breathe new life into me;

to change me into a person of love and compassion;

and to make me more and more like Jesus?

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Come Holy Spirit, come into my heart,

take over and breathe into me Your breath of life.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

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Do not judge, and you will not be judged.

Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.

Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

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Give, and it will be given to you.

A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over,

will be poured into your lap.

For with the measure you use,

it will be measured to you.”

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– Luke 6:36-38 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

The model of mercy which Christ sets before us is God Himself,

who loved us so much, He sent His Only Son to save us.

He is “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,

who comforts us in all our troubles .“ (2 Cor 1:3-4)

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Fray Luis de Granada reflected:

"The first quality of this virtue (of mercy)

is that it makes men like God

and like the most glorious thing in Him, His mercy.

For certainly the greatest perfection a creature can have

is to be like his Creator,

and the more like Him he is,

the more perfect he is."

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This is the rule a Christian should apply:

be compassionate towards other people’s afflictions

as if they were one’s own,

and try to remedy them.

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We should

visit and care for the sick,

give food to the hungry,

give drink to the thirsty,

teach the Truth to the ignorant,

forgive injuries,

correct, but also show understanding towards people who are in error…

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The Apostolic Constitution, ‘Gaudium et Spes’ (Joy and Hope),

which resulted from the Second Vatican Council,

tells us that

"love and courtesy of this kind

should not, of course, make us indifferent to truth and goodness.

Love, in fact, impels the followers of Christ

to proclaim to all men the truth which saves.

But we must distinguish between the error (which must always be rejected)

and the person in error,

who never loses his dignity as a person

even though he flounders amid false or inadequate religious ideas.

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God alone is the judge and searcher of hearts;

He forbids us to pass judgment on the inner guilt of others."

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When we act with others in love and truth,

out of Christian generosity and mercy

and, therefore, without expecting anything in return,

we will be giving to God,

who will give us more, much, much more, in life eternal!

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord God, Your mercy and compassion and Your grace never fade.

Teach me to be merciful like You are merciful, Lord.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

Since He did not spare even His own Son

but gave Him up for us all,

won’t He also give us everything else?

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– Romans 8:31-32 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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God is with us,

He is always by our side.

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If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

This exclamation vividly reveals the full extent of the love of God the Father,

who not only listens to our prayers

but anticipates our needs.

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If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

This is a cry expressing confidence and optimism, despite our personal woes;

it is firmly based on our sense of being God’s children.

This is the attitude which enables us to live as children of God,

who fear neither life nor death.

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Not through our own efforts,

but by virtue of the all-powerful aid of Him who has loved us from all eternity

and who did not hesitate to have His own Son die for our salvation,

we the faithful will emerge unscathed and victorious

from all attacks, dangers and sufferings.

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Nothing that happens to us can separate us from the Lord,

because God will not withhold

all the graces we need to obtain the promised happy outcome:

all that is needed is for us to observe the Lord’s Commandments

as we constantly and fervently seek His divine help.

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QUOTE…

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“Clothed in grace,

we can cross mountains,

and climb the hill of our Christian duty, without halting on the way.

If we use these resources with a firm purpose

and beg our Lord to grant us an ever increasing hope,

we shall possess the infectious joy of those who know they are children of God:

‘If God is for us, who can ever be against us?’

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Let us be optimists.

Moved by the power of hope,

we shall fight to wipe away the trail of filth and slime left by the sowers of hatred.

We shall find a new joyful perspective to the world,

seeing that it has sprung forth beautiful and fair from the hands of God.

We shall give it back to Him with that same beauty.”

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– St. Josemaria Escriva

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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In You alone I place my trust, O Lord,

for Yours is the Kingdom and the power and glory forever and ever. Amen.

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