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

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;

let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before Him with thanksgiving

and extol Him with music and song.

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– Psalm 95:1-2 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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Today…and everyday…

rather than let our burdens weigh us down

and set the mood for the rest of our day,

let us thank God for coming into our lives

and let us sing for joy to Him!

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Let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation

to Him who died for us on the Cross to save us

and give us eternal life.

.

Instead of being inward looking and focusing on ourselves,

let us come before Him with thanksgiving

and let us thank Him for every breath that we take;

for every blessing received;

for always being their right by our side,

consoling us and guiding us through life’s ups and downs.

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Today…and everyday…

don’t just call upon Jesus to ask Him for favours;

today…and everyday…

start off by thanking Him and praising Him;

today…and everyday…

put a smile on your face,

lift your hands up to the Lord,

and let your heart sing with peaceful joy!

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SING TO THE ONE WHO REIGNS IN YOUR HEART…

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… please click here

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Help me remove my focus from myself, O Lord,

that I may allow my heart, my mind, my body, and my soul unite

and sing to You, my King.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Happy are those
who reject the advice of evil people,
who do not follow the example of sinners
or join those who have no use for God.
Instead, they find joy in obeying the Law of the Lord,
and they study it day and night.

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– Psalm 1:1-2 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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Those who, in prayer, meditate upon God’s Word,

are filled with great joy

because they realise that God is speaking to them;

teaching them;

counselling them;

and encouraging them to continue on their journey along the right path.

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When we meditate prayerfully on Scripture,

we obtain a clearer view of what is right and wrong.

As we embrace God’s values

we are also strengthening our resistance to evil

and to all who try to draw us away from the Lord.

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Nothing compares to God’s loving gaze

upon all those who desire to do His will

and to walk in His ways!

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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

It is the joy of my soul!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus entered Jericho and was going through the town

when a man whose name was Zacchaeus made his appearance:

he was one of the senior tax collectors and a wealthy man.

He was anxious to see what kind of man Jesus was,

but he was too short and could not see him for the crowd.

So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree

to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was to pass that way.

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When Jesus reached the spot He looked up and spoke to him: ‘Zacchaeus, come down.

Hurry, because I must stay at your house today.’

And Zacchaeus hurried down and welcomed him joyfully.

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– Luke 19:1-6 (JB)

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REFLECTION…

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Zacchaeus was a tax collector

and, as such, was hated by the people,

and seen as being guilty of abuses

and a collaborator of the despised Roman authorities.

.

No doubt moved by grace,

he was certainly very keen to find out who this Jesus was,

and he did everything he could to do so,

shedding any kind of human pride or fear

and even risking the ire and scorn of the crowd.

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I probably feel far removed from Zacchaeus

and think of myself as an upright Christian,

but do I allow myself to publically show my feelings and excitement for Jesus,

who I profess to be the Son of God?

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If shame

or fear of criticism and possible loss of image or status

stop me from publically showing any enthusiasm for the Lord,

then I am fake Christian

and I clearly love myself more than I love Him.

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If I truly love Jesus

with all my heart, my mind, my soul and my strength,

then nothing and no one will be able to stifle my feelings, for whatever reason,

and my demeanour will reflect and proclaim my fervour for the Lord.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Here I am, Lord Jesus. I welcome you joyfully into my heart!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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The blind man called out,

“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

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Jesus asked him,

“What do you want me to do for you?”

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“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.

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Jesus said to him,

“Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.”

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Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God.

When all the people saw it, they also praised God.

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– Luke 18:38,41-43 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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The Lord heals and strengthens our spirit

whenever we go before Him with humility and faith.

He removes our spiritual blindness

and He fills us with love and peace, joy and hope.

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We should grab every opportunity we have to seek out Jesus.

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“Lord, I want to see!”

This is how we must pray

– with conviction, with urgency, with constancy

and with simplicity.

This is how we should believe.

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“Lord, I want to see!”

This simple prayer should be often on our lips,

flowing from the depths of our heart.

It is a very good prayer to use in moments of doubt and indecision,

when we cannot see any light at the end of the tunnel we may find ourselves in,

when we cannot understand the reason behind God’s plans.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord, open my eyes, I want to see!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“To those who use well what they are given,

even more will be given, and they will have an abundance.

But from those who do nothing,

even what little they have will be taken away.”

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– Matthew 25:29 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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We need to respond to grace

by making a genuine effort right through our life,

and help in building the kingdom of God.

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If we use well all the gifts of nature and grace which God has given us,

thankfully and dutifully applying ourselves to put these blessings to good use,

our efforts will undoubtedly produce even more blessings.

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If we appreciate the treasures the Lord has given us

– life, the gift of faith, grace –

then, as Christians, we will make every effort to make them bear fruit.

It does not matter how many gifts we have received;

what matters is our disposition

and our generosity in putting them to good use.

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God expects us to strive to put to good use the gifts we have received;

the talents He has given us

– and He lavishly rewards those who respond to His grace.

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QUOTE…

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“Don’t lose your effectiveness;

instead, trample on your selfishness.

You think your life is for yourself?

Your life is for God,

for the good of all men though your love for our Lord.

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Your buried talent, dig it up again!

Make it yield, and you will taste the joy…”

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– St. Josemaria Escriva

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Here I am, Lord. Use me!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus told His disciples a parable

about the need to pray continually and never lose heart.

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– Luke 18:1 (JB)

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A TEACHING BY POPE SAINT JOHN PAUL II…

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"WHY MUST WE PRAY?

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1. WE MUST PRAY FIRST AND FOREMOST BECAUSE WE ARE BELIEVERS.

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Prayer is in fact the recognition of our limitation and our dependence:

we come from God, we belong to God and we return to God!

We cannot, therefore, but abandon ourselves to Him, our Creator and Lord,

with full and complete confidence […].

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Prayer, therefore, is first of all an act of intelligence,

a feeling of humility and gratitude,

an attitude of trust and

abandonment to Him who gave us life out of love.

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Prayer is a mysterious but real dialogue with God,

a dialogue of confidence and love.

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2. WE, HOWEVER, ARE CHRISTIANS,

AND THEREFORE WE MUST PRAY AS CHRISTIANS.

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For the Christian, in fact, prayer acquires a particular characteristic,

which completely changes its innermost nature and innermost value.

The Christian is a disciple of Jesus;

he is one who really believes that Jesus is the Word Incarnate,

the Son of God who came among us on this earth.

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As a man, the life of Jesus was a continual prayer,

a continual act of worship and love of the Father

and since the maximum expression of prayer is sacrifice,

the summit of Jesus’ prayer is the Sacrifice of the Cross,

anticipated by the Eucharist at the Last Supper

and handed down by means of the Holy Mass throughout the centuries.

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Therefore, the Christian knows that his prayer is that of Jesus;

every prayer of his starts from Jesus;

it is He who prays in us, with us, for us.

All those who believe in God, pray;

but the Christian prays in Jesus Christ: Christ is our prayer!

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3. FINALLY, WE MUST ALSO PRAY BECAUSE WE ARE FRAIL AND GUILTY.

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It must be humbly and realistically recognized that we are poor creatures,

confused in ideas, tempted by evil, frail and weak,

in continual need of inner strength and consolation.

Prayer gives the strength for great ideas,

to maintain faith, charity, purity and generosity.

Prayer gives the courage to emerge from indifference and guilt,

if unfortunately one has yielded to temptation and weakness.

Prayer gives light to see and consider the events of one’s own life and of history

in the salvific perspective of God and eternity.

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Therefore, do not stop praying!

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Let not a day pass without your having prayed a little!

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Prayer is a duty, but it is also a great joy,

because it is a dialogue with God through Jesus Christ!

Every Sunday, Holy Mass:

if it is possible for you, sometimes during the week.

Every day, morning and evening prayers,

and at the most suitable moments!"

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(Pope Saint John Paul II, "Audience with Young People", 14 March 1979)

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QUOTE…

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“In order to pray, let us believe;

and for our faith not to weaken, let us pray.

Faith causes prayer to grow,

and when prayer grows our faith is strengthened.”

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– St. Augustine

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord Jesus, I believe in You, my God and Saviour,

I belong to You, and I love You.

Increase my faith, Lord!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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[Jesus was telling His disciples

about the day that the Son of Man is revealed]

when they asked Him, ‘Where, Lord?’

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He said to them,

“Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”

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– Luke 17:37 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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Once more Jesus is exhorting us to be watchful:

we should never neglect the most important thing in life – eternal salvation.

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"Where?"

Jesus’ second advent will not occur in one specific place

but it will be witnessed and experienced everywhere,

simultaneously,

by everybody.

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Our Lord’s last coming will be something sudden and unexpected,

and it will catch many people unprepared.

Divine judgment will befall mankind without warning.

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When Jesus says,

“Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather”,

He is indicating how terrible that moment will be

for those who, by choosing to live a Godless secular and self-centred life,

will have turned their soul into a decaying corpse.

The vultures, of course, represent the dreadful consequences which await the unprepared.

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It will, on the other hand, be a most momentous and glorious moment

for those who will have lived a life of truth in accordance with God’s commandments

and who will have kept their soul alive with expectant faith, hope and love.

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Jesus’ teaching also has a present urgency about it:

HERE AND NOW we should scrutinise our own conduct,

for the Lord can call us when we least expect.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord, help me keep my soul alive and deliver me from all evil,

that I may one day be with You, in Your glorious presence. Amen.

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