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

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit.

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– Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NLT)

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REFLECTIONS…

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Blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.

“Those who drink the water I give

will never be thirsty again.

It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them,

giving them eternal life.”

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– Jesus Christ (Jn 4:14)

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Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green…

“The righteous will flourish like a green leaf.”

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– (Pr 11:28)

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…and they never stop producing fruit.

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, and self-control’

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– (Gal 5:22)

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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You refresh me, Lord,

You revive me,

You renew me,

and I shall forever sing Your praises!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”

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– Matthew 8:19 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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Easy for believers to make such statements to Jesus,

but it is a different matter

when it comes to putting our declared intentions into practice

and keep on following Him everywhere,

no matter where He takes us

…even if it means sacrifice and self-denial.

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Following Christ, therefore, means

that we should make ourselves totally available to Him

and that whatever sacrifice He asks of us

we should make.

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Following Christ means

listening to Him,

learning from Him,

and doing what He tells us,

rather than what we want to do.

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Following Christ means

keeping up with Him, not falling behind

– we either follow Him

or we lose Him.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, I want to follow You wherever You go.

Here is my hand, Lord – lead me.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“But what about you?” Jesus asked,

“Who do you say I am?”

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– Matthew 16:15 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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Who do I say Jesus is?

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Not an easy question to answer.

Not an easy question for Christians to answer honestly,

especially if we don’t spend quality time with Him.

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Who is Jesus for me?

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If I don’t make time for Him

to get to know Him and learn from Him through Scripture,

to listen to His voice,

to share my thoughts and feelings with Him,

to just be with Him and simply share special quiet moments…

then I don’t really know Jesus

and He can’t be all that special for me,

nor so important.

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If Jesus is truly special for me,

then my heart would gladly acknowledge Him

as my “humble and gentle” God (Mt 11:29)

who makes “all things new” (Rev 21:5).

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If Jesus is truly special for me,

I will find myself going humbly before Him, time and time again,

declaring with all my heart,

“You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God!” (Mt 16:16).

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Jesus is truly my Lord and my God,

when I can – knowingly and in truth – make His words my own

and joyfully proclaim Him as

“the Bread of Life” (Jn 6:35)

“the Living Bread” (Jn 6:51)

“the Gate through whom we will be saved” (Jn 10:9)

“the Good Shepherd” (Jn10:11)

“the Resurrection and the Life” (Jn 11:25)

“the Way, the Truth and the Life” (Jn 14:6)

“the True Vine” (Jn 15:5)

“the Alpha and the Omega – the Beginning and the

End” (Rev 1:8;21:6;22:13)

“the First and the Last” (Rev 1:17)

“the Bright Morning Star” (Rev 22:16)

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, You are everything to me!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing.

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable,

and right, and pure,

and lovely, and admirable.

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Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

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Then the God of peace will be with you.

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– Philippians 4:8,9b (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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We must fix our thoughts

on what is true, and honourable,

and right, and pure,

and lovely, and admirable.

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Let our thoughts be

about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Let us think about these things

and let them be what guides our thoughts

and directs our motives.

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The Holy Spirit gives us the power to govern our thoughts,

for which we are primarily responsible.

If we determinedly control our thoughts,

then our inward life can be disciplined,

and our outward life will follow and reflect this.

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Self-discipline begins with our thoughts,

and we cannot do better than to let our mind focus on Jesus.

Only then can the God of peace truly be in our heart.

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QUOTE…

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"It is the thought-life that defiles you.

For from within, out of a person’s heart,

come evil thoughts, sexual immorality,

theft, murder, adultery, greed,

wickedness, deceit, eagerness for lustful pleasure,

envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.

All these vile things come from within;

they are what defile you and make you unacceptable to God."

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– Jesus Christ (Mk 7:20-23)

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Come Holy Spirit, take over my mind.

Come, and fill me with Your peace.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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My soul, give thanks to the Lord

all my being, bless His holy Name.

My soul, give thanks to the Lord

and never forget all His blessings.

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– Psalm 103:1-2 (The Grail)

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REFLECTION…

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We regularly go to God

to ask Him for favours

and to ask Him to help us achieve our plans and our ambitions.

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We habitually approach the Lord

moaning about our problems, our burdens, our sorrows…

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But how often do we lift our heart, mind and soul to the Almighty,

to give Him thanks and praise for all He does for us?

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How often have we gone back to Him

to thank Him for answering our prayers

and for granting us His grace?

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Have we ever gone back to thank God

for those prayers that seem to have remained unanswered,

knowing and accepting that He only grants what is ultimately good for our soul?

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We really need to stop complaining.

We really must go before the Lord our God more frequently

to thank Him with all our heart

for His great love and care for us.

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We really need to recall all the situations He has brought us through;

all the times He has calmed the storms of our life;

all the times He has shown us just how good He is;

all the many blessings He has given us.

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We really need to stop and count His blessings

…and heartfully thank Him for them!

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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O Lord, my God, You are faithful!

Thank You for carrying me through life.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.”

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– Matthew 7:21 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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To be religious is not enough

for us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

To pray and fast and hear Mass is good,

but it is not enough.

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Jesus must find us faithful,

practicing the virtues which He taught us:

to be loyal to and to love God;

to love our neighbours, irrespective of social status, race, colour or creed,

to extend our love to those who do not love us;

to be humble in everything we say and do;

to be charitable and forgiving;

to be caring and helpful;

to treat others as we would like them to treat us;

to be genuine, honest, truthful and sincere.

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Jesus warns us

that only if we do the will of the Father,

will we enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Otherwise, at that moment when we come face to face with Him

and we call out to Him “Lord, Lord”,

He will say to us,

“I never knew you.

Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.” (Matt 7:23)

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QUOTE…

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“Be doers of the word,

not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."

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– St. James (Jas 1:22)

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, my Lord, I earnestly seek Your Kingdom!

Teach me and make me more like You.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“Watch out for false prophets.

They come to you in sheep’s clothing,

but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.

By their fruit you will recognise them.

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– Matthew 7:15 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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How are false prophets and genuine prophets to be distinguished?

By the fruit they produce.

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Those who truly speak the things of God

sow faith, hope, charity, peace and understanding.

False prophets, in their advice and behaviour,

sow division, hatred, resentment, pride and sensuality.

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So many false prophets out there these days.

We often fail to recognise them

because they can be from our own families,

from our own friends.

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False prophets have access to our own homes these days,

– so much TV programming, so many internet websites,

with shallow promises and instant solutions,

pointing us towards a Godless existence and self-reliance

and luring us away

from those noblest of human virtues: self-surrender and self-sacrifice.

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Am I surrounding myself with too many false prophets recently?

Am I, to a great extent, listening out for that advice which suits my own desires?

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QUOTE…

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“For a time is coming

when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching.

They will follow their own desires

and will look for teachers

who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear..”

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– St. Paul (2 Tim 4:3)

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord Jesus, teach me.

Only You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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O Lord, You search me and You know me,

You know my resting and my rising,

You discern my purpose from afar.

You mark when I walk or lie down,

all my ways lie open to You.

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– Psalm 139:1-3 (The Grail)

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REFLECTION…

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God knows everything

– He is present beside every one of us

and we cannot elude Him.

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We need Him if we are to think and to love.

We need Him in particular,

if we are to love goodness and be good.

We need Him to show us the way.

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Today, and every day, it is good take a moment

to pray about who is in charge of your life…

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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O search me, God, and know my heart.

O test me and know my thoughts.

See that I follow not the wrong path

and lead me in the path of life eternal. (Ps 139:23-24)

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye,

but do not notice the log in your own eye?”

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– Matthew 7:3 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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A good verse to live by.

A good verse to memorise and refer to every day.

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When we think we’ve spotted a defect in others,

we should, rather than focus on that possible defect,

use the opportunity to look at ourselves.

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Jesus wants us to exercise self-criticism,

and we need to stop, often,

pray…and look inwardly.

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How do others see us?

Most importantly,

what does God, who sees everything,

see in us that does not please Him?

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We all need to call out to the Lord

to get us to look deeply inside ourselves

and to help us attack and remove those many logs…once and for all.

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QUOTE…

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"To criticize, to destroy, is not difficult;

any unskilled labourer knows how to drive his pick into the noble and finely-hewn stone of a cathedral.

To construct: that is what requires the skill of a master"

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– St. Josemaria Escriva

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Search me, O God.

Help me see and remove all that is evil and offensive within me.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“Those who declare publicly that they belong to me,

I will do the same for them before my Father in heaven.

But those who reject me publicly,

I will reject before my Father in heaven.”

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– Matthew 10:32-33 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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Here Jesus tells us that public confession of our faith in Him

– whatever the consequences –

is an indispensable condition for eternal salvation.

After the Judgment,

Christ will welcome those who have given testimony of their faith

and condemn those whom fear caused to be ashamed of Him.

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As Christians, we give public testimony of our faith

especially by the manner in which we behave;

by the way we live;

the way we act;

the way we think;

the way we dress;

by what we say and do;

by always being ready to forgive;

by loving and caring for others;

by obeying the Lord’s commandments.

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As Christians, we give public testimony of our faith,

when every moment of the day,

we love the Lord our God

with all our heart, mind, soul and strength

…and love and care for all others.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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My life is not my own, O God. I belong to You!

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