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

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

Jesus said,

“I am telling you the truth:

those who hear my words and believe in Him who sent me

have eternal life.

They will not be judged,

but have already passed from death to life.”

.

– John 5:24 (GNT)

.

.

.

REFLECTION…

.

There is a close connection

between hearing the word of Christ

and believing in the Father who sent Him.

.

Whatever Jesus Christ says is divine revelation,

therefore, accepting Jesus’ words

is equivalent to believing in God the Father.

.

If I believe in God

and also that Jesus, His Beloved Son, came to teach me and to save me,

then I will listen out for and gladly hear…and strive to do…what He tells me.

.

If I have faith, I am on the way to eternal life,

because even in this earthly life I am sharing in divine life, which is eternal.

But, I have not yet attained eternal life in a definitive way – for I can lose it.

.

If we stay firm in the faith and live up to its demands,

God’s judgment will not condemn us…but save us.

.

Therefore, it makes sense to strive, with the help of grace,

and to live a life consistent with the faith:

"If men go to so much trouble and effort to live here a little longer,

ought they not strive so much harder to live eternally?" (St. Augustine)

.

.

.

REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

.

Lord, Your words are Spirit and Life,

they give joy to my heart and refresh my soul.

They are my salvation!

.

.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

The Lord is kind and full of compassion,

slow to anger, abounding in love.

How good is the Lord to all,

compassionate to all His creatures.

.

The Lord is faithful in all His words

and loving in all His deeds.

The Lord supports all who fall

and raises all who are bowed down.

.

The Lord is just in all His ways

and loving in all His deeds.

He is close to all who call Him,

who call on Him from their hearts.

.

– Psalm 145:8-9,13-14,17-18 (JB)

.

.

.

REFLECTION…

.

Divine kingship is not detached and haughty,

as can be the case in the exercise of human power.

God expresses His sovereignty

by bending down to meet the frailest and most helpless of his creatures.

.

We exalt this divine compassion,

this wonderful tenderness, fidelity and goodness

which the Lord our God extends to the whole of humanity, involving every creature.

.

.

[from a reflection on Psalm 145 by Pope Benedict XVI]

.

.

.

REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

.

Lord God, I praise You and bless Your Holy Name!

Have mercy on me, Father, You who are great in Your mercy.

.

.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

Jesus said,

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples,

if you love one another.’”

.

– John 13:35 (NIV)

.

.

.

QUOTE…

.

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.

Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

.

– St. John the Evangelist (1 Jn 4:7-8)

.

.

.

REFLECTION…

.

We the faithful, we the believers,

should look into ourselves and carefully examine our minds

and the impulses of our hearts.

.

If we find some of the fruits of love stored in our hearts,

then we must not doubt God’s presence within us.

.

But, to make ourselves more and more able to receive so great a Guest,

we should do more and more works of durable mercy and kindness.

After all, if God is love, loving charity should know no limit,

for God Himself cannot be confined within limits.

.

Moreover, what God in His goodness has already given to us,

let us give it gladly to those in need

and even to those who have wronged us.

.

Let us show a more open-handed generosity

so that God may be thanked through many voices

and the needy may be fed as a result of our fasting.

No act of devotion on the part of the faithful gives God more pleasure

than the support that is lavished on His poor.

.

When we give alms,

we must not be anxious but full of happiness.

.

Do not be put off giving by a lack of resources.

A generous spirit is itself great wealth,

and there can be no shortage of material for generosity

where it is Christ who feeds and Christ who is fed.

His hand is present in all this activity:

His hand, which multiplies the bread by breaking it

and increases it by giving it away!

.

.

[from a sermon by Pope St Leo the Great]

.

.

.

REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

.

Lord, to be as generous with my love for others,

as You are with Your overwhelming love for me.

.

.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

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.

.

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.

.

– Isaiah 53:5-6 (NIV)

.

.

.

QUOTE…

.

“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you,

leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps.

.

‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.’[a]

When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate;

when He suffered, He made no threats.

Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.

.

‘He himself bore our sins’ in His body on the cross,

so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness;

‘by His wounds you have been healed.’

For ‘you were like sheep going astray,’[b]

but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

.

– St. Peter (1 Pt 2:21-25)

.

.

.

REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

.

I thank You for suffering so much for me, Lord, to free me from my sins.

Grant me the grace, Lord, that I will live a righteous life,

and always gladly accept Your will.

.

.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

Jesus said,

“I came into this world for judgement

so that those who do not see may see,

and those who do see may become blind”

.

– John 9:39 (NRSV)

.

.

.

REFLECTION…

.

Our Lord has not come to condemn the world but to save it,

but His presence among us already involves a judgment,

because each of us has to take a stand

on whether to reject or accept Jesus.

.

Christ’s coming implies the fall of some

and the salvation of others.

In this sense, we will fall into one of two categories:

.

on the one hand, the humble of heart,

who recognise their failings and who go to Jesus in search of forgiveness

– they will receive the light of the Truth;

.

on the other hand, those who are satisfied with themselves

and think that they do not need Christ or His word

– they say they see but they are blind.

.

Therefore it is we ourselves who decide our ultimate fate,

and it all depends on whether we accept or reject Jesus.

.

.

.

REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

.

Lord Jesus, You are the Light of the World!

I was blind, then I found You, and now I see. Amen!

.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

For God made Christ, who never sinned,

to be the offering for our sin,

so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

.

– 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT)

.

.

.

REFLECTION…

.

Jesus was the most perfect of victims offered for us,

He made full atonement for all sins.

.

Christ, the head of the human race, makes us all sharers

in the grace and glory He achieved through His sufferings,

echoing Isaiah’s prophecy:

"He was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed." (Is 53:5).

.

Jesus Christ, burdened with our sins

and offering Himself on the cross as a sacrifice for them,

brought about the Redemption:

the Redemption is the supreme example both of God’s justice

– which requires atonement befitting the offense –

and of His mercy,

that mercy which makes Him love the world so much

that, as Jesus Himself tells us, "He gave His one and only Son" (Jn 3:16).

.

.

.

REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

.

O Lord, my God, thank You for Your immense love!

Grant that I may love You always;

and then do with me what You will..

.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

Jesus said,

“The most important commandment is this:

‘Listen, O Israel!

The Lord our God is the one and only Lord.

And you must love the Lord your God

with all your heart, all your soul,

all your mind, and all your strength.’

.

The second is equally important:

‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’

.

No other commandment is greater than these.”

.

– Mark 12:28-31 (NLT)

.

.

.

REFLECTION…

.

Jesus practiced what He preached

and He gave us the perfect example

when, out of His infinite love for the Father

and His unconditional love for mankind,

He died on the cross to save us.

.

What a supreme act of love!

.

.

.

REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

.

Lord, teach me how to love

like You want me to love.

.

.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

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.

.

Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
for He is our God
and we are the people of His pasture,
the flock under His care.

.

– Psalm 95:1-2;6-7 (NIV)

.

.

.

REFLECTION…

.

Strong faith in the Lord

is what makes us sing for joy not only when things are going right for us,

but also when we are struggling with what life throws at us

and in those moments when darkness threatens to take over.

.

The faithful sing for joy to the Lord, at all times,

whatever the situation,

because they know that He is by their side – always,

and that He cares for them with an unsurpassable love.

.

When you believe, and know, that the Lord is the Rock of your salvation,

it is small wonder that you sing for joy no matter the circumstances!

.

.

.

REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

.

O Lord my God, as I kneel before You

my heart sings out with joy and thanksgiving,

for You are the Rock of my salvation!

.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

For [God] has graciously granted you the privilege

not only of believing in Christ,

but of suffering for Him as well.

.

– Philippians 1:29 (NRSV)

.

.

.

REFLECTION…

.

We are called to see our sufferings on Christ’s behalf,

as a grace – a gift from God.

.

Suffering; setbacks; the fatigue of work;

difficulties in interior struggle;

hardships and obstacles in living one’s ordinary, everyday life in the light of one’s Christian faith,

while giving testimony of that faith whenever circumstances permit

– these are all opportunities which God offers us

to more closely identify with Christ

as we fearlessly embrace His Cross.

.

.

.

QUOTE…

.

“Is it not true that

as soon as you cease to be afraid of the Cross, of what people call ‘the cross’,

when you set your will to accept the Will of God,

then you will find happiness,

and all your worries, all your sufferings, physical and moral, pass away?”

.

– St. Josemaria Escriva

.

.

.

REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

.

I embrace Your Cross, O Lord – Your will be done!

.

.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

If we confess our sins,

He who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins

and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

.

– 1 John 1:9 (NRSV)

.

.

.

REFLECTION…

.

“If we confess our sins.”

What’s wrong with us?

Why are we so quick at pointing out the sins of others

yet, when it comes to admitting our own, we struggle?

.

We must humbly admit our moral imperfections;

we must hate our sins, loathe them, and turn away from them.

.

In true repentance,

there is conviction, contrition and conversion,

and as we turn to Christ for salvation

… He who is so faithful and just will forgive us.

.

.

.

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

.

.

.

REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

.

.