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

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TODAY’S WORD…

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[…] do your best

to add goodness to your faith;

to your goodness add knowledge;

to your knowledge add self-control;

to your self-control add endurance;

to your endurance add godliness;

to your godliness add Christian affection;

and to your Christian affection add love.

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These are the qualities you need,

and if you have them in abundance,

they will make you active and effective

in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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– 2 Peter 1:5-8 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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This instructive passage

provides a list which is simple to remember,

because each virtue is linked with the one before it;

and the emphasis is on faith and charity,

which mark the beginning and end of the list..

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QUOTE…

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"Given an unswerving faith and love for Jesus Christ,

there is nothing in all this that will not be obvious to you;

for life begins and ends with those two qualities.

Faith is the beginning,

and love is the end;

and the two together lead to God.”

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– St. Ignatius of Antioch

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord Jesus, increase and strengthen my faith,

and come into my heart

that I may love like You want me to love.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“Ask, and it will be given to you;

search, and you will find;

knock, and the door will be opened to you.

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For the one who asks always receives;

the one who searches always finds;

the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him.”

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– Matthew 7:7-8 (JB)

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REFLECTION…

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In speaking of the effectiveness of prayer,

Jesus does not put any restriction:

"the one who asks always receives".

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However, we do not always obtain what we ask for,

and many take this apparent contradiction

to mean that God does not exist

or that He does not really love us.

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We’ve all experienced this, either personally or second hand.

It’s not an easy matter to explain,

especially given the disposition of the one who feels let down.

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St Augustine, however, has a simple insight to resolve this apparent dilemma:

“Aut mali; aut male; aut mala.”

When we do not get what we ask for in prayer,

something is wrong on our part –

either we’re bad and our personal dispositions are not good (mali);

or we pray badly, without faith, not persevering, not humbly; (male);

or we are asking for inappropriate or bad stuff;

that is, things which are not good for us, things which can harm (mala).

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In the final analysis,

prayer is ineffective when it is not true prayer. .

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Change my heart, O Lord,

remove all that is not from You

and fill it with a loving, patient and total trust in You.

Your will be done, O Lord.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Now, now – it is the Lord who speaks –

come back to me with all your heart,

for I am all tenderness and compassion.

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– Joel 2:12-13 per Gospel Acclamation (JB)

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QUOTE…

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““Come back to me with all your heart”:

show your repentance and inner conversion

through fasting, mourning and tears.

By fasting now, Your hunger will be satisfied later;

mourning now, one day you will laugh;

weeping now, you shall be consoled.”

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– St. Jerome

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Glory and praise to You, O Christ,

for You are all tenderness and compassion!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you,

your Father in heaven will also forgive you.

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But if you do not forgive others,

then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done.”

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– Matthew 6:14-15 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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No one on earth is perfect.

Just as God loves us, even though we have defects,

and forgives us,

we should love others, even though they have defects,

and forgive them.

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If we wait to love people who have no defects,

we shall never love anyone.

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If we wait until others mend their ways or apologize,

we will scarcely ever forgive them.

But then we ourselves will never be forgiven!

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QUOTE…

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“All right, that person has behaved badly towards you.

But, haven’t you behaved worse towards God?”

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– St. Josemaria Escriva

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Father in Heaven, forgive me my wrongdoings,

as I forgive those who have wronged me.

Rid me of my self-righteous pride, O God.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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The instructions of the Lord are perfect,
reviving the soul.
The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.

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The commandments of the Lord are right,
bringing joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are clear,
giving insight for living.
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Reverence for the Lord is pure,
lasting forever.
The laws of the Lord are true;
each one is fair.

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May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to You,
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

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– Psalm 19:7-9;14 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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We can only claim to make these words of the Psalmist our own

if and when we spend time, in God’s presence,

and let His Spirit open our heart to gladly receive His Word.

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Only then will we be able to heartily proclaim

that the instructions of the Lord are perfect,

that His decrees are trustworthy,

that His commandments are right and clear and true and fair.

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Only then can our heart truly proclaim God’s greatness,

whatever the circumstances that we may find ourselves in.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to You,
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

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– Matthew 4:4 – Jesus quoting from Deut 8:3 (NRSV)

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“Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

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– Matthew 4:7 – Jesus quoting from Deut 6:16 (NRSV)

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“Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only Him.”

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– Matthew 4:10 – Jesus quoting from Deut 6:13 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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When Jesus was in the desert and the devil went to tempt Him,

the Lord quoted three verses from the Book of Deuteronomy.

They are verses which we all should keep in our heart

…to remember and recite

especially when we feel tempted to act in any way

which goes contrary to God’s law and will.

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Jesus teaches us how to fight and conquer our temptations.

We will do this by having trust in God and prayer.

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With the help of God’s grace,

by having fortitude

and buttressed by Scripture,

we will overcome.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Your Word, O Lord, is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path;

You, O Lord, are my Salvation.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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When you pray, I will answer you.

When you call to me, I will respond.

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If you put an end to oppression,

to every gesture of contempt,

and to every evil word;

if you give food to the hungry

and satisfy those who are in need,

then the darkness around you

will turn to the brightness of noon.

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And I will always guide you

and satisfy you with good things.

I will keep you strong and well.

You will be like a garden that has plenty of water,

like a spring of water that never goes dry.

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– Isaiah 58:9-11 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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God gladly listens to our prayers

when these are accompanied by acts of justice and charity

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QUOTE…

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“Let each of the faithful examine his own conscience,

seeking out his deepest desires;

if he finds the fruits of love within his soul,

he will know that God is with Him,

and he should strive even harder

to be worthy of so great a Guest,

being ever more generous in his works of mercy.”

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– St. Leo the Great

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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O all-sufficient God, I want to be faithful like You.

Guide me, Father, and teach me how to truly love,

and how to praise and worship You through my deeds.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends You,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

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– Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Let us go before the Father

with humility and sincerity

and ask Him to look inside our hearts,

and to help us become fully aware of our transgressions.

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With a contrite heart

we take a firm decision to change all that needs changing in us,

and to faithfully follow the path that He has prepared for us.

He will then gladly lead us along – if only we would allow Him to.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends You,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life..

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“If any of you wants to be my follower,

you must turn from your selfish ways,

take up your cross daily,

and follow me.

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If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.

But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world

but are yourself lost or destroyed?

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– Luke 9:23-25 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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By this radical statement

Jesus teaches us to do everything with a view to eternal life:

it is well worth while to devote our entire life on earth to attaining eternal life.

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QUOTE…

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"There is no doubt about it:

a person who loves pleasure,

who seeks comfort,

who flees from anything that might spell suffering,

who is over-anxious, who complains, who blames

and who becomes impatient at the least little thing which does not go his way

– a person like that is a Christian only in name;

he is only a dishonour to his religion

for Jesus Christ has said so:

“If any of you wants to be my follower,

you must turn from your selfish ways,

take up your cross daily,

and follow me.”“

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– St. John Mary Vianney

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Help me, Lord, to carry my cross with determination and gladness,

in the knowledge that my life on earth

is secondary to the abundant life of Your kingdom. Amen.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“Watch out!

Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others,

for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.

But when you give to someone in need,

don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.

Give your gifts in private,

and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

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When you pray,

don’t be like the hypocrites

who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. […]

But when you pray, go away by yourself,

shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private.

Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

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And when you fast,

don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do,

for they try to look miserable and dishevelled so people will admire them for their fasting. […]

But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face.

Then no one will notice that you are fasting,

except your Father, who knows what you do in private.

And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”

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– Matthew 6:1-6;16-18 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Jesus here is emphasising our duty

to give to the needy,

to pray

and to fast,

and He also teaches us

how a true Christian should go about giving, praying and fasting.

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SPECIAL THOUGHT FOR THE BEGINNING OF LENT…

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Lent is about…

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• recommitting to prayer.

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• fasting and sacrifice.

• helping those who are in need.

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This Lent…

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• let us spend more quiet time with the Lord,

speaking to Him, by all means,

but also being silent…and listening to Him.

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• We must not just cut down on food or drink,

but also from over-use of our mobile phone, Facebook, internet,

TV, video games, and so on.

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• We should also look seriously at donating to good causes

a percentage equivalent (say, 10%) of what we spend on ourselves.

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This Lent we must…

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• make more room for God;

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• practice the all-important virtue self-control;

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• create more time and resources

to help those who are in need of love and care,

thereby practicing the wonderful virtue of self-giving love – of true charity.

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This Lent, let us draw closer to God!

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, my Lord,

during these forty days of Lent,

as I accompany You in Your walk in the desert,

teach me

how to fast and pray with You;

how to express my love for others;

and strengthen me against all temptation. Amen.

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