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

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TODAY’S WORD…

Your Word, O Lord,  for ever stands firm in the heavens:

Your truth lasts from age to age,

like the earth You created.

By Your decree it endures to this day;

for all things serve You.

– Psalm 119:89-91

REFLECTION…

Wonderful, isn’t it, how God’s Word remains valid,

continually attesting to His unfailing power and unchanging care.

God’s truth is unparalleled,

and He continues to speak to us

– to those who want to listen – through Holy Scripture.

He continues to nourish us through His Divine Word,

and to lead us to the truth.

When Jesus Christ came among us He fulfilled the Old Testament,

and we, as Christians, honour and revere the Old Testament, and interpret it through Him.

The Old Testament prepares for the New.

The New Testament, therefore, fulfills the Old.

The two shed light on each other; both are the true Word of God.

QUOTES…

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet

and a light for my path”

– Psalm 119:105

“ All Sacred Scripture is but one book,

and this one book is Christ.”

– Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC134)

PRAYER…

My Lord, my God,

thank You for Your everlasting Word.

Thank You for Your Book,

which is like Your outstretched hand reaching out to hold mine.

Father in Heaven, I pray, in Jesus’ name,

that I will always fervently listen out for Your voice

and eagerly hold Your hand,

and that, with the help of Your Holy Spirit,

I will let Your Word guide me through life.

Lord, Your Word is a lamp to my feet

and a light for my path.

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TODAY’S WORD…

‘Wherever the river flows,

all living creatures teeming in it will live.

…wherever the water goes it brings health,

and life teems wherever the river flows.’

– Ezekiel 47:9

REFLECTION…

The vision of the river revitalising everything it meets as it flows,

is so inspiring…and uplifting;

Christ is so much like that river – that river is Christ!

Once the water of this river touches us

our sins and impurities are washed away,

and we walk out of the water, our hearts filled with grace,

with fear of the Lord and with hope in Jesus.

O River, River of love

River of fresh and living water,

River of life and healing.

Powerfully flowing out from Christ

flowing out from the heart of Jesus,

approaching, so as to touch our lives,

Let us open the door for this river

and let Jesus Christ enter triumphantly!

– a free translation of the original Maltese song of worship Xmara]

PRAYER…

Flow, river flow!

Come Lord Jesus,

and flood me with your grace and mercy.

Quench my great thirst, Lord,

heal me, wash me clean,

renew me…and give me life!

Amen

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TODAY’S WORD…

My children,

our love is not to be just words or mere talk,

but something real and active.

– 1 John 3:18

REFLECTION…

Love for others – following our Lord’s example – must go beyond mere talk;

it must show itself in deed and in truth.

There is no comfort in the selfish heart

– it is full of darkness and un-admitted desperation.

It is the generous heart, which gives from itself to others,

that is full of light which overflows on to others

and uplifts those in need of loving compassion.

True love is expressed in actions, actions that are guided by truth.

If we ‘close our heart’ when we see others in need

– then we do not truly love.

QUOTE…

“We may give without loving,

but we cannot love without giving.”

– attributed to Bernard Meltzer

PRAYER…

My Lord and my God,

do I love others in the manner You want me to?

Forgive me, Lord,

for so often looking for reasons and excuses

why I am unable to be caring towards others.

Lord, I pray that my love be directed

beyond those who love me in return.

Help me give, also and especially,

to those who cannot give me anything back in return.

Lord, teach me how to love .

– for this I pray with all my heart. Amen

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TODAY’S WORD…

“I shall make the darkness that is around them into light.

I shall make crooked things straight.”

– Isaiah 42:16

REFLECTION…

It is after having met the Lord,

after having welcomed Him into your heart

and let Him take over,

that you start to understand what He says;

that you begin to realise

how dark it was before you allowed Him into your life.

It is when I let the Holy Spirit change me, mould me and fill me,

that I readily acknowledge and admit

how crooked I was before His divine action began to “straighten” me out.

PRAYER…

Thank You, Lord,

For helping me see myself as I truly am.

In Your presence, Lord,

I remove all my masks and pull down all my defences

– You make me see myself as I truly am;

– You encourage me and make me want to change

to become more like You.

Lord, remove all that is dark from me

and fill me with Your light.

Lord, never stop straightening me,

Come, Lord Jesus, shine on me

and make me a better person.

Amen.

TODAY’S WORD…

Wisdom is radiant and unfading,
and she is easily discerned by those who love her,
and is found by those who seek her.

She hastens to make herself known to those who desire her.
One who rises early to seek her will have no difficulty,
for she will be found sitting at the gate.

To fix one’s thought on her is perfect understanding,
and one who is vigilant on her account will soon be free from care, because she goes about seeking those worthy of her,
and she graciously appears to them in their paths,
and meets them in every thought…
– Wisdom 6:12-16

REFLECTION…

Jesus is Wisdom.
Wisdom is Jesus.

One way of reflecting on today’s passage
is to replace the word “Wisdom” with “Jesus”
…and it will then read like this:

Jesus is radiant and unfading,
and He is easily discerned by those who love Him,
and is found by those who seek Him.

He hastens to make Himself known to those who desire Him.
One who rises early to seek Him will have no difficulty,
for He will be found sitting at the gate.

To fix one’s thought on Him is perfect understanding,
and one who is vigilant on His account will soon be free from care, because He goes about seeking those worthy of Him,
and He graciously appears to them in their paths,
and meets them in every thought.

PRAYER…

Thank You, Jesus,
For always being there for me.

Thank You for being so available
even for a wretch like me.

Thank You for coming into my life, Lord,
because I once was lost
but now I’m found,
I was blind,
but now I see.

Thank You, Jesus.

TODAY’S WORD…

What is good has been explained to you, man;
this is what the Lord asks of you: only this,
to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with your God.

– Micah 6:8

REFLECTION…

Formal religious worship is not enough for God
In other words, being religious is not enough,
even though it may indicate a reverence for God.

Religiosity basically implies that one is a follower of a religion – but a person can be religious without being spiritual.
God wants our love for Him to be a spiritual experience
and not a formality.

God urges us to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength …and…to love our neighbour.

This involves our obedience towards Him,
which in turn means practicing justice and loving charity towards our neighbour.

Our religion sets us on the right path, and seeks to keep us there.

However, it is up to us whether to walk with the Lord, and learn and accept to live our lives under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

I can only claim to be a spiritual believer
when I learn the great value of living by the Spirit
– the true Spirit of the Living God

PRAYER…

Jesus, I want to walk humbly with You.
Grant, my Lord, that I will always let myself go into Your arms, to be led by Your Spirit
into the wonder of walking Your realm on this earth,
with a heart full of love, and joy, and peace – whatever my circumstances.

..
TODAY’S WORD…

Jesus tells us,
“For the people of this world
are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind
than are the people of the light.”
.- Luke 16:8

REFLECTION…

The people of this world
are those who are “devoted” to this world;
who live for this world only;
who are careful only to obtain and to provide for now,
and to accumulate possessions.
It does not mean that they are especially wicked and immoral, but only that they are “worldly,”
and anxious about earthly things.

The people of the light
are those who have been enlightened from above
– those who are Christians.

Those who “are” worldly – the people of this world –
show much skill and cunning in providing for themselves;
seize occasions for making good bargains;
are active and industrious;
never miss an opportunity,
and therefore are prepared
to exert themselves to the utmost to advance their own personal interests.

Our Lord wants us – the people of the light –
to apply at least the same ingenuity and effort as people who are worldly, when it comes to matters of the soul;
to the promotion of Christian spirituality and the spreading of the Kingdom of God; to being charitable and truly “Christian” towards others.

Where do I stand?

PRAYER…
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My Lord and my God,
I want to make You the center of my life.

Please forgive my lethargy and inaction
on the important matters of the soul
and of Your earthly Kingdom.

Forgive my utter self-centeredness
when it comes to worldly matters,
which are of so much less importance

Help me, Lord, demonstrate my enthusiasm for You;
Help me devote time and energy for You.

I love You Lord,
Please strengthen my resolve – for You

Amen.

TODAY’S WORD…

The life and death of each of us has its influence on others; if we live, we live for the Lord;
and if we die, we die for the Lord,
so that alive or dead we belong to the Lord.
– Romans 14:7-8

REFLECTION…
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We Christians should not live to please ourselves,
but with the conscious aim of pleasing the Lord
…because we love Him.

If we love Him, that has its influence on others
…because, if our love for Him is true,
then is reflected in the love we show to our neighbour – to all others. ..
While living, our aim must be to do the Lord’s will.
When we die, we will be fully resigned to His will.

As a true Christian,
I should acknowledge and gladly accept that I am not at my own disposal. .

PRAYER…

Lord, You are my God,
my Maker,
and I belong to You.
I thank You for creating me with a purpose.

Father, I want to love like Jesus loved;
to honour and obey You like Jesus did;
to give of myself…like Jesus gave.

Lord God, fill me with faith and determination
to do Your will,
and with joy, hope and trust
as I live towards the day when You stop me
…and call me to You..

TODAY’S WORD…

Jesus exclaimed,
“I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth,
for hiding these things from the learned and the clever
and revealing them to mere children.”
– Matthew 11:25

REFLECTION…
A humble person, who gives himself little importance, sees.
On the other hand, a person who is full of self-esteem,
fails to perceive supernatural things that fill the heart and soul. ..
Those who perceive themselves as being wise and understanding, that is, those who rely on their own judgment, cannot accept the revelation which Christ has brought us.

In other words, true Christian belief in God is always connected with humility. .

PRAYER…

Abba Father,
I am Your child.

I bow before You and thank You
for having softened my heart
and stirred my intellect
to the point of recognising You,
and loving and accepting You as my Lord and my God.

Lord, as You hold my hand,
please lessen me…and increase my faith.
Remove all foolish pride which still lurks within me
and fill me with Your Spirit of wisdom and truth.

Come Abba, hold my hand, and teach me Your truth!

TODAY’S WORD…

“Happy the pure in heart:
they shall see God.”
– Matthew 5:8

REFLECTION…

Here, Jesus is teaching us
that the source of the quality of whatever we do,
lies in our heart, that is, in our soul – in the depths of our spirit.

In fact, on another occasion, Jesus warns that
“from within, out of men’s hearts,
come evil thoughts, sexual immorality,
theft, murder,
adultery,
greed, malice, deceit,
lewdness,
envy, slander,
arrogance and folly.” (Mk 7:21-22)

It is dangerous to “entertain” sinful thoughts.
The road to sin begins in our thought life.
When we commit a sin, it never “just happens”
– sinful acts begin as attitudes, fantasies or temptations in our mind and emotions.

Helped by God’s grace,
I should constantly strive to cleanse my heart and acquire this purity,
the reward for which is the vision of God.

PRAYER…

Holy Spirit,
come and heal me.
Purify my heart, my mind, my soul.

Fill me, Holy Spirit,
with “whatever is true,
whatever is honourable,
whatever is just,
whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is gracious.”

Let my thoughts be only
on what is worthy of praise;
on what pleases You, my God;
on what draws me closer to You.

Purify my heart, Lord,
I want to see You.

[today’s prayer, quotes from St. Paul’s beautiful words in Philippians 4:8]