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

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

The Spirit helps us in our weakness;

for we do not know how to pray as we ought,

but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.

– Romans 8:26

.

.

REFLECTION…

.

Sometimes, we will want to pray,

but find that we simply cannot utter anything.

.

We go to our quiet place,

we try…

but nothing.

.

Our mind is blank;

our thoughts go elsewhere;

interruptions;

whatever the reason – if there is any – we cannot pray

nor express what we would like to say to the Lord.

.

When this happens, we mustn’t worry

because the Holy Spirit, who is always by our side, knows our heart,

and in a manner beyond our understanding

He pleads for us and also gladly receives our unexpressed prayer.

.

The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness.

He is our great resource.

The joy promised by the Gospel is the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:21),

and it is not maintained except thanks to a continuous contact with Him.

.

Often, when faced with evil, we feel incapable of doing anything,

but prayer is the first and most effective response that we can give

and that strengthens our daily commitment to spreading goodness.

The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness

and His power makes our weakness fruitful.

.

.

QUOTE…

.

“In time of dryness we must remember the very sweet word of the Apostle: ‘the Spirit helps us in our weakness.’

He, without our being aware, fills our words and sighs with the desire of God, of humility, of love.

Then the Paraclete becomes the strength of our ‘weak’ prayer, the light of our extinguished prayer;

in a word, the soul of our prayer. Truly…He waters that which is arid."

.

– Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa

.

.

PRAYER…

.

Holy Spirit, always by my side,

interpret my heart and receive my prayer.

Guide me with Your love and consolation

and let my soul pray through You, O Holy Spirit.

Come, help me in my weakness, O loving Consoler.

Come, Holy Spirit, come.

.

.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

Jesus said,

“I have come to bring fire to the earth,

and how I wish it were blazing already!”

– Luke 12:49

.

.

REFLECTION…

.

In the Bible,

fire is often used to describe God’s burning love for men.

.

This divine love

finds its highest expression in the Son of God becoming man

who, in turn, gives up His life out of love for us.

.

This is why Jesus so wants us

to be ablaze with a fire that acquires its strength in prayer;

a fire that is made evident through apostolic zeal

and determination.

.

This same fire spreads throughout the earth

as we ourselves live in accordance to Christ’s teachings

and take Christ’s burning flame of love and hope and joy to others.

.

.

PRAYER…

.

Come Lord, and fill me with Your fire.

Burn away my iniquity

and stir up in me

a burning flame of love for You,

and of hope and joy in You.

Come, Lord Jesus, come!

.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

I love You, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,

my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,

my shield, and the horn of my salvation,

my stronghold.

– Psalm 18:1-2

.

.

REFLECTION…

.

The Lord, our God, is our all-powerful protector

– our “rock”, “fortress”, “shield”…

He is our Saviour.

.

Amen!

.

.

QUOTE…

.

"O my God,

who first gave me the help of Your call so that I could trust in You!

My protector, the guarantor of my well-being, and my redeemer;

You are my protector

because I did not rely on my own resources,

did not raise the weapon of pride against You.

.

You Yourself became my weapon:

I found the sure strength of salvation,

in such a way that as soon as You made it known to me You redeemed me.”

.

– St. Augustine

.

.

PRAYER…

.

I love You, O Lord, my strength.

You are my rock; my Saviour!

.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

Be calm and vigilant,

because your enemy the devil is prowling round like a roaring lion,

looking for someone to eat.

Stand up to him, strong in faith.

– 1 Peter 5:8-9

.

.

REFLECTION…

.

We are urged to be sober and clear-headed

– it puts us on guard against the evil one.

.

There is always need to be watchful

against the assaults of the devil – the liar, the detractor –

who will pounce on us if we lower our guard.

.

We should use what we have – our possessions, our achievements –

in a balanced and self-controlled manner,

so as to avoid being ensnared by them,

thereby forgetting our eternal destiny – the glory which we have been promised.

.

If we are “strong in faith”

we will resist the attacks of the devil.

.

We adhere to our Christian principles

– if we truly love God above all, above ourselves,

and above everything else.

.

.

QUOTE…

.

“He (the devil) moves round each one of us,

like an enemy who has us surrounded

and is checking the walls

to see if there is some weak, unsecured part, where he can get in.”

– St. Cyprian

.

.

A PRAYER FOR STRENGTH IN WEAKNESS…

…by St. Ephrem of Syria

.

Thank you, Almighty Father,

for sending Jesus to break Satan’s stranglehold over us.

.

Lord Jesus Christ, King of kings, You have power over life and death.

You know even things that are uncertain and obscure,

and my very thoughts and feelings are not hidden from You.

.

Cleanse me from my secret faults

– I have done wrong and You saw it.

.

You know how weak I am, both in soul and in body.

.

Give me strength, O Lord, in my weakness

and sustain me in my sufferings.

.

Grant me a prudent judgement, dear Lord,

and let me always be mindful of Your blessings.

.

Let me retain, until the end, Your loving and protecting grace.

.

Amen.

.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

Let my words come to Your ears, O Lord: hear my sighs.

Listen to the voice of my crying, my King and my God.

– Psalm 5:1-2

.

.

REFLECTION…

.

God hears our prayers

and knows when they are coming from the heart.

.

We believe that He is King, that He is Lord, and God.

He is King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and God of gods.

.

By faith, we put ourselves under His guidance and care,

fully confident of His great love, mercy and grace.

.

PRAYER…

.

My Lord, my God, my King,

I beg You – please hear my prayer.

.

My Lord, my God, my King,

– guide me and protect me.

.

My Lord, my God, my King,

to whom shall I plead if not to You?

For You are the Almighty

and You have my name written on the palm of Your hand.

.

Lord, I know that You hear my prayer,

which comes from deep inside my heart.

Have mercy on me, Lord.

.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

What a man sows, he reaps.

If he sows in the field of self-indulgence

he will get a harvest of corruption out of it;

if he sows in the field of the Spirit

he will get from it a harvest of eternal life.

– Galatians 6:7-8

.

.

REFLECTION…

.

There are some who live as if the Lord will not be asking them to render an account, some day.

They live as if they could deceive God.

.

I reap what I sow,

and I will receive the con­se­quences of my actions – be they pos­i­tive or negative.

.

There are the deeds of our sin­ful nature and of the fruits of the Spirit,

which are in complete contrast and mutually incompatible.

.

Even though self-indulgence might ‘feel good’ for a short time, it is short-lived,

and it will ulti­mately pro­vide neg­a­tive con­se­quences.

.

Sowing in the field of self-indulgence

will only reap destruc­tion, decay, and sep­a­ra­tion from God.

.

But, if I sow in the field of the Spirit, planting the fruit of the Spirit,

I will gain what is most pre­cious – I will inherit eter­nal life.

.

Yes, I reap what I sow.

.

[another source for today’s reflection was www.imperishableinheritance.com]

.

.

PRAYER…

.

My Lord, my God,

it is You I truly yearn for.

.

Forgive me, Lord,

for those dreadful moments of self-indulgence, self-pity, and self-righteousness

– when I blocked out Your voice, Your counsel, Your loving concern,

and Your love.

.

Lord, help me, please help me

to only sow the fruit of Your Spirit

– love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

.

Lord, please have mercy on me, a sinner.

.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

Jesus said:

“I tell you,

if anyone openly declares himself for me in the presence of men,

the Son of Man will declare Himself for him in the presence of the angels.

But the man who disowns me in the presence of men

will be disowned in the presence of God’s angels.”

– Luke 12:8-9

.

.

.

REFLECTION…

.

Our attitude towards Jesus is very important.

.

On judgement day

He will declare to the angels in heaven who His true disciples are

– they are those who are willing to say that they follow Him.

.

Those who deny Jesus on earth, are refusing to accept His claim on their lives.

In heaven, Jesus will say that they do not belong to Him.

.

Then there are those who are ready and willing to do as He tells them.

These must, however, be very aware of temptation and beware of sin.

.

If we, out of fear of worldly suffering, deny our Lord

and are unfaithful to the demands of the faith,

we will be denied by Christ Himself on the Day of Judgment.

.

On the other hand, if we suffer in this life because of our faithfulness to Christ,

will receive the eternal reward of being recognised by Him

…and we will come to share His glory.

.

.

.

PRAYER…

.

Lord, I want to be Your witness.

Take what’s wrong in me and make it right.

Make me a reflection of Your light.

Shine down on me, and let Your love shine through me.

..

Lord, I want to be Your witness!.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

O God, come to my aid.

O Lord, make haste to help me.

.

– Psalm 70:1

.

.

AN ARDENT PRAYER AND HYMN TO THE MOST HIGH…

.

Eternal Glory of the sky,

Blest hope of frail humanity,

The Father’s Sole-begotten One,

Yet born a spotless Virgin’s Son.

.

Uplift us with Thine arm of might,

And let our hearts rise pure and bright,

And, ardent in God’s praises, pay

The thanks we owe Him every day.

.

The day-star’s rays are glittering clear,

And tell that day itself is near:

The shadows of the night depart;

Thou, holy Light, illume the heart.

.

Within our senses ever dwell,

And worldly darkness thence expel:

Long as the days of life endure,

Preserve our souls devout and pure.

.

The Faith that first must be possessed,

Root deep within our inmost breast:

And joyous Hope in second place,

Then Charity, Thy greatest grace.

.

All laud to God the Father be;

All praise, eternal Son, to Thee;

All glory, as is ever meet,

To God the Holy Paraclete.

.

– a 4th century prayer attributed to St Ambrose of Milan

.

.

PRAYER…

.

All Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit!

.

.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

His commandments are these:

that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ

and that we love one another as He told us to.

Whoever keeps His commandments lives in God

and God lives in Him.

We know that He lives in us by the Spirit that He has given us.

– 1 John 3:23-24

.

.

REFLECTION…

.

Here we have the commandments of God

summed up in terms of love for Jesus

and love for one another.

.

Faith and love cannot be separated;

and our Lord Himself told us what would mark His disciples out

– our love for one another.

Keeping the commandments confirms to the Christian

that he or she is abiding in God.

Jesus tells us,

“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.” (Jn 15:10)

Keeping the commandments

ensures that God abides in my soul by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus tells me,

“If you love me you will keep my commandments.

And I will pray to the Father,

and He will give you another Counselor,

to be with you for ever.” (Jn 14:15-16)

.

.

PRAYER…

.

Lord Jesus, You are my Lord and my God.

I believe in You Lord,

and I believe…I know…that Your Spirit abides in me.

Lord, I believe – please help me keep Your commandments.

Lord, I believe- please help me love all others.

Lord, I do believe – help me overcome my unbelief!.

.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

Never say or do anything except in the name of the Lord Jesus,

giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

– Colossians 3:17

.

.

REFLECTION…

.

Never say or do anything except in the name of the Lord Jesus…

What a wonderful way to keep check on ourselves

and to keep us away from wrong-doing and out of spiritual trouble!

.

When Jesus became one like us,

He taught us, by word and by example,

how we should live our lives;

how we should speak and act.

.

If we invoke Him – the Son of the Living God – before we speak or act,

then we will be calling on Him to be our witness

and, being in awe of Him, we will surely do our utmost not to do any wrong.

.

…giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Every time we act in Jesus name and follow His example,

we will be giving grateful thanks to the Father,

who so loved us that He gave His one and only Son,

so that believers will not perish but have eternal life. (cf. Jn 3:16)

.

.

PRAYER…

.

Father God, Lord Almighty,

I thank You for Your great love

and for demonstrating this

by sending Your One and Only Son, Jesus, to live and die for us.

.

Thank You, O Heavenly Father, for Your promise of eternal life.

Help me to speak and act in the way Jesus taught me;

help me call upon my Master and seek to imitate Him in all that I do;

and to say and do everything in His Holy name.

.

Come, Lord Jesus, come and take over!

.