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

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Everyone should be quick to listen,

slow to speak

and slow to become angry,

because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

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– James 1:19-20

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REFLECTION…and PRAYER…

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It is okay to be angry – though slowly.

It is how we express our anger, which is crucial.

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St. Paul wrote, "In your anger do not sin." (Eph 4:26)

Anger is a natural emotive reaction, but it must be controlled.

We must be angry ‘in the right way’

or else we will be sinning.

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St. Gregory the Great tells us,

“‘Human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires’

because when one’s mind is not at peace, one’s critical faculty is impaired

and one judges to be right whatever one’s anger suggests.”

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Uncontrolled anger clouds our judgment when making decisions.

It makes it difficult to get on with others;

it causes discord;

and it also makes it difficult to see where the truth lies.

With our loved ones, anger causes deep hurt.

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When we act in anger

we are not acting justly in God’s eyes.

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Lord, make me quick to listen,

slow to speak

and slow to become angry.

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Lord, I want to be righteous in Your eyes.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“But you, who do you say I am?”

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– Matthew 16:15

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REFLECTION…and PRAYER…

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When Jesus asks us this question,

the correct answer will not come from our lips,

but it comes from our heart…from deep inside.

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Truly proclaiming who He is for us,

is not simply repeating, parrot-like, what we have learnt, heard or read.

It is much, much more than that.

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To answer the Lord’s question meaningfully and truthfully,

it is necessary for us to look inside,

to listen to a completely different voice,

a voice that is not of flesh and blood but of the Holy Spirit.

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If I allow Him to,

the Spirit will enlighten me to recognise and proclaim with conviction that Jesus is Lord,

that He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

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Lord, thank You, for Your love.

Thank You for Your Spirit who fills me with this joyful certainty

that comes from knowing that You are the Truth;

that You are Lord.

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I love You, O Lord my God.

Forgive me, O Lord my God.

Thank You, O Lord my God.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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How rich are the depths of God

– how deep His wisdom and knowledge –

and how impossible to penetrate His motives or understand His methods!

Who could ever know the mind of the Lord?

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– Romans 11:33-34

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REFLECTION…and PRAYER…

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Who could ever know the mind of the Lord?

Not me…not anyone!

God is beyond our comprehension, as is His great love for us.

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The Divine plan, as it unfolds before our eyes, may often perturb us,

and it may be difficult to understand

– especially when there is hurt and suffering and pain.

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Our correct attitude to God’s plan, however, should always be one of humility and obedience;

one that also accepts that our mind’s capacity is, in fact, limited.

Insisting on understanding God is, therefore, more than unreasonable.

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If we truly believe in Him as the Almighty, then we should place our full trust in Him

– and His Spirit will fill our hearts and minds with the reassurance and peace which is way beyond our understanding

…and everything will then fall into place. Amen!

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Lord, I pray,

that when things appear to be going wrong for me,

I will let myself go in Your loving arms

and let You reassure me and fill me with hope.

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I know that You love me, Lord.

I know that You will lift me up and carry me.

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I know that, with Your grace,

everything will fall into place, Lord.

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Lord, how great You are!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear;

for fear has to do with punishment,

and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.

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– 1 John 4:18

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REFLECTION…and PRAYER…

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This verse speaks about that kind of fear – servile fear – which is incompatible with love,

Servile fear is, seeing God only as one who punishes those who transgress His commandments.

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Servile fear means that I see God as a vengeful master

and myself as a slave fearing punishment.

No more, no less.

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Filial fear, on the other hand, is compatible with pure love.

It is what gives a true Christian that deep repulsion of sin.

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Filial fear, is a tender fear.

It occurs in the heart of those who acknowledge God as their loving and doting Father

and who see themselves as His children.

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Filial fear comes about when I do not want to hurt God;

when I do not want to do anything to cut myself off from His love

– from my Heavenly Father’s love.

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All-forgiving, generous Father, send Your Spirit upon me

to fill me with a greater awareness of Your love,

and a resolve not to hurt You.

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Lord, I love You

and I will never draw myself away from You and Your love.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“For many are called,

but few are chosen.”

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– Matthew 22:14

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REFLECTION…and prayer…

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These sobering words of Jesus

should make me stop and reflect deeply

into how determined I am to follow Him and be guided by Him so as to be saved.

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God desires all of us to come to the knowledge of the truth and to be saved

but, in His infinite wisdom, made us free to accept or reject grace.

In His great love for us, our Creator sent His Only Son,

who went as far as to die on the cross for us.

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So where am I in all this?

I know that I have been called but am I really doing all I should to be chosen?

When I hear or read God’s Word, am I truly listening?

Am I really interested, and do I really care about the state of my soul

…and that of my loved ones, and of so many others that I come into contact with?

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Oh Lord, I so want to be chosen.

Help me, Lord.

Send Your Holy Spirit to break me, to melt me, to mould me

and to fill me with the fire of Your love.

Come Holy Spirit, come…that I may be chosen!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Those who love pleasure become poor;

those who love wine and luxury will never be rich.

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– Proverbs 21:17

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REFLECTION…

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The emphasis is on the word “love”, which is very different to “enjoy”.

That is why loving and pursuing pleasure is never satisfied, can become possessive, and leads to an empty life,

Enjoyment, on the other hand, is simply being thankful while the feeling lasts.

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God has given us many blessings which give us great pleasure.

However, if our attitude towards them becomes obsessive,

we begin to focus on the gifts instead of on the One who gave them to us.

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God doesn’t mind us having what gives us enjoyment

but we must not allow them to have us!

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Material belongings, in themselves, aren’t the issue.

The issue is our attitude towards them; our relationship with them.

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Putting the ownership of material things first, enslaves us to them;

…and leads to self-destruction.

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We will never be satisfied if we disconnect ourselves from the one true source of happiness,

from the only “thing” on earth that is truly satisfying – our relationship with God.

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PRAYER…

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My Lord, I have You,

what more do I want?

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Thank You Lord for all the things,

which the circumstances You put me in permit me to have,

to afford…and to enjoy.

Thank You, Lord.

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My prayer, Lord, is to take pleasure in these things

only if it is Your will

and for however long You allow me to,

without ever putting them first;

without ever removing You from being first and foremost in my life.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“Many who are first will be last,

and the last, first.”

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– Matthew 19:30

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REFLECTION…

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So we think that we’ve made it!

We believe that are on the right track and moving in the right direction.

We are convinced that we are good and holy…

and that so many others aren’t.

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But we had better think again,

because if that is the impression we have of ourselves and of others,

then we have certainly fallen into a trap without even realising it.

Spiritual self-satisfaction and pride is a self-destruct button.

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Spiritual humility, on the other hand, causes self-awareness.

Deep humility brings about acknowledgment of our weaknesses and of our volatile nature

…and of our great and constant need for God’s counsel.

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If we focus on God, we will get to where He has prepared a place for us.

If we focus on ourselves, we will get lost and lose the ultimate prize.

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PRAYER…

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Lord, remove my pride and self-centeredness,

so that when my race is run, I will come to stay in Your glorious presence forever.

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TODAY’S WORD…AND PRAYER

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Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes, and I will observe it to the end.

Give me understanding, that I may keep Your law and observe it with my whole heart.

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Lead me in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it.

Turn my heart to Your decrees, and not to selfish gain.

Turn my eyes from looking at vanities; give me life in Your ways.

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– Psalm 119:33-37

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Your body, you know, is the temple of the Holy Spirit,

who is in you since you received Him from God.

You are not your own property; you have been bought and paid for.

That is why you should use your body for the glory of God.

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– 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

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REFLECTION…

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Carnal physical appetite, appearance, sexuality

are all right up there at the top of our culture’s obsessions.

Unrestrained pleasure, overt vanity and exhibitionist narcissism, very often beyond vulgarity,

have, sadly, become commonplace and, sadly and to a large extent, accepted and applauded even!

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The key question, for those of us who call ourselves Christian, is:

am I being drawn into the libertine values and immoral worship of my appetites,

or am I trying to live in a joyfully holy manner as one of God’s own people?

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QUOTE…

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A Christian has all kinds of resources he or she can use

to be moral, modest and pure in a very refined way:

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"The first is to be very vigilant about what we look at,

and what we think and say and do;

second, to have recourse to prayer;

third, to frequent the sacraments worthily;

fourth, to fly from anything which might tempt us to sin;

fifth, to have great devotion to the Blessed Virgin.

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If we do all that,

then, no matter what our enemies do,

no matter how frail this virtue be,

we can be quite sure of holding on to it"

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– St John Mary Vianney

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PRAYER…

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Lord, You made me in Your image;

You breathed Your Spirit in me;

– this I believe with all my heart.

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Lord, save me from immorality;

save me from bringing about my own destruction – physically and spiritually.

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Lord, I give You my body. Lord, take control.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“If serving the LORD seems undesirable to you,

then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…

But as for me and my household,

we will serve the LORD.”

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– Joshua 24:15

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REFLECTION…

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Whichever which way you look at it,

it is clearly a choice that I have to make.

Either I want to serve God,

or I do not want to serve God.

There’s no in-between.

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“But as for me and my household,

we will serve the LORD.”

Decision taken!

And what a wise decision it is

when we take it upon ourselves to be good Christians

and to adopt Christian values in our home, for our family

…and without compromise.

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In today’s world, it is a chance to stand out, to be different.

To serve the Lord;

to love your neighbour as yourself;

to boldly be motivated by and act out of love and nothing else.

This is what the beloved Saint Pope John Paul II has asked of us

– to create in this world a civilization of love.

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PRAYER…

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Father God, I have searched and I have found that there is none like You.

I have decided, Lord, I want to serve You!

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