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

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TODAY’S WORD…

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The Lord reached down from on high

and took hold of me;

He drew me out of deep waters.

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– Psalm 18:16

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REFLECTION…

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For those of us believers who have already been there (in deep waters)

and who sought God’s help and recognised it

– we are blessed!

We know that it was His hand that drew us out.

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But those of us who have already been in deep waters,

but feel let down because we believe that God forgot all about us

– we must stop looking inwardly

and, instead, look up to Him with humility and faith.

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He will then show us that He had, in fact, pulled us out,

but that it was we who had never accepted our new circumstances;

we who kept dwelling on the past…and looking back.

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If this is how we are,

then we need to go before God and ask Him to fill us with His Spirit

and give us faith, hope and trust.

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He will!

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PRAYER…

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Lord God Almighty, thank You for always being there.

Thank You for the plan You have for me.

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Thank You for the number of times

You drew me out of those deep waters which almost pulled me down.

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Forgive me, Lord,

for those times when I never came back to You to thank You for Your grace,

but instead sulked and even moved away from You

for not permitting me to have it my own way.

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Lord, help me always trust in Your Love.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Lord…You have the words that give eternal life.

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– John 6:68

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REFLECTION…

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It is through staying loyal to Jesus,

through seeking to be more like Him

and through actively listening out for what He has to say to us

that we get to know Him much better and become more closely involved with Him:

St. Pope John Paul II tells us,

"Seek Jesus; endeavouring to acquire a deep personal faith that will inform and direct your whole life.

But, above all, let it be your commitment and your program

to love Jesus, with a sincere, authentic and personal love.

He must be your friend and your support along the path of life.

He alone has words of eternal life."

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PRAYER…

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Jesus, You have the words that give eternal life.

Increase my faith, Lord, and help me be more like You.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“Blessed are your eyes because they see,

and your ears because they hear.”

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– Matthew 13:16

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REFLECTION…

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Jesus praises those

who are open to Him and to His grace,

because by being so, they recognise Him

and they accept His teaching.

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Jesus calls blessed – happy – those who allow the Spirit

to help them see God with the eyes of their heart,

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God gives us all – every soul, every one of us – opportunities to meet Him.

Each of us has to be sensitive enough

to grasp these opportunities and not let them pass.

Ultimately, it is really up to us.

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PRAYER…

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Lord, open the eyes of my heart – I want to see You.

Heal my spiritual deafness – that I may hear You speak to me.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said, “Listen, anyone who has ears!”

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– Matthew 13:9.

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REFLECTION…

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Those of us who read Scripture and seek, humbly, to understand God’s Word,

find that, with God’s grace, holy patience and an open heart often reveal what the Lord is telling us.

It is such a blessing to hear our Master teach us, counsel us, direct us, console us and yes, even admonish us.

It is such a grace to be able to listen to Him and serve Him.

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But we need also to be very aware of St Paul’s warning

and make sure that it will never apply to us:

“…the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine.

Instead, to suit their own desires,

they will gather round them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” (2 Tim 4:3-4)

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QUOTE…

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“Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.

My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.

Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching.

These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”

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– Our Lord Jesus Christ (Jn 14:23-24)

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PRAYER…

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Teach me, Lord, I am listening.

Lead me, Lord, I want to do as You say because Yours is the only Truth.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters;

and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.

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– Isaiah 55:1

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REFLECTION…

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This is the call

that God has made to everyone since the beginning of time.

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In the Eucharist, which is the banquet of the New Testament,

the words of the prophet come true in the complete sense

in the words spoken by our Lord when He instituted that Sacrament:

Take and eat…take and drink the true bread of life, the fruit of the true vine

– the finest food and drink which money cannot buy…and which give eternal life.

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PRAYER…

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Lord, Your love is the food of my soul.

I am not worthy of eating and drinking with You,

but I come to You with a contrite heart

and a great desire to sit at Your table.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“Don’t be afraid.

Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today.”

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– Exodus 14:13

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REFLECTION…

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The words of Moses to the Jews as he led them out of Egypt,

underlie the theological virtue of hope.

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God is the one who acts,

and if man stands firm in faith,

then he has no reason to fear.

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Jesus is our model of faithfulness and hope.

He is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.

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Jesus endured so much suffering, and the cross,

because of His great love for us

and because He trusted in the Father’s promise of our salvation and deliverance,

and of the glory and the joy that would follow His victory over death.

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Following Jesus’ example therefore,

we must persevere…with faith and hope..

and trust in the Christ’s redemption to rescue us

as, day by day, we walk along the path that God has set for us.

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PRAYER…

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Here I am Lord. I trust in You – today and every day!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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You are good to us and forgiving,

full of constant love for all who pray to You.

Listen, Lord, to my prayer;

hear my cries for help.

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You are mighty and do wonderful things;

You alone are God.

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Teach me, Lord, what You want me to do,

and I will obey You faithfully;

teach me to serve You with complete devotion.

I will praise You with all my heart, O Lord my God;

I will proclaim your greatness forever.

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– Psalm 86:5-6,10-12

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PRAYER…

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O mighty and most loving God, this is my prayer:

that I will always humbly and gladly accept to do Your will – come what may.

Amen.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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LORD, who may dwell in your sacred tent?

Who may live on Your holy mountain?

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The one whose walk is blameless,

who does what is righteous,

who speaks the truth from the heart;

whose tongue utters no slander,

who does no wrong to a neighbour,

and casts no slur on others…

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– Psalm 15:1-3

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REFLECTION…

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These words of the Psalmist immediately bring to mind

the one who is truly worthy of dwelling on God’s “holy mountain”

– Mary, the Mother of God.

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In contemplating the Blessed Virgin, we see her as a loving Mother,

not only of our Lord Jesus Christ, but also our own.

It was Jesus Himself who gave her to us,

as He entrusted her to His beloved disciple at the foot of the Cross.

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The Blessed Virgin is constantly praying for us.

From her special place in Heaven she spreads the protective mantle of her mercy over us, her children,

on our pilgrimage to the holy mountain of glory.

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She is the one who guides everyone

to the perfect knowledge and imitation of Christ.

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[Reflection inspired by the message of St. Pope John Paul II in 2001

of the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.]