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

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TODAY’S WORD…

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The Lord is my shepherd;

there is nothing I shall want.

Fresh and green are the pastures

where He gives me repose.

Near restful waters He leads me,

to revive my drooping spirit.

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He guides me along the right path;

He is true to His name.

If I should walk in the valley of darkness

no evil would I fear.

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You are there with Your crook and Your staff;

with these You give me comfort.

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– Psalm 23:1-4 (JB)

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QUOTE…

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"Do everything calmly and peacefully.

Do as much as you can as well as you can.

Strive to see God in all things without exception,

and consent to His will joyously.

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Do everything for God,

uniting yourself to Him in word and deed.

Walk very simply with the Cross of the Lord

and be at peace with yourself."

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– St. Francis de Sales

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PRAYER…

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Guide me, Lord, fill me with hope.

Love me, Lord, fill me with joy.

Comfort me, Lord, fill me with peace.

Lead me, Lord, to Your side.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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This is what the Lord says:

“Call to me, and I will answer you;

I will tell you wonderful and marvelous things that you know nothing about.”

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– Jeremiah 33:3 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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“Jeremiah 333”

is often referred to as God’s telephone number!

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This is how our loving God is,

He invites us to call Him

and promises that He will answer.

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But when we call,

and after greeting Him with loving words and thankfulness,

and sharing our thoughts and feelings with Him,

we must stop

…and listen to what He has to say.

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Sometimes, He may not tell us what we want to hear,

but then we must remember that He is God

and only He knows what is truly good for us.

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If we listen to Him attentively

and with faith, love and hope,

then, whatever He may say to us

will be great and marvellous and uplifting,

…and He will shine a light in our heart.

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Let us call “Jeremiah 333” every day!

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PRAYER…

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Almighty Father,

thank You for making Yourself so available,

and for being there, every time, to answer my call.

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Grant, O LORD, that whenever I call You,

I will listen attentively to Your voice and learn from You,

and always welcome Your divine consolation and guidance,

and all the wonderful and marvellous things only You can tell me.

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Thank You, Lord. I love You, Lord..

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TODAY’S WORD…

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To You, O Lord, I offer my prayer;

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Teach me Your ways, O Lord;

make them known to me.

Teach me to live according to Your truth,

for You are my God, who saves me.

I always trust in You.

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Remember, O Lord, Your kindness and constant love

which You have shown from long ago.

Forgive the sins and errors of my youth.

In Your constant love and goodness,

remember me, Lord!

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– Psalm 25:1;4-7 (GNT)

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PRAYER…

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Teach me Your ways, O Lord; I always trust in You.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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The word of God is alive and active,

sharper than any double-edged sword.

It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet,

to where joints and marrow come together.

It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart.

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– Hebrews 4:12 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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God’s word is consoling and life-giving

to the open and humble heart

that listens out intently for God’s voice

as it seeks to be led by Him.

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God’s word, serves us

as strength for our faith,

food for our soul

and a pure and lasting source of spiritual life.

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But God’s word also inspires dread and panic

in those whose way of life and thinking it warns against.

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Those who foolishly persist with their self-centeredness,

appear to ignore the direction that God gives them,

or else they consciously misinterpret Scripture to suit their selfish ways.

However, deep inside it still bothers them,

and that is why they often angrily over-react to the word.

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"The word of His truth is hotter and brighter than the sun,

and pierces the very depths of hearts and minds"

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– St Justin

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We must remember that

the depths of a person’s heart,

his deepest thoughts, attitudes and intentions

– all lie open to God’s all-seeing eye.

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"What a person does or thinks is expressed in his actions,

but one can never be sure of what motivates his actions.

That, however, is never hidden from God"

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– St Thomas

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PRAYER…

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My Lord and my God, Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

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Holy Spirit, never stop showing me the way and giving me direction and advice.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Light shines in the darkness for the godly.

They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.

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– Psalm 112:4 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Even in difficult and troubled times,

God’s light shines on those who love Him and trust in Him,

and their attitude unwaveringly reflects the Lord’s,

for they are always generous, compassionate and righteous.

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PRAYER…

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Shine on us, Lord, and make us more like You.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus breathed on them

and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

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– John 20:22

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REFLECTION…

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The image of the Spirit as the very breath of God

is a powerful one. […]

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Some refuse the Spirit

while others inhale Him gladly,

opening themselves up to God’s action,

through prayer and devotions,

through contemplation and reflection on the Christian mysteries,

through studying God’s Word.

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QUOTE…

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“This breathing of Jesus recalls God’s action

who, in the creation, ‘formed man out of the clay of the ground

and blew into his nostrils the breath of life,

and so man became a living being’ (Gen 2:7).

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With His gesture,

Jesus indicates that the Holy Spirit is the divine breath

that gives life to the new creation

as He gave life to the first creation.”

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– Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa

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St. Augustine’s prayer to the Holy Spirit…

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Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit,

That my thoughts may all be holy.

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Act in me, O Holy Spirit,

That my work, too, may be holy.

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Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit,

That I love but what is holy.

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Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit,

To defend all that is holy.

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Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit,

That I always may be holy.

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Amen.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“I will send you the Spirit of Truth,” says the Lord;

“He will guide you into all the truth.”

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– cf. John 16:7,13 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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It is the Holy Spirit who makes fully understood

the truth revealed by Christ.

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When we gladly receive the Holy Spirit,

He will guide us unto all truth;

He will give us light

to enable us to discover the depth and richness

of everything we have read and heard about Jesus.

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QUOTE…

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“Christ has not left His followers without guidance

in the task of understanding and living the Gospel.

Before returning to His Father,

He promised to send His Holy Spirit to the Church:

‘But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit,

whom the Father will send in My name,

He will teach you all things,

and bring to your remembrance all I have said to you’ [Jn 14:26].”

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– St. Pope John Paul II

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PRAYER…

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Come Holy Spirit, teach me, fill my heart with Your truth

and kindle within me the fire of Your love.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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A third time Jesus said to Peter,

“Simon son of John, do you love Me?”

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Peter became sad

because Jesus had asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’,

and so he said to Him,

“Lord, You know everything;

You know that I love You!”

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– John 21:17 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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I put myself in Peter’s place.

There I am, in front of my Lord, Jesus;

He looks at me with His loving and penetrating eyes

and, calling me by my name, He asks me directly

“…do you love Me?”

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If I truly believe that Jesus is the Son of God,

then like Peter, I am also fully aware that He already knows what my reply will be.

I also believe that whatever my answer is,

Jesus knows whether it is the truth…or not.

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When that moment arrives – and it will –

will I be able to look at the Lord

and reply like Peter did, with humility and honesty, and say

“Lord, You know that I love You” ?

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Will I?

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Do I?

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PRAYER…

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Jesus, my Lord,

I believe You are the Son of the Living God,

the great I AM.

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Lord, I know You love me,

I know You died on that Cross – for me.

But…do I love You back?

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You know everything, my Lord,

You know me inside out.

Please send Your Holy Spirit upon me, Lord,

to teach me how to truly love You.

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Come, Holy Spirit. Come.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“Father,

I want those You have given Me

to be with Me where I am, and to see My glory,

the glory You have given me

because You loved me before the creation of the world.

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I have made You known to them,

and will continue to make You known

in order that the love You have for me

may be in them

and that I myself may be in them.”

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– John 17:24,26 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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Jesus – the Alpha and Omega; the Beginning and the End –

prays to the Father

for all of us who know Him.

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He prays that we will one day be with Him,

in His perpetual light,

and share in His glory, forever.

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Jesus emphasises

that He will continue to make the Father known to us,

and that He too will always be with us.

He will do so by sending the Holy Spirit,

who we Christians have received through the Sacrament of Baptism.

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If we allow Him to,

the Spirit will instil a burning love and faith in us;

He will console us and counsel us.

He will give us the strength

to overcome all that the evil one throws at us

in his determination to draw us away from God

and from Our Lord’s promise of life everlasting in His Glorious Presence.

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PRAYER…

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Come Holy Spirit, come…come and take over.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“Father…

I give Myself as a Holy Sacrifice for them

so they can be made holy by Your Truth.”

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– John 17:19 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Jesus is praying to the Father

to give us, who believe in Him, holiness.

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Jesus prays for our holiness.

Although God alone is the Holy One, we can share in His holiness.

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Jesus prays so yearningly for us to be made holy.

He consecrates Himself to the Father

and dedicates His perfect and loving sacrifice on the Cross,

for our own sanctification.

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When Jesus prays for us to be made holy,

He is praying to the Father for our moral sanctity,

that we may obey God’s law and practise the moral virtues.

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“I give Myself as a Holy Sacrifice for them…”

God is Love.

Jesus is Love,

and He always practiced what He preached.

It was, after all, Jesus who had said to His followers

that “there is no greater love

than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (Jn 15:13)

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Through Christ’s death,

we have been made children of God by Baptism,

we share in the divine nature;

and we have been enabled to attain the holiness to which we have been called.

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Amen!

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PRAYER…

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Jesus, thank You for laying down Your life for me.

I love You, Lord. Thank You, my Lord and Saviour.

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