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

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TODAY’S WORD…

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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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Because the Lord is righteous and good,

He teaches sinners the path they should follow.

He leads the humble in the right way

and teaches them His will.

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– Psalm 25:4-9 (GNT)

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A PERFECT REFLECTION…

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Because the Lord is righteous and good,

He teaches sinners the path they should follow.

He leads the humble in the right way

and teaches them His will.

These two verses from today’s Psalm

are a perfect reflection for us to contemplate on every day.

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A PERFECT 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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TODAY’S WORD…

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I will sing for ever of Your love, O Lord;

through all ages my mouth will proclaim Your truth.

Of this I am sure, that Your love lasts for ever,

that Your truth is firmly established as the heavens.

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– Psalm 89:1-2 (JB)

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REFLECTION…

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Sing, earnest Christian, sing

…for the Lord our God is with us!

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Praise, grateful believer, praise

…because our Saviour is worthy, ever so worthy!

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Worship, humble disciple, worship

…for Christ is King and Lord of Lords!

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Proclaim, joyful follower, proclaim

…that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life,

and that His love lasts for ever!

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PRAYER…

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Grant, O Lord, that I will let You live in my heart,

that it may be filled with the joy and peace that only You bring.

Lord, I want to sing of Your love – forever and in truth!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Come, let us sing to the Lord!

Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come to Him with thanksgiving.

Let us sing psalms of praise to Him.

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Come, let us worship and bow down.

Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,

for He is our God.

We are the people He watches over,

the flock under His care.

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If only you would listen to His voice today!.

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– Psalm 95:1-2,6-7 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Strong faith in the Lord is what makes us sing for joy

not only when things are going right for us,

but also when we are struggling with what life throws at us

and in those moments when darkness threatens to take over.

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The faithful sing for joy to the Lord, at all times,

whatever the situation,

because they know that He is by their side – always –

and that He cares for them with an unsurpassable love.

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When we believe, and know, that the Lord is the Rock of our salvation,

it is small wonder that we sing for joy no matter the circumstances.

We, therefore, gladly and faithfully go into His presence with thanksgiving,

bowing down before our Maker in worship, for He is our God!

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PRAYER…

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Here I am, Lord.

My heart sings out joyfully to You.

Please grant me the grace to listen to Your voice and to do Your will.

My Lord and my God, I praise and thank You!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Bless the Lord, O my soul;

and all my being, bless His holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all His benefits.

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He pardons all your iniquities,

He heals all your ills.

He redeems your life from destruction,

He crowns you with kindness and compassion.

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– Psalm 103:1-4 (NAB)

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REFLECTION…by Pope Francis…

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“Praying is negotiating with the Lord,

even becoming inappropriate with the Lord.

Praying is praising the Lord in the beautiful things He shares

and telling Him to bestow these beautiful things on us.

And (appealing to Him) who is so merciful, so good, to help us!”

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Pope Francis urges everyone to spend just five minutes each day praying Psalm 103:

“Pray all of this psalm

and with this we learn the things we must say to the Lord when we request a grace.

‘You who are Merciful and forgiving, grant me this grace…’

just as Abraham did and as Moses did.

We forge ahead in prayer, courageous,

and with these motivations which come right from the heart of God Himself.”

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QUOTE…

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“Praise the Lord with all that you are yourselves,

for not only your tongue and your voice should praise the Lord,

but also your conscience, your life and your deeds…

If we never stop living a good life,

we are praising the Lord unceasingly.”

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– St. Augustine

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PRAYER…

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Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all my being, bless His holy name!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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I love the Lord, because He hears me;

He listens to my prayers.

He listens to me

every time I call to Him.

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The Lord is merciful and good;

our God is compassionate.

The Lord protects the helpless;

when I was in danger, He saved me.

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Be confident, my heart,

because the Lord has been good to me.

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Praise the Lord!

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– Psalm 116:1-2,5-7 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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True believers express gratitude and love for the Lord

because they know that the Lord hears and listens to their prayers every time they call out to Him

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Genuine trust always perceives God as love,

and the humble heart knows for certain that He is merciful and good

even if it is sometimes difficult to grasp the course of His action

and to understand why He permits certain situations to occur.

Whatever the circumstance, the believer remains certain, however, that the Lord protects the helpless.

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PRAYER…

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I love You Lord, because You hear me;

You listen to my prayers.

You listen to me every time I call out to You.

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Lord, You are merciful and good;

You are compassionate and You protect the helpless.

When I was in danger, He saved me.

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Be confident, my heart, because the Lord has been good to me.

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I praise and thank You, Lord!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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The righteous are guided and protected by the Lord,

but the evil are on the way to their doom.

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– Psalm 1:6 (GNT)

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Reflection…

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The so-called free-thinking world seems to enjoy mocking our Christian values and beliefs,

yet as faithful followers of Christ we must remain like a light shining in a darkening world.

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The threat of “evil” and “doom” appears to have absolutely no effect at all

on the moral standards of so many who are proudly God-less Secularist,

i.e. nonconformist, or individualist, or libertine, or atheist, or humanist or whatever.

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The question is, do I as a professed Christian, act like a Christian and obey Christ’s teachings?

Or perhaps do I proudly regard myself as a rebellious or nonconformist Christian?

Or do I, secretly or otherwise, indulge in sensual pleasures without regard to moral principles?

Do I really mean what I say when I recite the “I Believe” or the “Our Father”? Do I believe God is listening?

Who do I place first, myself…or God?

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The evil are on the way to their doom

but God-fearing, caring, humble, faithful and believing Christians have nothing to fear,

for they believe in Jesus’ promise and are guided and protected by the Lord.

“Listen to me, you that know what is right,

who have my teaching fixed in your hearts.

Do not be afraid when people taunt and insult you;

they will vanish like moth-eaten clothing!

But the deliverance I bring will last forever;

my victory will endure for all time.” (Isa 51:7-8)

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PRAYER…

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Come, Jesus, come!

My soul calls out for You.

Come and dwell within my heart.

Come and strengthen me.

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With all my heart I long for You,

Most firmly I believe in You,

Most truthfully I hope in You,

Most ardently I love You.

Come, my Saviour, Jesus, come.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.

Remind me that my days are numbered – how fleeting my life is.

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You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.

My entire lifetime is just a moment to You;

at best, each of us is but a breath.”

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We are merely moving shadows,

and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.

We heap up wealth,

not knowing who will spend it.

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“And so, Lord, where do I put my hope?

My only hope is in You.”

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– Psalm 39:4-7 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.

Remind me that my days are numbered – how fleeting my life is.”

I need pray to the Lord,

and ask Him to help me realise how fleeting this life is

and how He would like me to handle it.

Teach us to realize the brevity of life,

so that we may grow in wisdom. (Ps 90:12)

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Gently and lovingly, my God will show me the way.

As I kneel quietly in His presence, I ask for His forgiveness and implore His compassion

and He will seek my trust and will fill me with hope.

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As I look at Jesus with a determination to live my life in accordance with His Gospel, all shackles will be removed and joy restored in my heart.

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PRAYER…

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Lord, teach me, lead me – my hope is in You.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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God says to the wicked,

“Why should you recite my commandments?

Why should you talk about my covenant?

You refuse to let me correct you;

you reject my commands.”

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“Giving thanks is the sacrifice that honours me,

and I will surely save all who obey me.”

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– Psalm 50:16-17,23 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…rephrased from St. Robert Bellarmine’s Commentary on Psalm 50…

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God takes sinners to task and admonishes them:

“Why should you recite my commandments?

Why should you talk about my covenant?”

Indeed, why does the stubborn sinner profess to be a Christian,

to know God’s law, to recount its principles, to profess to belong to God’s family,

when he or she does not observe God’s law,

nor behaves in a morally correct manner?

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“You refuse to let me correct you;

you reject my commands.”

God alludes to both secret and public sins.

He accuses stubborn sinners about setting their minds entirely against the spirit of the law of God,

forgetting and rejecting God’s commands.

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God lays down that the way of salvation lies entirely in the one sacrifice of thanks and praise.

Those who humbly and lovingly offer it constantly and regularly will be saved.

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“Giving thanks is the sacrifice that honours me,

and I will surely save all who obey me.”

Sincere, humble and meaningful praise and thanks from those who obey His Law

is what gives honour to the Lord and returns His great love.

That attitude, that ‘sacrifice’, is the way to salvation – divine, full, and perfect salvation.

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How is it that the essence of salvation is made to depend on the sacrifice of thanks and praise?

St. Augustine tells us that, nobody truly praises and thanks God,

unless he or she is really devout and sincere.

The insincere praise God with their lips, but not by their lives;

and so theirs is idle praise because their lives are in opposition to it.

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Praising and thanking God, therefore, does not mean, simply that,

but such praise and thanks must come from the altar of our hearts, on which is burning the fire of love.

The sacrifice of praise and thanks, of necessity includes love

and it is, therefore, no wonder what will lead to our salvation.

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QUOTE…from the Catechism of the Catholic Church – paras 1358 – 1361

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" We must therefore consider the Eucharist as:

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– thanksgiving and praise to the Father;

– the sacrificial memorial of Christ and his Body;

– the presence of Christ by the power of his word and of his Spirit.

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Thanksgiving and praise to the Father

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The Eucharist, the sacrament of our salvation accomplished by Christ on the cross,

is also a sacrifice of praise in thanksgiving for the work of creation.

In the Eucharistic sacrifice the whole of creation loved by God is presented to the Father through the death and the Resurrection of Christ.

Through Christ, the Church can offer the sacrifice of praise in thanksgiving

for all that God has made good, beautiful, and just in creation and in humanity.

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The Eucharist is a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Father,

a blessing by which the Church expresses her gratitude to God for all His benefits,

for all that He has accomplished through creation, redemption, and sanctification.

Eucharist means first of all "thanksgiving."

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The Eucharist is also the sacrifice of praise by which the Church sings the glory of God in the name of all creation.

This sacrifice of praise is possible only through Christ:

He unites the faithful to His person, to His praise, and to His intercession,

so that the sacrifice of praise to the Father is offered through Christ and with Him, to be accepted in Him.”

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PRAYER…

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We praise You, Father of all;

We thank You for calling us to be Your people,

And for choosing us to give You glory.

Cleanse our hearts and our lives with Your Holy Word

and make our prayers of praise and thanks pleasing to You.

Guide us by Your Spirit as we follow in the paths of Jesus Your Son, our Lord.

All glory and praise are Yours, Father, for ever and ever.

Amen!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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As the deer longs for streams of water,

so I long for You, O God.

I thirst for God, the living God.

When can I go and stand before Him?

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Why am I discouraged?

Why is my heart so sad?

I will put my hope in God!

I will praise Him again—

my Saviour and my God!

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But each day the Lord pours His unfailing love upon me,

and through each night I sing His songs,

praying to God who gives me life.

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Why am I discouraged?

Why is my heart so sad?

I will put my hope in God!

I will praise Him again—

my Saviour and my God!

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– Psalm 42:1-2,5,8,11 (NLT)

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From a REFLECTION on Psalm 42 by Pope Saint John Paul II…

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Why am I discouraged?

Why is my heart so sad?

I will put my hope in God!

I will praise Him again—

my Saviour and my God!

This appeal, repeated twice in our psalm,

is an invitation the person praying addresses to himself,

with a view to banishing melancholy by trusting in God

who will certainly manifest Himself again – as Saviour.

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The thirsting deer is the symbol of the praying person

who tends with his whole being, body and soul, towards the Lord,

who seems distant and yet very much needed:

I thirst for God, the living God.

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Therefore we can say that the body and soul of the person praying

are absorbed by the primary, spontaneous and substantial desire for God.

It is no accident that a long tradition describes prayer as a type of “breathing”:

it is as primeval, necessary and basic as life-giving breathing.

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Can God remain silent in the face of these parched lips that cry out,

this tormented soul, this face that is about to be submerged in a sea of mud?

Of course not!

Hence once again, the person praying is encouraged to hope

and to praise God his Saviour, again and again.

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PRAYER…

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I thirst for You my Lord, my Living God.

Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?

As I place my hope in You, Lord, I will never stop praising You,

for You are my Saviour, You are my God!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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For the word of the Lord holds true,

and we can trust everything He does.

He loves whatever is just and good;

the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth.

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But the Lord watches over those who fear Him,

those who rely on His unfailing love.

He rescues them from death

and keeps them alive in times of famine.

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We put our hope in the Lord.

He is our help and our shield.

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Let Your unfailing love surround us, Lord,

for our hope is in You alone..

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– Psalm 33:4-5,18-20,22 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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There are many reasons to praise God,

but His powerful presence must rank number one,

We praise God because He is the Creator and we are His creatures.

The Lord our God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving.

and we praise Him for what He is, first of all.

What He does for us comes second.

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This Psalm praises God for what He is,

and it begins with praise for the power of His word.

His word is faithful and true,

and He blesses those who follow His covenant with sincere hearts,

saving them even from death.

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As Christians, we place our hope in the Lord, who is our help and our shield;

we wait faithfully for Him to act;

and, we call out to Him, full of trust in His power and unfailing love.

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Let us always praise God.

Yes, let us praise the Lord for He is our God.

Let us dedicate every day to the glory of the Lord

and let us always make time during our day to give Him the praise He is due.

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PRAYER…

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All-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving God,

I praise and thank You for Your unfailing love.

You are my help and my shield and my hope is in You.

Grant, O Lord, that I will always be steadfast in my faith, no matter what. Amen.

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