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

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TODAY’S WORD…

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But just as He who called you is holy,

so be holy in all you do;

for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’

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– 1 Peter 1:15-16 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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As Christians – followers of Christ – and by Baptism,

we have been set free from sin

and have been called to live in a fully holy way,

with God Himself as our model.

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We are all called to holiness!

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"Christ bids all without exception to be perfect as His heavenly Father is perfect.

For the vast majority of people,

holiness means sanctifying their work,

sanctifying themselves in it,

and sanctifying others through it

– thereby finding God as they go about their daily lives […].

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Sanctity is not the reserve of a privileged few;

all the ways of the earth, every state in life, every job, every honest occupation, can be divine." (St. Josemaria Escriva)

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PRAYER…*

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Come Holy Spirit,

give me wisdom.

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Come Holy Spirit,

give me joy.

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Come Holy Spirit,

give me patience.

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Come Holy Spirit,

give me peace.

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Come Holy Spirit,

make me loving.

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Come Holy Spirit,

make me pure.

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Come Holy Spirit,

make me strong.

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Come Holy Spirit,

make me kind.

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Come Holy Spirit,

make me holy.

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SHORT PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Come Holy Spirit, make me holy.

Come Holy Spirit, make us holy.

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* Today’s prayer is by Margaret Savitskas

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TODAY’S WORD…

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In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways,

but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things,

and through whom also He made the universe.

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.

After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

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– Hebrews 1:1-3 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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God has spoken to us through His Son Jesus Christ, His true (natural and metaphysical) Son,

to whom He gave great power, making Him the heir of all things;

through whom, also, He created the universe.

Jesus, with His sublime dignity, reflects the glory of God;

He is Lord of the universe, raised up to the very throne of His Father

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Jesus is the pinnacle and fullness of salvific Revelation,

as the Second Vatican Council reminds us:

"After God had spoken many times and in various ways through the prophets ‘in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son’.

For He sent His Son, the eternal Word who enlightens all men, to dwell among men and to tell them about the inner life of God […].

He did this by the total fact of His presence and self-manifestation

– by words and works, signs and miracles,

but above all by His death and glorious resurrection from the dead,

and finally by sending the Spirit of truth.

He revealed that God was with us, to deliver us from the darkness of sin and death,

and to raise us up to eternal life."

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ACCLAMATION…

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Jesus, how great Thou art!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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To You I lift up my eyes,

to You who dwell in the heavens.

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– Psalm 123:1 (TJB)

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REFLECTION…

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I lift up my eyes…in supplication and prayer…

to my God.

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Isn’t it special

that we humans feel naturally prompted to look up when we address God!

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The heart must know that He is the most exalted of all beings,

dwelling above all

and so I is with our soul, that reaches up for its Maker.

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QUOTE…

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Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,

unuttered or expressed,

the motion of a hidden fire

that trembles in the breast.

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Prayer is the burden of a sigh,

the falling of a tear,

the upward glancing of an eye,

when none but God is near.

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Prayer is the simplest form of speech

that infant lips can try;

prayer the sublimest strains that reach

the Majesty on high.

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Prayer is the contrite sinners’ voice,

returning from their way,

while angels in their songs rejoice

and cry, "Behold, they pray!"

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– from the hymn “Prayer Is the Soul’s Sincere Desire”, by James Montgomery.

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PRAYER…

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To You I lift up my eyes, to You who dwell in the heavens,

to You who are always looking out for me!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Since you are God’s dear children, you must try to be like Him.

Your life must be controlled by love,

just as Christ loved us and gave His life for us as a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice that pleases God.

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– Ephesians 5:1-2 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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If we wish our actions to be very pleasing to God our Father,

we should learn from His Son made man.

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To learn from Jesus and follow in His footsteps,

we need to get to know Him well;

we need to meditate on His life;

we need to reflect on His words, example and action;

we need to allow our life to be controlled by Love.

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QUOTE…

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“It is not enough to have a general idea of Jesus;

we have to learn the details of His life and, through them, His attitudes.

And, especially, we must contemplate His life,

to derive from it strength, light, serenity, peace.

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When you love someone, you want to know all about his life and character, so as to become like him.

That is why we have to meditate on the life of Jesus,

from His birth in a stable right up to His death and resurrection."

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"Reflect on the example that Christ gave us,

from the crib in Bethlehem to His throne on Calvary.

Think of His self-denial and of all He went through

– hunger, thirst, weariness;

heat, tiredness, ill-treatment, misunderstandings, tears […].

But at the same time think of His joy at being able to save all mankind.”

– St. Josemaria Escriva

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PRAYER…

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Jesus, I need You,

You give me strength, light, serenity and peace.

You fill my heart with true joy.

Thank You, Jesus.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“We saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.”

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– Matthew 2:2 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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The wise men had travelled a long way from their homes in the East to Jerusalem

so as to pay homage to the child Jesus; to worship Him.

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Am I prepared to leave my comfort zone

and go humbly before Jesus

to acknowledge Him as my King and Saviour,

and to pay due homage to Him?

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If I truly believe that He is God,

I should then make it a point of doing so every day of my life,

shutting myself off for a few minutes from all else that takes up my day,

and simply focusing on the One without whom I am lost.

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Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life

– let us never stop worshipping Him.

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QUOTE…

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"Like the Magi we have discovered a star – a light and a guide in the sky of our soul.

‘We saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.’

We have had the same experience.

We too noticed a new light shining in our soul and growing increasingly brighter.

It was a desire to live a fully Christian life,

a keenness to take God seriously."

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– St. Josemaria Escriva

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PRAYER…

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Jesus, You are my Light.

You are my Way, my Truth and my Life…and I worship You.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Nathanael asked,

“Can anything good come from that place?”

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“Come and see” replied Philip.

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– John 1:46 (TJB)

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REFLECTION…

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Today’s verse is from a conversation between two men,

one of whom, Philip, had just met Christ

and was, very excitedly, telling his friend Nathanael about this Jesus,

who hailed from the village of Nazareth.

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Nathanael was, typically, sceptical

and he scoffed sarcastically at what was, supposedly, “good news”.

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Philip’s reaction to all this, sets a wonderful example for all of us:

he presented a significant yet simple invitation to Nathanael:

"Come and see".

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In spite of being totally unconvinced,

Nathanael takes up his friend’s invitation

and goes and discovers the truth for himself!

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Whenever we are with someone

who, for whatever reason, does not know or acknowledge Jesus,

should the subject come up, we must not only be content with words.

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The knowledge of Jesus needs, above all, a living experience,

and inviting others to come along with us

and experience for themselves what we ourselves have experienced,

can be what will set them off on a wonderful, intimate and profound relationship with Jesus.

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PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord Jesus, use me…to invite others to “come and see” You.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Here is the clear difference between God’s children and the Devil’s children:

those who do not do what is right or do not love others are not God’s children.

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– 1 John 3:10 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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"The Devil’s children":

this, in the common Semitic way of speaking, means "the devil’s supporters"

– basically, those who willfully do what they know is wrong and immoral;

those who encourage and promote immorality and what is dishonest and unlawful.

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"God’s children" refers here, primarily, to the moral dimension of Christian life.

It is a description of those whose actions show they are on God’s side

i.e. the opposite of "the Devil’s children ".

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The distinguishing criteria are, therefore:

the practice of righteousness, that is, striving for holiness and fighting against sin and wrongdoing,

as well as having a loving, kindly and merciful attitude towards people.

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Although it is very much our choice which side to be on,

it is through God’s grace

that we can distinguish, acknowledge, and choose the Truth.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Abba, Father, I want to be Your child!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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For God has revealed His grace for the salvation of all people.

That grace instructs us to give up ungodly living and worldly passions,

and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this world.

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– Titus 2:11-12 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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Divine grace is actively at work to redeem us;

it brings salvation; it sanctifies us, enabling us to live godly lives;

and it is the basis of our hope in the second coming of the Lord.

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Jesus is our model;

by means of grace He instructs the Christian on how to control his or her defects and grow in virtue.

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The instruction we receive is not only an external one:

God inwardly moves us to seek holiness.

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Grace also channels our hope,

for Christians are motivated, especially, by the fact that Jesus is in the glory of heaven even now

and that we are invited to share His inheritance.

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Let us, therefore, follow Christ

and make a firm resolution

to give up ungodly living and worldly passions,

and live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Come, Holy Spirit, my Counsellor, Consoler and Sanctifier,

help me live a self-controlled, upright, and godly life.

Come, Holy Spirit, come.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Turn away from evil and do good;

strive for peace with all your heart.

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– Psalm 34:14 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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God wants us to turn away from all evil, vice and crime of any form.

He wants us to do good to all, in all that we do.

We must strive to live in peace with one and all.

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We must strive for peace and pursue it,

make peace an object of desire,

make constant efforts to live in peace.

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As Christians, we are blessed,

because the Lord our God gives us His peace

– peace that transcends all understanding, and guards our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. (see Phil 4:6-7)

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PRAYER…

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Come Holy Spirit,

protect me from all evil

and fill me till overflowing, with Your peace

that it may spill on to all around me.

Amen.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Sing a new song to the Lord

for He has worked wonders.

His right hand and His Holy arm have brought salvation.

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– Psalm 98:1 (TJB)

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REFLECTION…

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What a wonderful resolution

– to sing a new song, every day, to the Lord.

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What a worthy resolution,

which I, as a believer, should strive to keep

– to make each day a song of praise and glory,

sung from my heart to the Lord, through my words, my thoughts and my deeds.

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Jesus – God’s right hand and His holy arm – was born to save us.

He triumphed over darkness and death

and He is my Lord and my Saviour!

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, my beautiful Saviour,

I want to make my life a song of praise to You.

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