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

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TODAY’S WORD…

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One day Jesus was praying in a certain place.

When He finished, one of His disciples said to Him,

“Lord, teach us to pray…”

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– Luke 11:1 (NIV)

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THE LORD’S PRAYER…

…please say it slowly, respectfully, and meaningfully…one phrase at a time. Remember who you are addressing.

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Our Father,

who art in heaven,

hallowed be Thy Name;

Thy kingdom come;

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses

as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Amen.

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QUOTES…

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“What prayer could be more true before God the Father

than that which his Son, Who is Truth, uttered with His Own lips?”

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– St. John Chrysostom

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“Sometimes

when I am in such a state of spiritual dryness that not a single good thought occurs to me,

I say very slowly the ‘Our Father,’ or the ‘Hail Mary,’

and these prayers suffice to take me out of myself,

and wonderfully refresh me.”

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– St. Therese of Lisieux

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Holy Spirit, give me the wisdom to see my faults and the meekness to admit them,

so that my prayer may reach and be acceptable to the Father.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus told Martha,

“Martha, Martha!

You are worried and troubled over so many things,

but just one is needed.”

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– Luke 10:41-42a (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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The most important thing in our life

is a close relationship with our Lord.

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Every Christian should strive to attain an integrated life

– an intense life of both prayer and action,

always orientated towards God,

and practised with upright intentions out of love for Him.

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QUOTE…

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“Inspire our actions, Lord, and accompany them by Your help,

so that our every word and act may always have its beginning in You

and in You be brought to completion.”

– translation from the Latin* of a beautiful invocation from the Christian tradition.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord Jesus, if I don’t have You, I have nothing,

and all that I may gain is lost…without You.

Lord, I entrust my all to You.

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* “Actiones nostras, quæsumus, Domine, aspirando præveni et adiuvando prosequere,

ut cuncta nostra oratio et operatio a te semper incipiat, et per te coepta finiatur”

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“I give you a new commandment,

that you love one another.

Just as I have loved you,

you also should love one another.”

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– John 13:34 (NRSV)

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QUOTE…

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“The Master’s message and example are clear and precise.

He confirmed His teaching with deeds.

Yet…after twenty centuries, it is indeed still a New Commandment,

for very few people have taken the trouble to practice it.

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The others, the majority…,

both in the past and still today, have chosen to ignore it.

Their selfishness has led them to the conclusion:

‘Why should I complicate my life? I have more than enough to do.

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Such an attitude is not good enough for us Christians.”

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– St. Josemaria Escriva

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord Jesus, help me to love the way that You love.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“Increase our faith!”

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– Luke 17:5 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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We need perseverance and humility.

The way for us to follow, to be with Jesus and like Jesus,

must be taken with a determined faith and dedicated humility.

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As we follow Jesus we feel inadequate

and consequently we ask Jesus to ”increase our faith.”

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Faith is to settle permanently in God,

and it is really not a matter of quantity but of quality;

of authenticity rather than of effort.

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Each one of us in our everyday life, can bear witness to Christ through God’s grace.

We do this with the power of faith

– that authentic, humble yet strong faith that we get from God in prayer.

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“Prayer is the breath of faith.” – Pope Francis

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord, increase my faith!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“Increase our faith!”

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– Luke 17:5 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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We need perseverance and humility.

The way for us to follow, to be with Jesus and like Jesus,

must be taken with a determined faith and dedicated humility.

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As we follow Jesus we feel inadequate

and consequently we ask Jesus to ”increase our faith.”

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Faith is to settle permanently in God,

and it is really not a matter of quantity but of quality;

of authenticity rather than of effort.

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Each one of us in our everyday life, can bear witness to Christ through God’s grace.

We do this with the power of faith

– that authentic, humble yet strong faith that we get from God in prayer.

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“Prayer is the breath of faith.” – Pope Francis

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord, increase my faith!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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You have done many good things for me, Lord,
just as You promised.
I believe in Your commands;
now teach me good judgment and knowledge.
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I used to wander off until You disciplined me;
but now I closely follow Your word.
You are good and do only good;
teach me Your decrees.

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Surround me with Your tender mercies so I may live,
for your instructions are my delight.

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– Psalm 119:65-68,77 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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During those moments of spiritual crisis and of going astray,

the Lord does not give up on us

and He constantly calls out to us,

seeking our attention by any means

as He tries to make us see the saving truth.

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It is only if we stop to listen to His warnings;

it is only if we humbly accept His discipline as a sign of His loving concern for us;

it is only when we allow Him to change us and to lead us back on to the right path,

that we truly appreciate the priceless value of His Law

and gladly and thankfully realise that He alone gives us life.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord, I believe in Your commandments – they are my delight and they give me life.

Through observing them I am drawn closer to You.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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I will praise You,

for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Marvelous are Your works,

and that my soul knows very well.

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– Psalm 139:14 (NKJV)

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REFLECTION…

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YES, we are fearfully and wonderfully made

– all of us

– every part of us!

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The wholebody, the whole person, it is fearfully and wonderfully and lovingly made

– it is the temple of the Holy Spirit, of God Almighty,

and my soul knows that very well!

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That is why I should make sure

that my body remains spiritually pleasing to God, my Creator.

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QUOTE…

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“Brothers and sisters,

because of God’s compassion toward us,

I encourage you to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,

dedicated to God and pleasing to him.

This kind of worship is appropriate for you.

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Don’t become like the people of this world.

Instead, change the way you think.

Then you will always be able to determine what God really wants

– what is good, pleasing, and perfect.”

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– St. Paul (Romans 12:1-2)

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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That You made me and that You love me, my soul knows very well,

and that is why, Lord, I seek to love You with all my mind, heart, soul and strength.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud,

be gracious to me and answer me!

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“Come,” my heart says, “seek His face!”

Your face, Lord, do I seek.

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– Psalm 27:7-9 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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…taken from a meditation on Psalm 27 by John Paul II.

“…to “seek the face of the Lord” […]

the expression also includes the mystical need of divine intimacy through prayer.

In the liturgy, then, and in personal prayer we are given the grace to look upon that face

which we could otherwise never see directly during our earthly life.

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But Christ has revealed the divine face to us in an accessible way

and has promised that in the final encounter of eternity,

as St John reminds us, “We shall see Him as He is” (1 Jn 3: 2).

And St Paul adds: “Then we shall see face to face” (I Cor 13: 12).”

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QUOTE…

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“If a man seeks the face of the Lord,

he will see the glory of the Lord unveiled

and, having been made similar to the angels,

he will continually behold the face of the Father who is in heaven”

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– Origen

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“I have not asked from You

some sort of prize outside of You,

but your face.

“Your face, O Lord, I seek’.

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I shall persevere in this quest;

indeed, I do not seek something of little worth,

but Your face, O Lord,

to love You freely,

since I find nothing else of greater worth…”

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– St. Augustine

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Your face, Lord, do I seek.

I do not seek something of little worth, but Your face, O Lord,

to love You freely.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Yes, everything else is worthless

when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

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For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage,

so that I could gain Christ and become one with Him.

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– Philippians 3:8-9a (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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When you truly find Jesus,

everything else pales in comparison.

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Once you welcome Jesus into your heart and let Him take over,

all else in which you may have previously gloried suddenly appears worthless.

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Once you experience the riches of Christ the Lord,

nothing, nothing, compares to Him.

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It is when you truly have found Jesus,

that you can declare, with sincerity and conviction,

that for His sake you are prepared to discard all else.

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PRAYER…

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Jesus,

You are the deepest desire of my heart.

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The power and possessions I once persistently pursued are worthless.

All accolades and accomplishments are insignificant.

The pleasures and treasures of the world

can’t come close to knowing You, Jesus.

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Lord, please show me all the clutter in my life that needs to be discarded

to make room…for more of You.

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You are my Treasure, Lord.

There is no greater thing than knowing You, Jesus;

than having You in my heart.

You mean the world to me.

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I love You, Lord.

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[ Source: adapted from a prayer by Beth Rudy]