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

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Protect me, O God; I trust in You for safety.

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;

all the good things I have come from You.”

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You, Lord, are all I have,

and You give me all I need;

my future is in Your hands.

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I praise the Lord, because He guides me,

and in the night my conscience warns me.

I am always aware of the Lord’s presence;

He is near, and nothing can shake me.

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You will show me the path that leads to life;

Your presence fills me with joy

and brings me pleasure forever.

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– Psalm 16:1-2,5,7-8,11 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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This is the prayer of one who submits gladly to the will of God.

– a model for us all.

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This prayer indicates a faithful adherence to the divine promise

and expresses a loving and joyful trust in God,

our only King and Lord.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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You are my Lord, and all the good things I have come from You.

You, Lord, are all I have, and You give me all I need; my future is in Your hands.

Protect me, O God.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.

Put on your new nature, created to be like God

– truly righteous and holy.

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– Ephesians 4:23-24 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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“Let the Spirit…”

We need to welcome the Holy Spirit into our hearts,

and let Him, allow Him, to work in us

so as to renew us.

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He will help us look closely at ourselves

and to humbly admit and purposefully fight against

our defects, our weaknesses, and our passions – even if it hurts –

and to build on our strengths, talents and abilities

so as to serve and honour God,

and spread His love.

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This is not simply a cosmetic change

but, rather, a deep inner renewal,

whereby we become a new creature in Jesus Christ.

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The Spirit enables us to practice righteousness and holiness

in a manner that exceeds our natural human capacity.

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The Spirit gives us life

…and makes us whole.

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QUOTE…

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"The power of God is made manifest in our weakness

and it spurs us on to fight, to battle against our defects,

although we know

that we will never achieve total victory during our pilgrimage on earth.

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The Christian life is a continuous beginning again each day.

It renews itself over and over."

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– St. Josemaria Escriva

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Consoler Spirit, Spirit of Truth,

You who are All Good come dwell in me, cleanse and save me.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus prayed to the Father,

“Now they know that everything You gave me comes from You.

I gave them the message that You gave me, and they received it; they know that it is true that I came from You,

and they believe that You sent me.

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I pray for them.”

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– John 17:7-9 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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As a Christian, I am also a disciple of Jesus,

and I gradually acquire knowledge of God and of divine things

through living a life of faith

and maintaining a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

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“I pray for them.”

When Jesus prays for His disciples, He is also praying for us.

He prays to the Father for our unity,

perseverance,

joy and holiness

– until we join Him in His Kingdom.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, pray for me.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Sing praises to God and to His name!

Sing loud praises to Him who rides the clouds.

His name is the Lord—

rejoice in His presence!

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– Psalm 68:4 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Praising God

is an expression of joyful thanks

from men and women, who having come to know the Lord,

are transformed by His grace,

and are eternally grateful to Him

for having revealed Himself to them.

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We have been saved,

we have been redeemed,

we have been shown the Way,

we have been told the Truth,

we have been given new Life

– that should be more than enough reason

for us to praise God every day of our lives

…and for evermore!

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QUOTES…

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“The most deadly poison of our times is indifference.

And this happens, even though the praise of God should know no limits.

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Let us strive, therefore,

to praise Him to the greatest extent of our powers.

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– St. Maximilian Kolbe

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“If Christ lives in us, we will rejoice in everything,

and we will thank and praise the Lord.

We will say, "Hallelujah! Praise the Lord" forever.

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– Watchman Nee

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“Happy moments, praise God.

Difficult moments, seek God.

Quiet moments, worship God.

Painful moments, trust God.

Every moment, thank God.”

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– anon

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord, You have saved me, redeemed me, shown me the way, told me the truth and given me new life.

Lord, grant that I may always thank and praise You by loving You and doing only Your will.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“Look, I am coming soon,

bringing my reward with me

to repay all people according to their deeds.

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I am the Alpha and the Omega,

the First and the Last,

the Beginning and the End.

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Blessed are those who wash their robes.

They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city

and eat the fruit from the tree of life.”

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– Revelation 22:12-14 (NLT)

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QUOTE…

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“May His Majesty be pleased to grant us to experience this

before He takes us from this life,

for it will be a great thing at the hour of death

to realise that we shall be judged

by One whom we have loved above all things.

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Once our debts have been paid

we shall be able to walk in safety.

We shall not be going into a foreign land,

but into our own country ,

for it belongs to Him whom we have loved so truly

and who Himself loves us.”

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– St. Teresa of Avila

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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My Lord and my God, wash my heart clean from all that soils it,

that I may be permitted to enter Your Kingdom.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Christ died for all,

so that those who live should no longer live for themselves,

but only for Him who died and was raised to life for their sake.

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– 2 Corinthians 5:15 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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“It is easy to see, Christians,

what Christ desired by dying for us.

What did He desire but that we should become like Him?

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‘That those who live should no longer live for themselves,

but only for Him who died and was raised to life for their sake.’

How powerful a consequence is this in the matter of love!

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Jesus Christ died for us;

by His death He has given us life;

we only live because He died;

He died for us, by us, and in us;

our life then is no longer ours,

but belongs to Him who has purchased it for us by His death.

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We are therefore no more to live to ourselves but to Him;

not in ourselves but in Him;

nor for ourselves but for Him.”

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QUOTE…

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"We do not live for ourselves only,

and we do not die for ourselves only.

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If we live, it is for the Lord that we live,

and if we die, it is for the Lord that we die. […]

For Christ died and rose to life

in order to be the Lord of the living and of the dead.”

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– Romans 14:7-9

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, I so want to live only for You.

Send Your Spirit, Lord, to change me and guide me.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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I ask that your minds may be opened to see His light,

so that you will know what is the hope to which He has called you,

how rich are the wonderful blessings He promises His people,

and how very great is His power at work in us who believe.

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– Ephesians 1:18-19 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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The author of these verses, St Paul, prays to God

and asks that we not only be given a deeper knowledge of God,

but that we are granted a fuller and livelier hope,

because God and hope are inseparable.

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Hope is a gift from God,

and this prayer asks for hope to shine more brightly for us who embrace our Christian faith

which we reflect by striving to love others in the manner that Jesus taught us.

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St. Paul prays that God enlightens our minds

that we may realise what it truly means to be members of the holy people of God

– to be good and worthy Christians.

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The ground for hope lies in God’s love and power.

That same power is what is instilled in us through our faith

as we contemplate upon God’s eternal plan for our salvation.

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QUOTES…

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“Hope is a supernatural virtue,

infused by God into our soul,

by which we desire and expect eternal life,

promised by God to His servants,

and the means necessary to obtain it" .

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– St Pius X Catechism

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“Believing means

surrendering ourselves to God

and entrusting our destiny to Him.

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Believing means

entering into a personal relationship with our Creator and Redeemer

in the power of the Holy Spirit,

and making this relationship the basis of our whole life.”

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– Pope Benedict XVI

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“In heaven […] our minds will find the Truth in Him

and the Beauty that we will never cease to contemplate;

and our hearts will find the Good that we will never tire to enjoy.”

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– Fr Raniero Cantalamessa.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Come, Holy Spirit, and open the eyes of my heart.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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I ask the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,

to give you the Spirit,

who will make you wise

and reveal God to you,

so that you will know Him.

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– Ephesians 1:17 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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This verse is a prayer,

an appeal to God to grant us supernatural wisdom

to recognise the greatness of the blessings He has given us through His Son

– that is, to acknowledge that He is our Father, and the origin of all glory.

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This verse is a prayer,

seeking the special gifts of wisdom and personal revelation.

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Wisdom is that great gift of the Holy Spirit

which enables us to penetrate the mystery of God.

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Personal revelation is that special light from the Holy Spirit

which provides us with a deeper appreciation of the truth of faith,

and of the will of God in particular situations..

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Father God, fill me with Your Spirit of wisdom and truth,

that I may know and love and honour You forever.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“When the Spirit of Truth comes,

He will guide you into all truth.”

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– John 16:13 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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It is the Holy Spirit

who makes us fully understand the truth revealed by Christ.

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When we gladly receive the Holy Spirit;

when we invite Him into our hearts

and let Him take over,

He will then lovingly guide us unto all truth.

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He will gently enlighten us,

and enable us discover the depth and richness

of everything we have read and heard about Jesus.

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It is through the Holy Spirit

that we receive counsel,

find consolation,

and are guided towards personal holiness

which will make us one with Christ.

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QUOTE…

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Besides the proper name of “Holy Spirit,”

which is most frequently used in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Epistles,

we also find in St. Paul the titles:

the Spirit of the promise,

the Spirit of adoption,

the Spirit of Christ,

the Spirit of the Lord,

and the Spirit of God

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and, in St. Peter:

the Spirit of glory.

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– Catechism of the Catholic Church – CCC 693

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Come Holy Spirit, I need Your consolation, Your counsel, Your healing.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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I thank you, Lord, with all my heart:

You have heard the words of my mouth.

In the presence of the angels I will bless You.

I will adore before Your holy temple.

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I thank You for Your faithfulness and love,

which excel all we ever knew of You.

On the day I called, You answered;

You increased the strength of my soul.

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You stretch out Your hand and save me,

Your hand will do all things for me.

Your love, O Lord, is eternal,

discard not the work of Your hands.

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– Psalm 137(138):1-3;7-8 (Grail)

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REFLECTION…

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The Lord our God is faithful!

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We are needy

and we go to Him with all our requests,

for we know that He is loving and kind.

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He made us,

and we know He will not forsake us.

We know that He will, time and time again,

stretch out His Holy Hand

to save us from our troubles

and from ourselves.

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His faithfulness and love, are perfect and incomparable.

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He hears us before we even call Him.

In Him we find great consolation and healing,

for He lifts us up,

and He increases the strength of our soul.

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QUOTE…

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“In [God’s] hand is the life of every living thing

and the breath of every human being.”

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– Job 12:10

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Have mercy on me, Lord.

Stretch out Your hand and save me, O God.

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