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

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags.

Your gold and silver are corroded.

The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire.

This corroded treasure you have hoarded

will testify against you on the day of judgment.

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– James 5:2-3 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Greed, is an inordinate desire for material things; for money; for riches.

Greed is one of the seven deadly sins.

Avaricious persons offend against justice and charity.

So keen are they on their self-aggrandisement,

so great is their lust for power,

that they become insensitive to the needs of whoever is around them;

whoever they are meant to love, respect and even serve.

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One will note that all of Jesus’ preaching is a call to justice – in its fullness, and without diminution –

and it is the Apostle St James who addresses this issue

by reproaching those who grow rich through fraud and injustice:

The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire.

This corroded treasure you have hoarded

will testify against you on the day of judgment.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Father, deliver us from every evil – from all injustice and greed. Amen.

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… … … … … … … … … … … …… …

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Note: The main source of today’s REFLECTION is the seven-volume work

“In Conversation with God” by Padre Francisco Fernández Carvajal.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“You have the words of eternal life.”

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– John 6:68 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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“This is really the prophet.” (Jn 7:40)

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“Never has anyone spoken like this!” (Jn 7:46)

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Our Lord speaks very simply about the most profound things,

and He does so in an attractive and thought-provoking manner.

His words were understood as much by the doctor of the Law

as by the fishermen of Galilee.

That explains why the crowds sought Jesus out to listen to Him.

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Jesus’ way of speaking is pleasant and well suited to His hearers.

He often repeated the same doctrine,

but He sought to adapt comparisons to the people who happened to be listening to Him.

Through images and parables

He has taught us in the best possible way about the sovereignty of God the Creator,

and at the same time has shown us that He is a Father who cares lovingly for each one of His children.

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Nobody has proclaimed, as Jesus did, the fundamental truth of man

– our freedom and our supernatural dignity,

both of which come to us through the grace of his Divine filiation.

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Christ has the words of eternal life,

and He has given us all the task of passing His teaching on to all generations,

right to the end of time.

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Today too, people thirst for the words of Jesus,

the only words that can bring peace to the soul;

the only words that teach the way to heaven,

and all of us Christians have a share in this mission to make Christ known.

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Every Christian must give testimony to the good doctrine of the gospel message,

not only by example (which is essential),

but with words.

Jesus wants our words to echo His teachings in order to move hearts,

and He wants us to make use of every opportunity that presents itself.

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Do I truly seek to live

and do I also gladly share

Christ’s words of eternal life?

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord, You have the words of eternal life.

Teach me, lead me, use me.

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… … … … … … … … … … … …… …

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Note: The main source of today’s REFLECTION is the seven-volume work

“In Conversation with God” by Padre Francisco Fernández Carvajal.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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All I want is to know Christ

and to experience the power of His resurrection,

to share in His sufferings

and become like Him in His death,

in the hope that I myself will be raised from death to life.

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– Philippians 3:10-11 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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Illness, when it is borne for the love of God,

is a means of sanctification, of apostolate;

it is an excellent way of sharing in Christ’s redeeming Cross.

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Physical suffering, which so frequently accompanies man’s life on earth,

can be a means that God uses to purify our faults and imperfections,

to exercise and strengthen our virtues.

It can be a unique opportunity to unite ourselves to the sufferings of Christ,

who, although He was innocent, bore within Himself the punishment merited by our sins.

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If sickness comes, we must learn to be good patients.

We must accept the illness.

We have to ask God for help to bear our illness gracefully, whatever it is,

trying not to complain,

obeying the doctor.

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Particularly in times of illness

we have to be close to Christ,

from whom we will receive bountiful purifying grace.

The more painful the illness, the more love we need,

and nothing compares to God’s great love and compassion.

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With Christ, sickness and illness attain their full meaning.

Grant, Lord,

that we Your faithful may become partakers in Your Passion

through our sufferings in this life,

so that the fruits of Your Salvation

may be made manifest in us. Amen

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QUOTE…

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“We need to suffer patiently not only the burden of being ill,

but of being ill with the particular illness that God wants for us,

among the people that He wants us to be with,

and with the discomforts that He permits us to experience.

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I say the same of all other tribulations.”

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– St. Francis de Sales

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise renews my life

and it fills me with great peace.

Thank You, Lord, for Your steadfast love.

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… … … … … … … … … … … …… …

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Note: The main source of today’s REFLECTION is the seven-volume work

“In Conversation with God” by Padre Francisco Fernández Carvajal.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son,

so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish

but may have eternal life.

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– John 3:16 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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Christ’s total surrender on our behalf,

which reaches its culmination on Calvary,

is an urgent call to us to correspond to His love for each one of us.

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On the Cross,

Jesus consummated His total self-surrender to His Father’s will,

and showed His love for all men – for each and every person.

Christ…loved me and gave Himself for me. (Gal 2:20)

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God so loved the world

that He willed that His beloved Son, Our Lord, would be Priest and Victim on Calvary

and shed His blood to redeem us.

Jesus accepted this lovingly

and with perfect submission.

This internal offering of Himself is the essence of His Sacrifice.

It is His loving submission,

without limits,

to His Father’s will.

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Faced with this unfathomable mystery of Love,

I should ask myself, what do I do for Him?

How do I conform to and respond to His love?

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Holy Mother, sweet Virgin Mary,

teach me how to say “yes” like you did,

and to accept that not my will but God’s be done.

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… … … … … … … … … … … …… …

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Note: The main source of today’s REFLECTION is the seven-volume work

“In Conversation with God” by Padre Francisco Fernández Carvajal.

The PRAYER rewords one by St. Josemaria Escriva.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

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– John 8:12 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world,

but in order that the world might be saved through Him. (Jn 3:17)

He came into the world

so that mankind might have light and stop thrashing bout in the dark.

Having received the light,

the world can then be turned into a place where everything will be able to give glory to God,

and mankind achieve what should be its ultimate goal.

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The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. (Jn 1:5)

These words are relevant for a good part of today’s world

which is in deep gloom,

for without Christ men will never achieve peace,

or happiness,

or salvation.

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Outside of Christ only darkness and sin exist.

Those who reject the Light

do so because they do not want their dark secrets and intentions to be uncovered.

Those who reject Christ remain without light

and in the innermost depth of their being they are disorientated…and lost.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, You are my Light!

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… … … … … … … … … … … …… …

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Note: The main source of today’s REFLECTION is the seven-volume work

“In Conversation with God” by Padre Francisco Fernández Carvajal.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool,

which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.

Here a great number of disabled people used to lie – the blind, the lame, the paralysed.

One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.

When Jesus saw him lying there

and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, He asked him,

“Do you want to get well?”

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– John 5:2-6 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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Thirty-eight years an invalid,

and always hoping for a miraculous cure from the waters of the pool at Bethsaida!

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When Jesus saw him lying there

and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, He asked him,

“Do you want to get well?”

That is how Jesus is with us:

He passes by and asks us if we want to get well,

and He never gives up on us,

even if we have been spiritually blind, lame or even paralysed for a very long time.

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The Lord’s goodness is always in excess of our expectations,

but it requires an appropriate response on our part,

with a sincere desire to get out of the situation we are in.

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There can be no pact with defects or errors,

and we must make the effort to overcome them.

We should never ‘get used to’ the shortcomings and weaknesses

which separate us from God and from others,

with the excuse that they are part of our character,

or that we have already tried several times over to tackle them without success.

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It is the heart which moves us to improve in our interior dispositions

through that conversion of the heart to God

and towards works of penance.

It is thus that our souls receive the graces God so wishes to grant us.

It is thus that our souls are healed.

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Jesus asks us to persevere in the struggle,

and to begin again as often as necessary,

because it is also in struggle that love grows,

even if we carry on battling against ourselves for thirty-eight years and more.

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The award for such perseverance in our spiritual endeavour

is, above all, our meeting with Jesus.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, You are my Healer.

Help me, O Lord, my Saviour, in my constant struggle with what draws me away from You. Please help me get well.

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… … … … … … … … … … … …… …

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Note: The main source of today’s REFLECTION is the seven-volume work

“In Conversation with God” by Padre Francisco Fernández Carvajal.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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After all the people had been baptised, Jesus also was baptised.

While He was praying, heaven was opened…

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– Luke 3:21 (GNT)

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At that time Jesus went up a hill to pray

and spent the whole night there praying to God.

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– Luke 6:12 (GNT)

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…Jesus took Peter, John, and James with Him and went up a hill to pray.

While He was praying, His face changed its appearance,

and His clothes became dazzling white.

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– Luke 9:28-29 (GNT)

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One day Jesus was praying in a certain place.

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

“Lord, teach us to pray…”

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– Luke 11:1 (GNT)

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Jesus left the city and went, as He usually did, to the Mount of Olives;

and the disciples went with Him.

When He arrived at the place, He said to them,

“Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”

Then He went off from them about the distance of a stone’s throw

and knelt down and prayed.

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– Luke 22:39-41 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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So many places in the Gospel

narrate that Jesus withdrew and went off somewhere to pray,

and this included those most important and crucial moments of His life and public ministry.

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Praying was a normal thing for Jesus to do,

and St. Josemaria Escriva tells us:

At times He spent the whole night in an intimate conversation with His Father.

The Apostles were filled with love when they saw Christ pray.

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With the example of His own life,

the Lord teaches us what our fundamental approach has to be:

a continuous filial dialogue with God.

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Prayer is indispensable for us,

for if we neglect our dealings with God,

little by little our spiritual life begins to languish.

on the other hand, prayer unites us to God

and He tells us:

you can do nothing without me. (Jn 15:5)

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We need to pray with perseverance, never wavering or hesitant.

We have to speak with Him a great deal,

insistently,

and in all the circumstances of our lives.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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My Lord.

My God.

I thank You and praise You for all Your wonderful blessings.

I place all my trust in You.

Forgive me,

teach me,

guide me.

Amen.

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… … … … … … … … … … … …… …

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Note: The main source of today’s REFLECTION is the seven-volume work

“In Conversation with God” by Padre Francisco Fernández Carvajal.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will constantly speak His praises.
I will boast only in the Lord;
let all who are helpless take heart.
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Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness;
let us exalt His name together.

I prayed to the Lord, and He answered me.
He freed me from all my fears.
Those who look to Him for help will be radiant with joy;
no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
He saved me from all my troubles.
For the angel of the Lord is a guard;
He surrounds and defends all who fear Him.

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Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him!

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– Psalm 34:1-8 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Today, pray this Psalm from deep inside your heart,

for the Lord is good and worthy to be praised and thanked.

He loves us,

He listens to us,

He consoles us,

He frees us,

He saves us,

He fills us with great joy.

Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him!

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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I praise and thank You, Lord, and I rejoice,

for You are my Rock, my Shelter, my Salvation!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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‘I thank you, God, that I am not greedy, dishonest, or an adulterer,

like everybody else…’

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– Luke 18:11 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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This is the “prayer” of a self-righteous person.

This is the “prayer” of one who has no humility and no love;

of one who is the centre of his or her own thoughts and self-appraisal.

‘I thank you, God, that I am not greedy, dishonest, or an adulterer,

like everybody else…’

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In a parable addressed by Jesus

to those who are confident of their own righteousness,

we see a man who looks down on everyone else

and who, instead of praising God,

praises himself.

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This man attributes merit to himself

and he has contempt for others.

Both humility and charity are lacking,

pushed well aside by a great deal of self-satisfaction

He compares himself with others

and considers himself to be altogether superior.

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Pride does this to us.

It is the greatest obstacle man can put in the way of divine grace.

It is the most dangerous capital vice,

because it penetrates by subtle manipulation even into good works,

detracting from their value

and depriving them from their supernatural merit.

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Pride is deeply rooted in man – in his disordered self-love –

and there is nothing more difficult

than to uproot it

or even to recognise it for what it is.

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How sad it would be

if you and I were to live or end up like this.

Let us make a serious examination of conscience…

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Have mercy on me, O God.

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… … … … … … … … … … … …… …

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Note: The main source of today’s REFLECTION is the seven-volume work

“In Conversation with God” by Padre Francisco Fernández Carvajal.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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So do not fear, for I am with you;

do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

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For I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.

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– Isaiah 41:10,13 (NIV)

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QUOTE…

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“Our Lord keeps close watch over the footsteps and progress of His children;

that is, those who have love in their souls walk in His sight,

and He stretches out His hand to steady them in times of difficulty.

… ‘I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand

and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.’

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As well as taking heart from this conviction,

we should also have a deep trust in God and in His help:

if we do not spurn the grace He gives us,

He will complete the good work of salvation that He has begun.”

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– St. Francis de Dales

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Thank You, Father, for Your very special love for me.

Lord, I trust in You.