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

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Do not harden your hearts…

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– Psalm 95:8 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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“Our Prayer, during Lent, aims at awakening consciences,

at making them sensitive to God’s voice.

‘Do not harden your hearts,’ the Psalmist says.

In fact, the numbing of consciences,

the indifference to good and evil,

the deviations,

are a great threat for society,

because in the last analysis

the level of morality of society depends on the human conscience.” (St. Pope John Paul II)

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Conscience throws light on all of one’s life.

It can be deformed and hardened.

Conscience is the light of the soul,

of what is deepest in man’s being;

and if this light is put out, man is thrown into darkness

and can commit the most dastardly abuses against himself and against others.

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“Your eye is the lamp of your body”, says the Lord. (Lk 11:34)

Conscience is the lamp of the soul,

and if it is well formed it lights up the way,

a way which leads to God,

and man can make progress because of it.

.

Although man may weaken and fall,

he can raise himself and continue onward.

But one who has allowed this interior sensitivity ‘to drowse’ or ‘to die’ to the things of God,

is now without signposts…and is lost.

It is one of the great misfortunes in this life which can befall a soul:

What sorrow for those who say
that evil is good and good is evil,
that dark is light and light is dark,
that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter!

proclaims the prophet Isaiah (Is 5:20)

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Jesus compares the function of conscience in our life to that of an eye.

“When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light.

But when they are unhealthy your body also is full of darkness.

See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.”(Lk 11:34-35)

When the eye is healthy,

things are seen as they are, undistorted.

But a sick eye either does not see

or it distorts reality;

it deceives the person

who can come to think that things are in fact as he or she views them.

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When one makes mistakes in ordinary life, having falsely interpreted some facts,

It can lead to problems and difficulties which are, at times, of little importance.

But when the error refers to matters regarding eternal life,

its consequences have no limit.

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QUOTE…

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“The man whose heart is hardened and whose conscience is degenerate,

even if he is in full possession of his strength and physical capabilities,

is sick spiritually,

and everything must be done to restore him to health of soul.”

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– St. Pope John Paul II

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Open the eyes of my heart, Lord, and help me see Your truth.

Soften my heart, Lord, that I may do only Your will.

… … … … … … … … … … … …… …

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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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‘Come,’ my heart says, ‘seek His face!’
Your face, Lord, do I seek.
Do not hide Your face from me.

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– Psalm 27:8-9 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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What is good,

what really matters,

is to always be with Jesus, wherever we are,

and to be able to see Him behind all the circumstances we may find ourselves in.

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Being with Him

and living in His presence

is all that matters.

It is the only really good and important thing in this life

…and in the next.

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If we remain with Jesus in our heart,

we will see His face everywhere and in others,

and we will have joy in whatever place or situation we find ourselves in.

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Seek His face, always.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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I want to see You, Lord,

and I will seek Your face, always, everywhere and in everyone.

… … … … … … … … … … … …… …

.

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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Jesus said,

“You must be perfect

– just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

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– Matthew 5:48 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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We are all called to holiness,

all of us, without distinction of social standing, age, background, etc,

in each one’s walk of life.

.

“You must be perfect

– just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

Christ expects a serious determination on our part

to struggle for holiness.

.

There are no followers of Christ who are not personally called to sanctity,

and if we are to reach this goal,

we will need to make an effort

that will last for the whole of our life on this earth.

.

God calls all of us who are Christians

to find Him where we are,

as we carry out their occupations in the midst of our world.

He calls us

to carry out that very task with human perfection,

and at the same time with a supernatural outlook.

We are called to offer it to God;

to live charity with the people around us;

to do penance and sacrifice;

to live in the presence of God.

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Do I thank the Lord often enough

for calling me to follow Him closely so as to be like Him and love like Him?

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Do I respond to the many graces I have received

by continuously and rigorously struggling to acquire the virtues of faith, hope and charity?

.

Am I on my guard against excessive comfort seeking,

which kills off any desire for sanctity

and leaves the soul submerged in spiritual mediocrity?

.

“You must be perfect

– just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

It is not enough to be merely good

– we have to make a determined effort to be saints.

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QUOTE…

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“All the faithful,

whatever their condition or state – though each in his own way –

are called by the Lord to that perfection of sanctity

by which the Father Himself is perfect.”

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– Second Vatican Council, Lumen gentium, 11

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy.
Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy.
Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I may love only what is holy.
Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy.
Protect me, O Holy Spirit, that I may always be holy.
Amen.

… … … … … … … … … … … …… …

.

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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The Sovereign Lord says:

“It is the one who sins who will die.

A son is not to suffer because of his father’s sins,

nor a father because of the sins of his son.

Good people will be rewarded for doing good,

and evil people will suffer for the evil they do.

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If someone evil stops sinning and keeps my laws,

if he does what is right and good,

he will not die; he will certainly live.

All his sins will be forgiven,

and he will live, because he did what is right.

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– Ezekiel 18:20-22 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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We can lose the effectiveness of true penance,

which is the turning of the heart towards God,

if we fall into the temptation (rife both in ages gone by and also in our day)

of failing to admit that sin is something personal.

.

We must individually bear the consequences of our sin.

Consequently, each of us also carries the responsibility

of personal penance

and of personal salvation.

.

God wants us to turn away from sin…and to live…

but we have to cooperate with God by our repentance and works of penance.

.

That is why it is a grace from God

when we keep on repenting our past sins

and when we make no attempt to cover up our present wrongdoings,

and our weaknesses and errant disposition.

Even if they happen to be no more than imperfections, failures to love…

we need to be able to say

“I recognise my faults;

I am always conscious of my sins.” (Ps 51:3)

.

Even though we would have confessed our sins

and the Lord would have said to us: “Go, but do not sin again.” (Jn 8:11)

we need to remain conscious of the fact

that sins leave their mark on the soul,

.

Personal penance helps us work at removing those obstinate marks; at those tendencies.

Personal penance helps us purify our soul through making amends for our shortcomings,

and, ultimately to live…by doing what is right in God’s eyes.

.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, forgive me.

Help me do what is right, for I want to truly live.

… … … … … … … … … … … …… …

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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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Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God.

Whoever loves is a child of God and knows God.

Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.

And God showed His love for us by sending His only Son into the world, so that we might have life through Him.

This is what love is:

it is not that we have loved God,

but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven.

.

Dear friends, if this is how God loved us, then we should love one another.

No one has ever seen God,

but if we love one another, God lives in union with us,

and His love is made perfect in us.

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We love because God first loved us.

If we say we love God, but hate others, we are liars.

For we cannot love God, whom we have not seen,

if we do not love others, whom we have seen.

The command that Christ has given us is this: whoever loves God must love others also.

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– 1 John 4:7-12,19-21 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…from Pope Benedict XVI’s Encyclical Letter “Deus Caritas Est” – God is Love.

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Love of neighbour

is shown to be possible in the way proclaimed by the Bible, by Jesus.

It consists in the very fact that,

in God and with God, I love even the person whom I do not like or even know.

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This can only take place on the basis of an intimate encounter with God,

an encounter which has become a communion of will, even affecting my feelings.

Then I learn to look on this other person not simply with my eyes and my feelings,

but from the perspective of Jesus Christ.

His friend is my friend.

.

Going beyond exterior appearances,

I perceive in others an interior desire for a sign of love, of concern….

Seeing with the eyes of Christ,

I can give to others much more than their outward necessities;

I can give them the look of love which they crave.

.

Here we see the necessary interplay between love of God and love of neighbour

which the First Letter of John speaks of with such insistence.

If I have no contact whatsoever with God in my life,

then I cannot see in the other anything more than the other,

and I am incapable of seeing in him the image of God. […]

.

Only my readiness to encounter my neighbour and to show him love makes me sensitive to God as well.

Only if I serve my neighbour

can my eyes be opened to what God does for me and how much He loves me.

The saints – consider the example of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta –

constantly renewed their capacity for love of neighbour from their encounter with the Eucharistic Lord,

and conversely this encounter acquired its realism and depth in their service to others.

.

Love of God and love of neighbour are thus inseparable,

they form a single commandment.

But both live from the love of God who has loved us first.

.

No longer is it a question, then, of a “commandment” imposed from without and calling for the impossible,

but rather of a freely-bestowed experience of love from within,

a love which by its very nature must then be shared with others.

.

Love grows through love.

Love is “divine” because it comes from God and unites us to God;

through this unifying process it makes us a “we” which transcends our divisions and makes us one,

until in the end God is “all in all” (1 Cor 15:28).

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QUOTE…

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“Every enemy is a brother in the eyes of Christ. …

So we learn to look at the other, at our neighbour

not any more just with our eyes and with our good intentions,

but we look from the Cross, from the point of view of Jesus Christ.”

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“The eyes of God, who loves all

giving to all what they need without distinction of any kind,

are Jesus’ eyes laid on this humanity through our own eyes.”

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– Pope Francis

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord Jesus, help me look at others through Your eyes and not my own.

Help me have compassion for all others and to love like You love.

.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Have mercy on me, O God,
because of Your unfailing love.
Because of Your great compassion,
blot out the stain of my sins.
Wash me clean from my guilt.
Purify me from my sin.

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The sacrifice You desire is a broken spirit.

You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

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– Psalm 51:1-2 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Lent is the most opportune time

for considering how we receive the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation

– that meeting with Christ, who makes Himself present in the priest.

.

It is a meeting which is always unique and always different.

In it He welcomes us as the Good Shepherd,

He heals our wounds,

He cleanses us

and strengthens us.

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When we go to receive this Sacrament

we must think of Christ above all else.

We must make sure He is the centre of this sacramental act.

We need to look at Jesus much more than at ourselves.

We must keep our eyes on His goodness

rather than on our own wretchedness.,

.

Every contrite Confession

is a drawing near to the holiness of God,

a rediscovery of one’s true identity, which has been upset and disturbed by sin,

a liberation in the very depth of one’s self

and thus a regaining of lost joy, the joy of being saved,

which the majority of people in our time are no longer capable of experiencing. (St John Paul II)

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Let us ask the Holy Spirit

to make us aware of, to experience, a sense of loss of God,

so that we may draw close to Him,

for He is waiting for us, with open arms, in the Sacrament of Confession and Reconciliation.

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ALLELUIA…

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Let all that I am praise the Lord;

may I never forget the good things He does for me.

He forgives all my sins

and heals all my diseases.

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– Psalm 103:2-3

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Let all that I am praise You, O Lord;

May I never forget the good things You do for me.

You forgive all my sins and You heal all my diseases.

…  …  …  …  …  …  …  …  …  …  …  …  …  … 

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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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Then the devil went away,

and angels came and took care of Jesus.

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– Matthew 4:11 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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St. Matthew ends his narration of the temptations of our Lord in the desert with this verse:

Then the devil went away,

and angels came and took care of Jesus.

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Let us look for a moment at this appearance of angels in Jesus’ life,

for it will help us to better understand their role

— their angelic mission — in all human life.

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Christian tradition describes the guardian angels as powerful friends,

placed by God alongside each one of us, to accompany us on our way.

And that is why He invites us to make friends with them

and get them to help us.
.

In suggesting that we meditate on these passages of the life of Christ,

the Church reminds us that during Lent,

when we recognize our sins,

our wretchedness

and our need for purification,

there is also room for joy.

Lent is a time for both bravery and joy;

we have to fill ourselves with courage,

for the grace of God will not fail us.

God will be at our side and will send His angels to be our travelling companions,

our prudent advisers along the way,

our co-operators in all that we take on. (St. Josemaria Escriva)

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St. John Paul II informs us that

“Holy Scripture and Tradition rightly give the name of angels

to those pure spirits who chose God, His kingdom and His glory

when they were given the fundamental test of freedom.”

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It is common doctrine

that each and every person, baptised or not,

has a guardian angel.

The angel’s mission begins with the conception of a person

and continues up to the moment of the person’s death.

St John Chrysostom affirms that

all the guardian angels will gather together at the universal judgement

in order to bear witness themselves

to the ministry that they exercised

through God’s command for the salvation of each person.

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We need to have faith in the intervention of the holy angels,

we need to have trust in them,

and we can do so by getting to know them in a natural and confident way.

We will be amazed at the help they give us

in our struggle against the evil one!

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St. John Paul II encourages us:

“We receive valuable help from the good angels, messengers of God’s love.

We have been taught by the tradition of the Church to direct our prayer to them:

‘Angel of God, you are my guardian,

enlighten my mind, guard me, direct me and govern me,

for I have been entrusted to your celestial care. Amen.’”

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Angel of God, you are my guardian,

enlighten my mind,

guard me, direct me and govern me,

for I have been entrusted to your celestial care. Amen.

… … … … … … … … … … … …… …

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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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Be alert and of sober mind.

Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion

looking for someone to devour.

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– 1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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The devil exists.

Scripture speaks of him from the first to the last of the revealed books,

from Genesis to Revelations.

In many passages of the Gospel, Our Lord warns us against the devil,

He also shows Himself overcoming the devil,

freeing many people from his diabolical possession..

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The devil never seems to give up on us.

He is constantly prowling around us,

checking out for potential weaknesses

and trying to select the opportune moment

to deviously get us to lose our guard.

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He even acted that way with Jesus, in the desert.

“Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain

and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour.

‘All this I will give you,’ he said…

Then , Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan!’ (Matt 4:8-10)

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So many times the devil lays the bait to catch us.

So many times he tempts us

and tries to persuade us that there’s nothing really wrong with what he is suggesting;

That we deserve to be happy in this one life of ours;

that so many others are doing the same and are more than satisfied;

that not to do what he suggests is a useless and undeserving self-punishment.

He even goes as far as to try to convince us

that God Himself will be understanding and accept our decision.

Sadly, so many take the bait and fall into his trap!

.

The devil is a personal, real and individual being,

of a spiritual and indivisible nature,

who separated himself from God forever through his selfishness and pride,

and he wants us to do the same.

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The devil, whose sole purpose in the world is our perdition, is a liar.

He is the father of lies,

and of sin, discord, affliction, hatred,

and of all that is inappropriate and evil on earth.

Every day he will try to achieve that purpose through all the means at his disposal.

He is the only being we are to fear if we are not close to God.

.

But God has given us His Beloved Son,

who became one like us in all things but sin.

He freed us from the power of Satan

and as a result of Christ’s redeeming work,

the devil can only cause harm to those who freely allow him to;

to those who disregard Christ’s warnings and teachings,

and consent to the devil’s promptings

thereby separating themselves from God.

.

When you embrace the True Faith with all your mind, heart, soul and strength,

and when you place your full trust in Jesus,

He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.

But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out

so that you can endure it. (1 Cor 10:13)

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QUOTE…

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“If you call upon your Guardian Angel at the moment of trial,

he will protect you from the devil

and will bring you holy inspirations.”

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– St. Josemaria Escriva

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, my Saviour, I trust in You.

Lord, protect me from all evil and guard my soul.

… … … … … … … … … … … …… …

.

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…

.

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan

and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

where for forty days He was tempted by the devil.

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– Luke 4:1-2 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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“By abstaining forty long days from earthly food,
He consecrated through His fast
the pattern of our Lenten observance
and, by overturning all the snares of the ancient serpent,
taught us to cast out the leaven of malice…”

The Preface of today’s Mass

reminds us that Our Lord teaches us with deeds

that we must overcome temptations,

and that we should derive benefit from all trials that beset us.

.

Our Lord allows temptation,

and uses it providentially to purify you,

to make you holy,

to detach you from more of the things of earth,

to lead you to where He is.

and by the route He wants you to take,

so as to make you happy (in a life which may not be comfortable)…

above all, to make you humble, very humble.1

.

Jesus allowed this intervention by the devil in His life

and to be put to the test of temptation,

so as to give us an example of humility

and to teach us to overcome the temptations

that we are going to have to undergo in the course of our lives.

.

Jesus wanted to teach us, by His example,

that none of us should consider ourselves exempt from any type of trial.

.

Responding and rejecting the devil’s temptations,

Jesus quoted from Scripture…every time.

Our Lord wants us to realise how essential it is for us to know Scripture,

and to embrace His Gospel and teachings,

because the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit 2

which is essential armour to help us stand firm against the devil’s schemes.

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1 Fr. Salvatore Canals – Jesus as Friend

2 Ephesians 6:17

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, my Lord, my God, my strength, lead me safely away from temptation.

… … … … … … … … … … … …… …

.

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

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

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

Jesus said,

“Healthy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do.

I have come to call not those who think they are righteous,

but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”

.

– Luke 5:31-32 (NLT)

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.

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REFLECTION…

.

Jesus comes to offer His Kingdom to all – His mission is universal.

Salvation is open to all men and women, without discrimination.

.

Jesus comes for all, for we are all sick and we are all sinners.

We must all seek God’s mercy and forgiveness in order to have life

and to reach salvation.

.

Mankind is not divided into two categories: those who are already justified by their own efforts, and sinners.

All of us need God, every day.

Those who may think they do not need God will not be given strength;

they will go on being overshadowed by their interior death or their sickness.

.

Having defects is not bad.

to believe that we have no defects is bad.

What is bad is not having defects – we all have defects –

but making a pact with them and ceasing to fight.

.

The words of Our Lord, who presents Himself to us as a Doctor,

move us to acknowledge our that is not right with us

and to ask humbly and confidently for forgiveness of our sins

and for the sins of all those who seem to want to remain far from God.

If we turn to Jesus with humility, faith and love,

He will always have mercy on us

and on those who we try to bring closer to Him.

.

Christ is the one who cures all our infirmities.

We are all at least a little sick

and this is why we all need Christ.

.

We must go to Him as the sick person goes to the doctor,

admitting what is really wrong with us,

and wanting to be cured.

.

We must go to the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation,

where we will find our Divine Physician waiting.

The medicine of Confession not only heals,

but it brings with it great peace and immense joy.

.

We can be certain that God will always encourage us

and help us to begin again.

Christ, the Physician, cures us

and then helps us to continue struggling against the virus of sin.

.

.

.

QUOTE…

.

“He is our physician,

and He heals our selfishness, if we let His grace penetrate to the depths of our soul.

.

Jesus has taught us that the worst sickness is hypocrisy,

the pride that leads us to hide our own sins.

We have to be totally sincere with Him.

.

We have to tell the whole truth,

and then we have to say: “Lord, if you will” – and You are always willing – “You can make me clean.”

You know my weaknesses;

I feel these symptoms;

I suffer from these failings.

We show him the wound, with simplicity,

and if the wound is festering, we show the pus too.

.

Lord, you have cured so many souls;

help me to recognise you as the Divine Physician,

when I have You in my heart

or when I contemplate Your presence in the tabernacle.”

.

– St. Josemaria Escriva

.

.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

.

Jesus my Saviour, my healer, forgive me.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

.

… … … … … … … … … … … …… …

.

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

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