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

TODAY’S WORD…

Be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

– Ephesians 4:23-24

REFLECTION…

Changing from our old to our new nature is not a matter of external change – it is not like a simple change of clothes. It is, rather, an inner renewal, where I, by becoming a new creature in Jesus Christ, become empowered to practise righteousness and holiness in a manner that exceeds my natural human capacity.

With God’s grace, with submission to His will, with full trust in His love for me, with total humility, and with the power of the Holy Spirit, I know that my old nature will give way to my new…

QUOTES…

“Entering the church and venerating sacred images and crosses is not sufficient for pleasing God, just as washing one’s hands does not make one clean all over. What truly pleases God is that a person flees from sin and gets rid of his stains by means of confession and penance. Let him break the chains of his faults by being humble of heart”    – St Anastasius of Sinai

“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. The Christian life is a continuous beginning again each day. It renews itself over and over”    – St Josemaria Escriva

PRAYER…

My Lord, have mercy on me,

and cleanse me from my sins.

Lead me, with the power of Your love,

so that I may draw close to You

and glory in your presence.

Lord, renew me. 

Amen.

[delay +10 minutes]

TODAY’S WORD…

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

– John 10:27

REFLECTION…

In this world we have to strive, and in the course of striving we sustain wounds, but, as Christ’s sheep, if we stay united to Him who is the Good Shepherd, nothing and no one will snatch us away from Him, because God, our Father, is stronger than the Evil One.

Christ knows us, He loves us, His is a pledge of eternal life, and it is because we know and believe this that we gladly seek His protection and strive to remain faithful.

We pray and hope that God will grant us that ultimate perseverance which we need; that determination that is not based on our strength but, rather, on our humility and, especially, on His great mercy.

PRAYER…

Speak to me, Lord. Guide me, O most loving Shepherd!

TODAY’S WORD…

O God,

send out Your Light and Your Truth;

let them guide me.

Let them lead me to Your Holy Mountain,

to the place where You live.

– Psalm 43:3

REFLECTION…

Jesus is the Light who came to lead us home to the house of the Father. He came to heal the blindness of our hearts; to remove the darkness of our selfishness; and to make us see the truth.

Jesus is the Truth. He is the Son of God who become man, “full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14). He teaches us the truth that can save us from a world that seems to be intent on prescribing the counterfeit with its promise of instant gratification which, however, only leads to ruin and perdition.

The ‘lights’ and the ‘truths’ of the world keep superseding themselves with the latest contemporary varieties making previous versions obsolete. The Light and the Truth of Christ do not change – they are relevant for every age. The Light and the Truth of Christ are the same yesterday, today, and forever!

PRAYER…

My Jesus

come, O Divine Light and Truth;

come and guide me.

Lead me to Your Holy Mountain,

to the place where You live.

Send Your Holy Spirit

to open my eyes to see Your Truth,

and to protect me from the baits and the traps

of the evil one.

Shine Your Light on me, O Lord,

I want to know Your Truth

and to see Your Glory!

Amen. 

TODAY’S WORD…

My dear people, we are already the children of God but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed. All we know is, that when it is revealed, we shall be like Him because we shall see Him as He really is.

– 1 John 3:2

REFLECTION…

As believers, we walk in faith, and live by hope. We wait in faith, hope, and earnest desire, for the revelation of the Lord Jesus. We, the children of God, shall one day see our loving Maker and be transformed into His same image. We shall be like Him and with Him!

PRAYER…

Abba Father,

thank You for making me Your child

and for adopting me in Your family.

Abba, thank You for Your love for me;

for sending Your Son, the Lord, my Shepherd,

to bring me back to Your fold.

Almighty Father,

now that I know the Truth,

all that I desire is

to one day see You as You really are;

to truly be like You;

to rejoice forever in Your glorious presence.

Amen.

TODAY’S WORD…

Jesus asked, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that You are the Holy One of God.”

– John 6:67-69

QUOTE…

“Seek Jesus; endeavouring to acquire a deep personal faith that will inform and direct your whole life. But, above all, let it be your commitment and your program to love Jesus, with a sincere, authentic and personal love. He must be your friend and your support along the path of life. He alone has words of eternal life”   – Pope Saint John Paul II

PRAYER…

Lord, help me turn away from myself

and to always stay focused on You,

so that nothing and no one will ever separate me from You,

for You alone have the words of eternal life!

TODAY’S WORD…

“Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.”

– John 6:58

REFLECTION…

Jesus is the true Bread of life. He invites us to nourish our soul frequently with the food of His body.

Jesus gives life. We live by Him, as our bodies live by our food. And, because Jesus lives, we shall live also.

QUOTE…

“Alluding to the Eucharist, Jesus said: … “anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.” The Son of God, becoming flesh, could become bread and in this way be the nourishment of His people journeying toward the promised land of heaven. We need this bread to cope with the toil and exhaustion of the journey. Sunday, day of the Lord, is the propitious occasion to draw strength from Him, who is the Lord of life.

The Sunday precept, therefore, is not a simple duty imposed from outside. To participate in the Sunday celebration and to be nourished with the Eucharistic bread is a need of a Christian, who in this way can find the necessary energy for the journey to be undertaken.[…]

To follow the Way means man’s own fulfilment; to lose it, is to lose himself. The Lord does not leave us alone on this journey. He is with us…”   – Pope Benedict XVI

PRAYER…

Lord, You are the Bread of life. You are my Nourishment!

TODAY’S WORD…

We thank the Father who has made it possible for us to share in the saints’ inheritance of light. He has taken us out of the power of darkness and created a place for us in the kingdom of the Son that He loves. In Him, we gain our freedom and the forgiveness of our sins.

– Colossians 1:12-14

REFLECTION…

God is love and His love for us was made manifest when He sent His only Son into the world so that through Him we might live. By dying on the Cross, Jesus won life for us; by redeeming us with His blood He obtained forgiveness for our sins. Through this action God reveals His wisdom and His loving care. By enabling our sins to be forgiven, Christ has restored our dignity.

PRAYER…

Father in Heaven,

thank You for Your great love and mercy;

thank You for freeing us from the power of evil

and for making it possible for us to share in the inheritance of the saints.

It is through Your power and kindness

that I have been brought out of darkness into Your wonderful light.

Thank You for the supreme sacrifice of Your Son, my Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank You for Your great mercy, O God.

Thank You for the gift of grace.

Lord, send Your Holy Spirit upon me,

to console, counsel and guide me towards Your glorious light,

where I want to be, with You, forever.  Amen.

TODAY’S WORD…

All wrap yourselves in humility to be servants of each other, because God refuses the proud and will always favour the humble.

– 1 Peter 5:5

REFLECTION…

Humility is a characteristic of the love that God wants us to practice because He loves a humble heart.

LITANY OF HUMILITY…A PRAYER…

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed,

deliver me, Jesus.

Jesus, please deliver me…

from the desire of being loved;

from the desire of being extolled;

from the desire of being honoured;

from the desire of being praised;

from the desire of being preferred;

from the desire of being consulted;

from the desire of being approved.

From the fear of being humiliated,

deliver me, Jesus.

Jesus, please deliver me…

from the fear of being despised;

from the fear of suffering rebukes;

from the fear of being calumniated;

from the fear of being forgotten;

from the fear of being ridiculed;

from the fear of being wronged;

from the fear of being suspected.

That others may be loved more than I,

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

Jesus, please grant me the grace to desire…

that others may be esteemed more than I;

that in the opinion of the world,

others may increase and I may decrease;

that others may be chosen and I set aside;

that others may be praised and I unnoticed,

that others may become holier than I,

provided that I may became as holy as I should.

Amen

[from The Litany of Humility, by Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val]

TODAY’S WORD…

“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry.”

– John 6:35

REFLECTION…

Christ is the true Bread – He is to the soul what bread is to the body. He nourishes and supports our spiritual life. Jesus is the food of our souls.

Bread nourishes only by the powers of a living body, but Christ – the living Bread – nourishes by His own power. He is the Bread which came down from heaven – the Divine origin of all the good which flows to us through Him. Christ is our “daily Bread”.

QUOTE…

“Like the manna for the people of Israel, for every Christian generation the Eucharist is the indispensable nourishment that sustains them as they cross the desert of this world, parched by the ideological and economic systems that do not promote life but rather humiliate it. It is a world where the logic of power and possessions prevails rather than that of service and love; a world where the culture of violence and death is frequently triumphant.

Yet Jesus comes to meet us and imbues us with certainty: He Himself is “the Bread of life””     – Pope Benedict XVI

PRAYER…

I know that You are present, here with me now, O Lord,

and I bow my head to worship You.

I draw close to You, that You may draw near to me.

I long to please You. Lord;

I need You.

You are my Bread of life;

You are my daily Bread.

Thank You for Your promise,

for Your blessing,

that when we come to You we will never go hungry. Never!

Nourish me with Your Bread of life, O Lord,

that I will never stop seeking You

with all my heart, my soul, my mind, and with all my strength!

I thank You and I praise You.

TODAY’S WORD…

When I saw Him, I fell down at His feet like a dead man.  He placed His right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid!  I am the First and the Last.  I am the Living One!  I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever.  I have authority over death and the world of the dead.”

– Revelation 1:17-18

REFLECTION…

When the glory of Christ, or the glory of God, is manifested, we become so conscious of our insignificance and unworthiness that we are unable to remain standing in His presence. But the risen Christ knows His followers, and He lovingly places His right hand on us and His first words are always of peace and reassurance.

By His death and resurrection Christ overcame death – He has full power over death and over the mysterious world beyond the grave. He has absolute dominion over all – He is the First and the Last!

QUOTE…

“Christ is alive. This is the great truth which fills our faith with meaning. Jesus, who died on the cross, has risen. He has triumphed over death; He has overcome sorrow, anguish and the power of darkness” – St. Josemaria Escriva

PRAYER…

My Lord and my God, You deserve all glory and honour

You are the First and the Last! You are Lord!

I want to always love You, Lord.

Help me, Lord.