“a Lamp to my feet. a Light for my path.” – Philippians 2:9-11

Posted on 3 January 2016 by Christ the King Prayer Group

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place
and gave Him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

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– Philippians 2:9-11 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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We call a friend by his or her first name.

Why then not call our greatest Friend by His first name too?

His name is JESUS – a name that signified His mission, for Jesus means Saviour,

He who brings us salvation, security and true peace:

…the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth.

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How trustfully and with how much veneration we should repeat it!

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QUOTE…

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“O Jesus, how consoling You are to those who invoke You!

How good You are to those who seek You!

What will you not be to those who find You?

Only he who has felt it can know

what it is to languish in love for Thee, O Jesus.”

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– St. Bernard

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“Don’t be afraid to call Our Lord by His name – Jesus –

and to tell Him that you love Him.”

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– St. Josemaria Escriva

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, You are Lord!

Jesus, You are God!

Jesus, I love You!

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[*] Today’s reflection is sourced from the seven-volume work “In Conversation with God” by Padre Francisco Fernández Carvajal.

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“a Lamp to my feet. a Light for my path.” – Psalm 98:1

Posted on 2 January 2016 by Christ the King Prayer Group

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Sing a new song to the Lord

for He has worked wonders.

His right hand and His Holy arm

have brought salvation.

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– Psalm 98:1 (TJB)

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REFLECTION…

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What a wonderful resolution

– to sing a new song, every day, to the Lord.

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What a worthy resolution,

which I, as a believer, should strive to keep

– to make each day a song of praise and glory,

sung from my heart to the Lord,

through my words, my thoughts and my deeds.

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Jesus – God’s right hand and His holy arm – was born to save us.

He triumphed over darkness and death

and He is my Lord and my Saviour!

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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I sing to you Lord, from the depths of my soul.

I sing to you Lord: I love you!
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“a Lamp to my feet. a Light for my path.” – John 19:27

Posted on 1 January 2016 by Christ the King Prayer Group

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Then Jesus said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.”

And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

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– John 19:27 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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Jesus looks at us one by one: “Here is your mother” He says.

It is an invitation to all of us Christians to bring Mary unto our home, into our heart.

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There could be no better start to the year

than to go to our Heavenly Mother and resolve to be close to her.

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With the confidence of sons and daughters we go to her and invite her into our lives,

so that she may help us to live in holiness every day of the year;

so that she may give us the impulse to begin again each time we fall because we are so weak;

so that she may intercede with her divine Son to lead us to interior renewal,

and to strive to grow in the love of God

and in the service of our neighbour.

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We place in Mary’s hands our desire to identify ourselves with her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ;

to sanctify our work and all that we do;

to help us become truly faithful apostles…truly loving sons and daughters of God.

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We repeat her name with ever more fervour whenever difficulties arise,

and she, who is forever at the service of her Son,

when she hears her name on our lips, will come quickly to our rescue.

She will not leave us in error or in disunion.

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Today, therefore, each one of us can call out to her

and from deep inside our heart call her Mother, My Mother,

and feel that she is protecting us

and encouraging us to begin this New Year that God has given us

with the confidence that comes from knowing that we are well looked after

and that we are being given help from Heaven.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Mother, My Mother full of grace,

pray for me a sinner, that I may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

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[*] Today’s reflection is sourced from the seven-volume work “In Conversation with God” by Padre Francisco Fernández Carvajal.

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“a Lamp to my feet. a Light for my path.” – 1 Peter 1:3-4; 2 Corinthians 6:2

Posted on 31 December 2015 by Christ the King Prayer Group

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Now we live with great expectation,

and we have a priceless inheritance – an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you,

pure and undefiled,

beyond the reach of change and decay.

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– 1 Peter 1:3-4 (NLT)

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For God says,

“At just the right time, I heard you.
On the day of salvation, I helped you.”

Indeed, the “right time” is now.

Today is the day of salvation.

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– 2 Corinthians 6:2 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Today is a good day for taking stock of the year now ending

and for making resolutions for the year about to begin.

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It is a good opportunity for asking pardon for our omissions,

and for the lack of love that caused them.

It is a good occasion of thanksgiving for all the good things God has given us.

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We are pilgrims on this earth

walking along a path full of tribulations and of God’s consolation;

of suffering and sadness,

of blessings and joy.

We have a life in time which we are now living,

and another life outside time to which we are making our way.

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The time at our disposal is an important part of the inheritance God has left us.

Time represents the separation between the present and that moment when we stand before God

with our hands either empty or full.

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Only now in this life can we obtain merit for the next.

In fact, each single day of ours is a period given us by God

so that we may fill it with love for Him,

with love for those around us,

with work well done,

with putting the virtues into practice;

in a word, a life full of good works pleasing to God’s eyes.

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Now is the time to amass thepriceless inheritance.

For each one of us the “right time” is now.

Today is the day of salvation.

Once it is past, there will be no other time.

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The time each one of us has at his or her disposal is short,

but long enough to tell God that we love Him

and to accomplish the work He has given us.

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We come to the end of the year asking forgiveness for so many failures to respond to grace,

for all those occasions when Jesus placed Himself at our side

and we made no effort to see Him…and so we let Him pass by.

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At the same time let us end the year by thanking God for the great mercy He has shown us

and for the innumerable and often unforeseen benefits He has conferred on us.

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Today we express our sorrow and our thanksgiving,

and today we resolve to intensify our love for God

and to increase our struggle to acquire virtues and to get rid of our defects

– as if next year were to be the last that God was going to give us.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Thank You, Lord God. Forgive me, Lord God.

Grazzi, Sinjur Alla. Ahfirli Sinjur Alla.

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[*] Today’s reflection is sourced from the seven-volume work “In Conversation with God” by Padre Francisco Fernández Carvajal.

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“a Lamp to my feet. a Light for my path.” – Luke 2:28-31

Posted on 30 December 2015 by Christ the King Prayer Group

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Simeon took the child [Jesus] in his arms

and praised God saying,

“Lord, now I can die in peace!

As You promised me,

I have seen the Saviour

You have given to all people…”

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– Luke 2:28-31 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Simeon’s emotions,

which he so beautifully expresses as he holds the child Jesus in his arms,

can be our own

…as we receive the Sacred Host in our hands,

every time we go to Holy Communion.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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I love You, Jesus, but I am not worthy.

Please say the word, heal me, and fill me with your peace.

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“a Lamp to my feet. a Light for my path.” – Colossians 1:25-27

Posted on 29 December 2015 by Christ the King Prayer Group

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TODAY’S WORD…

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God’s message…

which was a mystery hidden for generations and centuries…

is Christ among you, your hope of glory;

this is the Christ we proclaim.

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– Colossians 1:25-27 (TJB)

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REFLECTION…

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In Christ, the "mystery" is fully revealed.

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In His infinite love,

Christ lives in us through faith and grace,

through prayer and the Sacraments.

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Jesus promised us,

“Where two or three are gathered in My Name,

there am I in the midst of them.” (Mat 18:20).

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QUOTE…

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"In a special way,

Christ stays with us in the daily offering of the Blessed Eucharist […].

The presence of Christ in the host

is the guarantee, the source and the culmination of His presence in the world.

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"Christ is alive in Christians".

Our faith teaches

that man, in the state of grace, is divinized – filled with God.

We are men and women, not angels.

We are flesh and blood,

people with sentiments and passions, with sorrows and joys.

And this divinization affects everything human;

it is a sort of foretaste of the final resurrection"

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– St. Josemaria Escriva

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Open the eyes of my heart, Lord, that I may see Your glory!

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“a Lamp to my feet. a Light for my path.” – Romans 8:28

Posted on 28 December 2015 by Christ the King Prayer Group

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TODAY’S WORD…

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We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him…

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– Romans 8:28 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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There is no easy explanation for suffering,

least of all for the suffering of the innocent.

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For many, suffering is like a great wall which prevents them from seeing God and His infinite love for mankind.

Why doesn’t Almighty God prevent such apparently useless suffering?

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Suffering is indeed a mystery…but is certainly is not useless,

otherwise it is like claiming that Christ’s suffering was useless.

It is through faith that Christians can discover in the darkness of their own or other people’s suffering,

the loving and provident hand of their Father God

who knows so much more and sees so much further than they themselves can.

It is through faith that we begin to understand St Paul’s words:

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him,

including everything that seems to be piercingly inexplicable or incomprehensible.

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We must not forget that our greatest happiness and our most authentic good

are not always those which we dream of and long for.

It is difficult for us to see things in their true perspective:

we can only take in a very small part of complete reality;

we can only see the tiny piece of reality that is here, in front of us.

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We are inclined to feel that earthly existence is the only real one,

and we often consider our time on earth to be the period in which all our longings for perfect happiness ought to be fulfilled.

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No one willingly looks for suffering,

yet Jesus proclaimed as blessed – privileged, happy – those who mourn: those who in this life carry a heavy cross.

Faith, in fact, transforms the meaning of suffering, be it through illness, handicap, physical pain, poverty, slander, injustice…

In union with Christ’s suffering it is changed into a sign of God’s love,

into something valuable and fruitful

– for the sufferers

and also for those who suffer with them;

for those who give of themselves to help ease the pain of others through selfless giving, compassion and unconditional love.

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The Cross, pain and suffering, are the means which Our Lord used to redeem us.

Since then suffering has had a new meaning: it can be redemptive and lead to personal purification,

and this can be only be understood when we place our hope in Christ and entrust in His will.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Hold my hand, Lord Jesus, and make me more like You in my own suffering and in that of others.

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[*] Today’s reflection is sourced from the seven-volume work “In Conversation with God” by Padre Francisco Fernández Carvajal.

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“a Lamp to my feet. a Light for my path.” – Psalm 97:11-12

Posted on 27 December 2015 by Christ the King Prayer Group

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Light is sown for the righteous,

and joy for the upright in heart.

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,

and give thanks to His Holy Name!

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– Psalm 97:11-12 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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To men and women of good will,

Jesus’ birth is indeed good news!

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Suddenly there is light

where before there was darkness;

joy to push desperation aside;

hope where, perhaps, there was none.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, Light of the World,

thank You for the joy and peace You bring into my heart!

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“a Lamp to my feet. a Light for my path.” – James 1:12

Posted on 26 December 2015 by Christ the King Prayer Group

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TODAY’S WORD…

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God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation.

Afterward they will receive the crown of life

that God has promised to those who love Him.

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– James 1:12 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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We Christians should not be depressed or cowed

by the difficulties and temptations which God permits us to experience;

on the contrary, we should see them as a series of tests

which, with God’s help, we should surmount in order to receive the reward of Heaven.

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Jesus Himself told us that

“everyone who endures to the end will be saved.” (Mat 10:12) .

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QUOTE…

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"The Lord does not allow His followers to experience these trials and temptations

unless it be for their greater good. […]

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He arranged things in this way:

endurance in adversity and struggle against temptation prove who His friends are.

For the mark of a true friend is not that he keeps you company when times are good,

but that he stands by you in times of trial […].

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Companions in adversity and later in the Kingdom,

you should strive to fight manfully when you meet opposition that would separate you from God,

for He is your help here on earth and your reward in Heaven."

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– St. John of Avila

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord, fill me with hope and joy and self-control,

and help me endure testing and temptation.

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“a Lamp to my feet. a Light for my path.” – 1 John 5:11-12

Posted on 25 December 2015 by Christ the King Prayer Group

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TODAY’S WORD…

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God has given us eternal life,

and this life has its source in His Son.

Whoever has the Son has this life;

whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

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– 1 John 5:11-12 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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God has given us life in Christ.

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A believer accepts and makes the Christian message his or her own,

convinced that it comes from God, who cannot deceive or be deceived.

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It follows, therefore, that we who believe in Jesus Christ

manifest our joy, faith and hope to others,

and gladly pass on to them the good news

and the conviction that Jesus is true God.

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Faith produces the fruit of supernatural life,

which is the seed and first-fruit of eternal life.

That life can be given us only by Jesus Christ, our Saviour.

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QUOTE…

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“To those of us

who are still making our pilgrim way in this life

has been given the hope of eternal life,

which we shall only receive in its full form in heaven

when we reach Him”

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– St. Bede

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus, You are the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Jesus, You are the Joy in my heart!

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