1 John 2:15-17, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, 9-11, Luke 4:31-37, Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14

Daily Meditation: 1 John 2:15-17

1 John 2:15-17

15 Do not love the world or what is in it. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16 For everything in the world—

the craving of the flesh,

the greed of eyes

and people boasting of their superiority—

all this belongs to the world, not to the Father.

17 The world passes away with all its craving but those who do the will of God remain for ever.

All things in this world are passing.  What is celebrated as current today will be yesterday's news in every tomorrow, only eternal truth prevails.  If I am caught up in the fashionable trends of today no matter what sphere it may be in,I will have to change it with the changing current of tomorrow.

God alone is unconditional Love and unchanging Beauty and Truth.  He is the same yesterday, today and forever.  I can root myself safely in Him for He alone remains sure, strong and steady in an ever changing world.

Every craving if allowed to remain unchecked will become an addiction.  Greedy eyes desiring to devour everything  will remain unsatiated.  

To boast that I am better or superior than anyone else is pride beyond belief for God is the Giver of every good and perfect gift and He can just as easily take it away. 

Everything in this world will be consumed and will end, God alone remains forever.  If I am to live in Him eternally, I must choose His will over my own every single time.  Jesus whom the Father has appointed as the only just Judge will decide my eternal destiny and this will depend on the choices I make each day over a lifetime.

The true measure of my love for God is evident by what self indulgent choice or self will I am prepared to give up for love of Him. 

Daily Mass Readings: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, 9-11, Luke 4:31-37

                                      Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14

1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, 9-11

My Beloved, St. Paul knew his identity in You who had called him out of darkness into Your own marvellous light.  This must be true of me as well.  I must know who I am. I must recognize that I am a child of God, called by Him in You from all eternity.  I am on a journey which will take me to my eternal destination and with the help of Your Holy Spirit I shall reach Heaven which is in accordance with God's will and plan for me. I am called to be a disciple, a follower, a witness to Christ and His Gospel of salvation by the way I live my life from moment to moment.

Luke 4:31-37 

Beloved, You healed Simon's mother in law as soon as You were asked to do something for her.  You took her by the hand and Scripture tells us that the fever left her immediately.

You could do the same with me if I let You.   The effectiveness and immediacy of the healing that You are always ready to give, is dependent on the level of my surrender and the extent to which I am prepared to yield to You, and whether that surrender is permanent or conditional.  I alone am responsible for how much good I will permit You to do for and in me. 

We are told that the people of that place begged You to stay with them but You were always clearly focused on the mission that Your Father had entrusted to You.  We too ought not to cling to people and places if we are doing God's work.  Taking time to prayer alone with God in order to discern His will should always precede the work we are called to do.  All our energy and inspiration comes from God alone.