I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light of life. JN 8:12
ACTS 12:24-13:5 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
The Holy Spirit has been given to us to spread the Gospel with power. Preaching the Good News in a world plunged in darkness, is impossible without the light and the wisdom of the Spirit of Truth.
The early Church was docile to the Spirit of God - they did nothing without prayer and fasting and acted only as the Spirit prompted. We do not pray as we ought nor do we fast even though You have revealed that only prayer and fasting can overcome the spirit of the world. We find it hard to deny the flesh and this is why we do not experience the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.
People from all walks of life dedicated their lives to preaching the Gospel and each had a different mission but they did not work alone. It was on the instructions of the Holy Spirit that the apostles sent Paul and Barnabas to Cyprus but not before praying, laying hands on them, and blessing them.
The members of Your Body, the Church, must be docile to the hierarchy, in humility they must submit obediently to those whom You have set in authority. When we submit to the voice of the Successor of Peter our work will yield an abundant harvest and the joy of the Holy Spirit will be ours just as the early Church did.
PSALM 67:2-3,5-6,8 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
In the midst of the chaos and uncertainty of the pandemic, it seems impossible to find the strength of will to lift our minds and hearts in praise to You. But we have seen over and over again in the course of history that it is precisely in times like these that You choose ordinary women and men transform them into people of extraordinary grace and valor.
This is the hour, this is the dawn of a new age - a time to put an end to our worship of false gods and to allow Your Light to illumine us and Your Spirit to lead us to live the Gospel. Unless we do so, we are doomed to destroying ourselves and each other.
The time of the pandemic can be one of great blessing or one that brings about our ruin. You have the power to bring about immense good from this dark period in our lives but only if we yield to You in humility.
Grant us the grace to hold on to You and to remember that You are the same yesterday, today, and forever, and if we trust You as children trust their parents, You will not fail us. Let us lift our gaze to You and praise You for You are good, thank You for You are our provider and the Giver of Live, worship You because You are our Savior, God is our Father, and the Holy Spirit is our Helper and God is faithful to His promises.
JOHN 12:44-50 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
Today, let us hold on to every promise You make in this Gospel passage chosen for our reflection and to encourage us on our journey from this life to the life to come.
All that You taught in public to the crowds and to Your apostles in private is made known to us 2000 years later. The truth is not hidden.
You declared publicly:
‘Whoever believes in me
believes not in me
but in the one who sent me,
and whoever sees me,
sees the one who sent me.
I, the light, have come into the world,
so that whoever believes in me
need not stay in the dark any more.
If anyone hears my words and does not keep them faithfully,
it is not I who shall condemn him,
since I have come not to condemn the world,
but to save the world.
He who rejects me and refuses my words has his judge already:
the word itself that I have spoken will be his judge on the last day.
For what I have spoken does not come from myself;
no, what I was to say,
what I had to speak,
was commanded by the Father who sent me,
and I know that his commands mean eternal life.
And therefore what the Father has told me
is what I speak.’
believes not in me
but in the one who sent me,
and whoever sees me,
sees the one who sent me.
I, the light, have come into the world,
so that whoever believes in me
need not stay in the dark any more.
If anyone hears my words and does not keep them faithfully,
it is not I who shall condemn him,
since I have come not to condemn the world,
but to save the world.
He who rejects me and refuses my words has his judge already:
the word itself that I have spoken will be his judge on the last day.
For what I have spoken does not come from myself;
no, what I was to say,
what I had to speak,
was commanded by the Father who sent me,
and I know that his commands mean eternal life.
And therefore what the Father has told me
is what I speak.’
No comments:
Post a Comment