A hallowed day has dawned upon us.
Come, you nations, worship the Lord,
for today a great light has shone down upon the earth.
1 JOHN 3:7-10 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
The world, the flesh, and the devil are waging a tireless war against the children of God, and when we look at our fallen world and the prevailing culture it is so easy to become disheartened and anxious. Evil appears to triumph everywhere, wisdom has fled and the children of the world are now in control.
How easy it is to be led astray when we are not grounded in You and have not put down deep roots in Your Word. St. John warns us about the works of the Enemy but he also assures us that if we have God's seen in us no harm will come to us. God's Seed is You, the Eternal Word of God begotten of the Father. You became incarnate of the Virgin Mother to redeem our fallen nature. If we are truly the children of God then we will strive with the help of Your Holy Spirit to shun every occasion of sin. To turn our gaze resolutely away from the gaudy trifles and giddy pastimes of the world, and flee the wiles of the Enemy. The more deeply we are rooted in You O Lord the more difficult it will be for us to be swayed by the father of lies.
Pour Your Holy Spirit into our hearts O Lord and grant us who are Your brothers and sisters, the grace to live holy lives filled with an all-consuming love for God and love for our brothers and sisters.
PSALM 97(98):1,7-9 ©
Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.
Let the sea and all within it, thunder;
the world, and all its peoples.
Let the rivers clap their hands
and the hills ring out their joy
Let the rivers clap their hands
and the hills ring out their joy
at the presence of the Lord: for he comes,
he comes to rule the earth.
He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with fairness.
He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with fairness.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
JOHN 1:35-42 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
My Soul's Beloved,
John the Baptist would have longed to follow You but that was not the mission entrusted to him. He was the pre-cursor, the one who prepared the way, the one who had to decrease, the one who was so humble he said that he was unworthy to even loosen the strap of Your sandals. However, when he pointed You out to his disciples John and Andrew as the Lamb of God, they left him and followed You.
When You turned round and saw them You said, ‘What do you want?’ They answered, ‘Rabbi,’ – which means Teacher – ‘where do you live?’ You ‘Come and see’ You replied; so they went and saw where You lived, and stayed with You the rest of that day. It was about the tenth hour.
Andrew was deeply impressed after meeting You, convinced that You were the Messiah he sought out his older brother Simon and shared the Good News with him saying, ‘We have found the Messiah’ – which means the Christ – and he took Simon to You. Looking hard at him You said, ‘You are Simon son of John; you are to be called Cephas’ – meaning Rock.
This is our mission to testify to our own family members and those within our inner circle the joy of our personal encounter with You and they in turn will discover that You have special plans for their lives. Perhaps they will be chosen as Simon was to become great leaders and heroes of the Church. Let us be generous in sharing with enthusiasm the joy of knowing You, loving You, and following You all the days of our life.
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