I will send you the Spirit of truth, says the Lord;
he will lead you to the complete truth. JN 16:7, 13
ACTS 28:16-20,30-31
My Soul's Beloved,
If, like St. Paul, we lean on the everlasting arms of God, we have nothing to fear or be anxious about. A life totally surrendered to Your holy will, O Lord, is a life that will be lived in perfect peace. Peace is Your gift to us; it is not the peace of the world, which has its foundation on shifting sand, but the peace that comes from the Prince of Peace Himself, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Savior and Redeemer of the human race.
He had two short years to preach and teach and bring as many souls as possible to believe in You and receive the Good News, and this he did tirelessly. Beloved, if we trust You, surrender our lives to You, and do what You command us, which is to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth, then You will ensure that we will gather in a fruitful harvest. All the forces of darkness that the Enemy wishes to unleash against Your anointed will not prevail for as long as You desire it. Only when our mission is accomplished will You receive us joyously into Your Kingdom and receive a share in Your glorious victory over sin and death.
Paul knew he would be killed in Rome, not in Jerusalem. He was also aware that in the short time entrusted to him, he had to bring as many souls as possible to belief in You. He burned with zeal. He had a father's heart for the churches he had established, and wrote to them long letters encouraging them, admonishing them, and assuring them of his care and concern for them and urging them to pray for him as well.
We are called to mirror his zeal in the vocation to which we are called. It is not easy. We need the Holy Spirit to help us. Thank You, Lord, for giving us Mary, Your Mother, to intercede and plead for us, her sinful children, as well as for the intercession of our guardian angels and all the angels and saints in heaven.
After three days he called together the leading Jews. When they had assembled, he said to them, ‘Brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. They examined me and would have set me free, since they found me guilty of nothing involving the death penalty; but the Jews lodged an objection, and I was forced to appeal to Caesar, not that I had any accusation to make against my own nation. That is why I have asked to see you and talk to you, for it is on account of the hope of Israel that I wear this chain.’
Paul spent the whole of the two years in his own rented lodging. He welcomed all who came to visit him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ with complete freedom and without hindrance from anyone.
PSALM 10(11):4-5,7
The upright shall see your face, O Lord.
The Lord is in his holy temple,
the Lord, whose throne is in heaven.
His eyes look down on the world;
his gaze tests mortal men.
The upright shall see your face, O Lord.
The Lord tests the just and the wicked;
the lover of violence he hates.
The Lord is just and loves justice;
The upright shall see his face.
PSALM 10(11):4-5,7
The upright shall see your face, O Lord.
The Lord is in his holy temple,
the Lord, whose throne is in heaven.
His eyes look down on the world;
his gaze tests mortal men.
The upright shall see your face, O Lord.
The Lord tests the just and the wicked;
the lover of violence he hates.
The Lord is just and loves justice;
The upright shall see his face.
The upright shall see your face, O Lord.
JOHN 21:20-25
My Soul's Beloved,
JOHN 21:20-25
My Soul's Beloved,
After conferring primacy over the Apostles and the Church to Peter, he wanted to know what Your plans were for the beloved disciple. You were not about to indulge his curiosity, but putting him firmly in place, You reminded him that certain things fell under the purview and sovereignty of God alone. In this way, we too are reminded not to concern ourselves with anything other than the mission entrusted to us and to carry it out with single-minded devotion.
Too often, we members of the Church are absorbed with irrelevant matters, we gossip, are busybodies, interfering in matters that do not concern us. We push ourselves forward to be seen and applauded rather than to serve humbly and silently for the good of the Church and Your glory.
We are invited to walk by faith, not sight. We are called to follow our vocation sincerely and with single-minded devotion, unconcerned about the results or consequences, we use the gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit and ask Him to allow the gifts to bear fruit in us for the glory of God.
Peter turned and saw the disciple Jesus loved following them – the one who had leaned on his breast at the supper and had said to him, ‘Lord, who is it that will betray you?’ Seeing him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘What about him, Lord?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to stay behind till I come, what does it matter to you? You are to follow me.’ The rumour then went out among the brothers that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus had not said to Peter, ‘He will not die’, but, ‘If I want him to stay behind till I come.’
This disciple is the one who vouches for these things and has written them down, and we know that his testimony is true.
There were many other things that Jesus did; if all were written down, the world itself, I suppose, would not hold all the books that would have to be written.
This disciple is the one who vouches for these things and has written them down, and we know that his testimony is true.
There were many other things that Jesus did; if all were written down, the world itself, I suppose, would not hold all the books that would have to be written.
No comments:
Post a Comment