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I was regretting the past and fearing the future. Suddenly God was speaking: “My name is I am.” I waited and God continued: “When you live in the past,
with its mistakes and regrets, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not I was. When you live in the future, with its problems and fears, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not I will be. When you live in this moment, it is not hard. I am here. My name is I AM.” - Helen Mellincost (God in this moment . . . all
day long . . . )
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Zec 8:1-8; Ps 102:16-18, 19-21, 29 and 22-23
Mt 18:1-5, 10 The disciples approached Jesus and said,
"Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?"
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
"Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of
heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me. "See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father."
Praying the Daily Gospels: A Guide to Meditation, by Philip St. Romain, 2018 (3rd ed.) Luke 9:46-50 (Who is the greatest?) As Jesus' reputation has spread throughout the countryside, it is only natural that the disciples should vie for status. Christian identity has nothing to do with status or a competitive edge, however. True greatness is bestowed upon people who are open to accepting grace as a little child. * How important is status and recognition to you? With whom
do you compare yourself in evaluating your worth as a person? * Pray for the grace to form your identity more deeply in Christ.
Treatise on the Love of God, by St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) ____________ BOOK IV: OF THE DECAY AND RUIN OF CHARITY Chapter 3: How we forsake divine love for that of creatures.
We see that pigeons, touched with vanity, display themselves (se pavonnent) sometimes in the air, and sail about hither and thither, admiring the variety of their plumage, and then the tercelets and falcons that espy them fall upon them and seize them, which they could never do if the pigeons had been flying their proper flight, as they have a stronger wing than have birds of prey. Ah! Theotimus, if we did not amuse ourselves with the vanity of fleeting pleasures,
especially in the complacency of self-love, but if having once got charity we were careful to fly straight thither whither it would carry us, suggestion and temptation should never catch us, but because as doves seduced and beguiled by self-esteem we look back upon ourselves, and engage our spirits too much with creatures, we often find ourselves seized by the talons of our enemies, who bear away and devour us.
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