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[Christ] is the breathing forth of the heart, life and spirit of God into all the dead race of Adam. He is the seeker, the finder, the restorer of all that, from Cain to the end of time,
was lost and dead to the life of God. He is the love that prays for all its murderers; the love that willingly suffers and dies among thieves, that thieves may have a life with him in Paradise; the love that visits publicans, harlots and sinners, and wants and seeks to forgive where most is to be forgiven.
- William Law
("Where do you experience these movements of the Spirit in your life these
days?)
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EZ 47:1-9, 12; PS 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9; JN 5:1-16
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.
There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most
High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed;
God will help it at the break of dawn.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Come! behold the deeds of the LORD,
the astounding things he has wrought on earth.
USCCB Lectionary
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Reflection on the Scriptures |
God desires our will to want to change but we must tap into his grace to make those changes welling up in our spirit. We must understand that even now
at this time in Lent, if we have fallen from grace, God's unconditional love and deep well of forgiveness will lift us up if we have the sincere desire to continue to seek his guidance and serve his kingdom.
Is there anything holding you back from God's healing grace? The parable of the man ill for 38 years is a real lesson for us. Jesus asks the man, "Do you really want to be healed?" The barrier to healing was the
man's own inability to enter the pool and no one to help place him in the pool. Yet the man lay there for a long time, in faith, wanting to be changed and waiting for a miracle.
God will not impose change against our will. If we are content to stay as we are or if we lose our will because we have fallen, then no amount of coaxing will change us. If we wish to move to be free from the power of sin and be transformed let
us pray for the fire in our hearts to be rekindled for our spiritual growth and change.
- by Mark Latta
Creighton Online Ministries
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Selected Quotes from St. John of the Cross on the Journey of the Soul to God by Contemplation - from Living Flame of
Love
#57. When God brings the soul into that emptiness and solitude where it can neither use its faculties nor make any acts, it sees that it is doing nothing and strives to do something. Therefore it becomes distracted and full of aridity and displeasure.
#58. Although it is doing nothing, it is nevertheless accomplishing much more than if it were working, since God
is working within it.
#70. The deep caverns of sense, with strange brightness, give heat and light together to their Beloved. Together because the communication of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit in the soul are made together, and are the light and fire of love.
- compiled by James and Tyra
Arraj Paperback edition: Kindle edition available
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