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All that should be sought for in the exercise of prayer is conformity of our will with the divine will, in which consists the highest perfection.
- St. Teresa of Avila [16th C] -
("Thy will be done." After reading and reflection, repeat this simple prayer phrase slowly and attentively, inviting God to direct your day.)
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JB 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5; PS 139:1-3, 7-8, 9-10, 13-14AB
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.”
USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture
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“For to His angels He has given command about you, that they guard you in all your ways.” —Psalm 91:11
Our lives are so precious to God that He has created and assigned an angel specifically for each one of us. “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 336). The Lord says: “My angel is with you, and he is the custodian of your lives” (Bar 6:6). For anyone who thinks they’re in charge of their own life, it’s important to know that a guardian
angel has been authorized by God to take full custody of that life.
Your guardian angel is:
1) focused constantly on Jesus (Mt 18:10; Jn 1:51). “Christ is the center of the angelic world” (Catechism, 331). Your angel’s life revolves around Jesus (Jn 1:51).
2) devoted to your personal welfare and care (Ps 91:11; Bar 6:6). God specifically declares: “I am sending an angel before you” (Ex 23:20).
Jesus reveals that your angel is constantly beholding the “heavenly Father’s face” (Mt 18:10). This gives your angel a privileged position to instantly hear, receive, and carry out orders specifically related to you. Your angel is attentive to you at all times. Therefore, obey God’s command to “be attentive to” your angel and “heed his voice” (Ex 23:21, 22).
Prayer: Father, thank You for loving me so personally as to create and assign an angel specifically for me. I will repent so as to cause You and my angel to rejoice (Lk 15:10).
Promise: “Unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of God.” —Mt 18:3
Presentation Ministries
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Abandonment to Divine Providence
- by Jean-Pierre de Caussade
BOOK II,
CHAPTER IV. CONCERNING THE ASSISTANCE RENDERED BY THE FATHERLY PROVIDENCE OF GOD TO THOSE SOULS WHO HAVE ABANDONED THEMSELVES TO HIM
SECTION I. Confidence in God
The less the soul in the state of abandonment feels the help it receives from God, the more efficaciously does He sustain it.
There is a kind of sanctity in which all the communications of God are luminous and distinct; but in the passive state of pure faith all that God communicates partakes of the nature of that inaccessible darkness that surrounds His throne, and all ideas are confused and indistinct. The soul, in this state of obscurity is often afraid, like the Prophet, of running headlong against a rock. "Fear not, faithful soul, for
this is your right path, and the way by which God conducts you. There is no way more safe and sure than this dark way of faith.‚" "But it is so dark that I cannot tell which way to go.‚" "Go wherever you please; you cannot lose the way where there is no path; every way looks the same in the dark, you cannot see the end because nothing is visible.‚" "But I am afraid of everything. I feel as if, at any moment, I might fall over a precipice. Everything is an affliction to me; I well know that I am
acting according to abandonment, but it seems to me that there are things I cannot do without acting contrary to virtue. I seem to be so far from all the virtues. The more I wish to practise them the more remote they seem.
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