|
|
As long as I am content to know that He is infinitely greater than I, and that I cannot know Him unless He shows Himself to me, I will have Peace, and He will be near me and in me, and I will rest in Him.
- Thomas Merton (20th C.), Thoughts in Solitude
(Can't find your way to God? Let God find you instead. Let the Spirit take the initiative in leading your prayer and actions through the day.)
|
|
|
Eph 4:1-6; Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
LK 12:54-59
Jesus said to the crowds,
“When you see a cloud rising in the west
you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does;
and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south
you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is.
You hypocrites!
You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky;
why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
“Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate,
make an effort to settle the matter on the way;
otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge,
and the judge hand you over to the constable,
and the constable throw you into prison.
I say to you, you will not be released
until you have paid the last penny.”
USCCB lectionary
|
Reflection on the Scripture
|
“My Master is taking His time about coming.” —Luke 12:45
Each day is the time when Christ comes. Jesus teaches that instead of trying to know the time of His return or our death, we are to live each day, and indeed each moment, as though the Master could return. If we strive to live like that, we will be “confident and unafraid” (Is 12:2; see also Eph 3:12). The Lord is here — present at every Mass in the Holy Eucharist, present in His Word, His people, His creation. He is
Emmanuel, God-with-us (Mt 1:23). When we serve the least of His people, Jesus has made it clear we are serving Him (Mt 25:40, 45).
“Why delay, then?” (Acts 22:16). Serve Jesus now. Live for Him now. Today, this moment, “turn now ten times the more to seek Him” (Bar 4:28).
Yes, the Lord expects much. Yet He gives even more. Jesus said that to whom much has been given, much will be expected (Lk 12:48). The fruit Jesus expects from us flows through us because of the Holy Spirit living in us (see Gal 5:22). His burden is light and His yoke is easy (Mt 11:30). So, “seek to serve Him constantly” (Ps 105:4). “Now is the time!”
Prayer: Father, I trust in the Holy Spirit’s ability to make me Your faithful and willing instrument more than I trust in my own weaknesses. Fill me with the Holy Spirit right now.
Promise: “In Christ and through faith in Him we can speak freely to God, drawing near Him with confidence.” —Eph 3:12
Presentation Ministries
|
|
|
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.
This is the only charge You lay upon Your children, O divine Love! all the rest You take upon Yourself. The more terrible this may be, the more surely can Your presence be felt and recognised. Your children have only to love You without ceasing, and to fulfil their small duties like children. A child on its mother's lap is occupied only with its games as if it had nothing else to do but to play with its mother.
The soul should soar above the clouds, and, as no one can work during the darkness of the night, it is the time for repose. The light of reason can do nothing but deepen the darkness of faith: the radiance necessary to disperse it must proceed from the same source as itself. In this state God communicates Himself to the soul as its life, but He is no longer visible as its way, and its truth: The bride seeks the Bridegroom during this night; she seeks Him before her, and hurries forward; but He
is behind her, and holding her with His hands. He is no longer object, or idea, but principle and source. For all the needs, difficulties, troubles, falls, overthrows, persecutions, and uncertainties of souls which have lost all confidence in themselves and their own action, there are secret and inspired resources in the divine action, marvellous and unknown. The more perplexing the circumstances the keener is the expectation of a satisfactory solution. The heart says "All goes well, it is God
who carries on the work, there is nothing to fear.‚" That very suspense and desolation are verses in the canticle of darkness. It is a joy that not a single syllable is left out, and it all ends in a "Gloria Patri‚"; therefore we pursue the way of our wanderings, and darkness itself is a light for our guidance; and doubts are our best assurance. The more puzzled Isaac was to find something to sacrifice, the more completely did Abraham place all in the hands of Providence, and trust entirely in
God.
|
|
Paperback, Hardback, Kindle
|
|
Please support this outreach with a tax-deductible donation.
|
|
|
