Word of God Reflection I Part IV

 

A Study and Reflection on Sirach Chapter 39 : 1-11

Word of God Reflection Sirach 39: 5, On 6th Dec 2024

Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, am a  sinner,  

  Let us meditate these Verse of Sir 39: 5, At dawn and with all his heart he turns to the Lord his Creator; he pleads in the presence of the Most High, he opens his mouth in prayer and makes entreaty for his sins. A sincere follower of Jesus will rise early, either before the sun rises or before the cock crows. Before he does anything, he will pray to the Lord as he gets out of bed. The first fruit of our lives must be given to the Lord.  He is going to attend Holy Mass at the church in the morning. He will give thanks to God for all the blessings (time, talent, and treasure) before going to the Holy Mass. To obtain repentance, we must read and contemplate Psalm 51, a lovely Psalm. The Psalmist expresses profound repentance to God in the opening two lines of this lovely plea;  Ps 51: 1-2 Have mercy on me, O God, in your faithful love,  in your great tenderness wipe away my offences;  2 wash me clean from my guilt,  purify me from my sin. God has given the grace to him to give to listen and obey His commandments. He will examine his conscience before he attend the Holy Mass and receiving the Eucharist. God will pour His mercy on us even we are sinners as mentioned in Rm 2: 4 Or are you not disregarding his abundant goodness, tolerance and patience, failing to realise that this generosity of God is meant to bring you to repentance? 

  His top priority will be setting aside time for prayer in front of our Lord. He dedicates the prime time of the day to the Lord by praying first thing in the morning. We should make amends for our past transgressions, especially those that may have led to more serious ones. He's going to pray like the Psalmist, which I thought was very great.., Ps 19: 12-14 But who can detect his own failings?  Wash away my hidden faults.  13 And from pride preserve your servant,  never let it be my master.  So shall I be above reproach,  free from grave sin.  14 May the words of my mouth always find favour,  and the whispering of my heart,  in your presence, Yahweh,  my rock, my redeemer. We may not recognize our sins, and how the occasion or situations for the temptations comes due to our pride in heart and in our words, which leads us to do the grave sins in shame. James 1: 12 Blessed is anyone who perseveres *  when trials come. Such a person is of proven worth and will win the prize of life, the crown that the Lord has promised to those who love him. Therefore, we must remain persistent in the face of difficulties and temptations that could lead us to sin, which could be right outside our door at any time. However, we shall obtain the reward of life if we endure hardships. The apostle James states that even if we may not sin if we love God, the Lord will crown us with eternal life. 

The Word of God Reflection I Part III

A Study and Reflection on Sirach Chapter 39 : 1-11

Word of God Reflection Sirach 39: 4, On 2nd Dec 2024

Lord, help us to become your disciples to understand Your ways!

Let us meditate the verse of Sirach 39: 4 He enters the service of princes, he is seen in the presence of rulers. He travels in foreign countries, he has experienced human good and human evil. 

The man who follow and obey the commandments of the Lord. Jesus says about such people Jn 14: 23-24(NJB)“Anyone who loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make a home in him. Anyone who does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not my own: it is the word of the Father who sent me.” These kinds of people will enlist to dutifully serve the kings and princes. People of this type will be widely recognized in society and may hold high positions of dignity when the great leaders of their nations are present. God will grant them the opportunity to represent their nation abroad as ambassadors. They are the ones who reverently serve the Lord, and God will permit them to follow the path of righteousness. In the Letter to Ephesians, St. Paul states that he is the messenger of the gospel, which Jesus has committed to him. He also states that we shall be the messengers of Christ for his gospel once we are united with the Lord. Eph 6: 20 “of which I am an ambassador in chains; pray that in proclaiming it I may speak as fearlessly as I ought to.” When we are Christ's prisoners, we shall act in the way that the Lord desires of us rather than requesting the comforts of this world. As Sirach says above, when we trust in the Word of God and its secret mysteries, the Lord permits us to enter His rest, which He offers for us eternally. In this way, the soul will enter His Divine Rest. Heb 4:3 We, however, who have faith, are entering a place of rest,……They might have the fear of the Lord in abundance. Ps 25: 12-14(NJB) “MEN who respect Yahweh, what of them?  He teaches them the way they must choose. Neighbours to happiness will they live,  and their children inherit the land.  Only those who fear Yahweh  have his secret and his covenant, for their understanding.” When we are in the service of God, the Lord will lead us to the green pastures of the world and he will be blessed them with best provisions in materially and spiritually. They travel around the world to spread the Good News, God’s Word and will do it without any fear. We are fighting against the evil, and we have to face all his tactics in our daily spiritual life but we can win him by doing good things in our daily which is pleasing God. Eph 6: 10-12 ‘Put on the full armour of God so as to be able to resist the devil’s tactics. For it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the principalities and the ruling forces who are masters of the darkness in this world, the spirits of evil in the heavens.’