Light and Darkness

PART XVIII

Lord, look at our heart and cleanse us to avoid darkness 

  Our Heavenly Father loves us so deeply that He offered His only Son, Jesus Christ, as a genuine sacrifice for us. I was struck with mortality in an unexpected way many years ago, when I was newly married. I assumed I'd died and that everything had ended. My wife was pregnant at the time, and we both worked in Oman. One day, I paid her a visit at work. I was crossing the street after the visit to catch a bus, and the bus was coming from the opposite side, and I didn't look to the left when crossing. A Pick Up suddenly hit me in the knee, sending me down. The automobile tried to save me. It simply overturned and skidded to the opposite side of the road. The Arab (local) came out of the car and asked what had happened to me. He expressed gratitude to God for my rescue. Later, I sensed an angel of God take possession of the vehicle, and I believe the angel is sitting in the Pick Up Vehicle. There is no way a driver driving in the opposite direction could have saved me from this accident. My vision had gone black, and I couldn't see anything.  The driver helped me board the bus and told me how scared my wife was because of the incident; she was staring at me helplessly, wondering what to do. I began to believe that if I died without accomplishing anything nice for my soul, I would go to hell. Sirach 15:14–18 (NJB):15 If you choose, you will keep the commandments and so be faithful to his will. 16 He has set fire and water before you; put out your hand to whichever you prefer. 17 A human being has life and death before him; whichever he prefers will be given him. 18 For vast is the wisdom of the Lord; he is almighty and all-seeing. I felt as if God had given me a new life, and a great longing for Jesus arose in my heart. I was blaming myself and contemplating a retreat. The following year, both of us attended a retreat at Divine Retreat Centre. It was a watershed moment in my life as I faced the gloom of death. God was always providing me with situations or incidents in my life to bring me closer to Him. Actually, the incidences are a summons from God, and they serve as a caution to me to seek Him while He is near. God is not concerned with our physical looks or ability.. 1 Samuel 16:7 (NJB): 7 but Yahweh said to Samuel, ‘Take no notice of his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him; God does not see as human beings see; they look at appearances but Yahweh looks at the heart. God is choosing us in a different way. Then I attend so many retreats and I could not experience Jesus in a full manner. Then I thought I am not worthy to get Jesus. I knew it was because my sins that Jesus was away from me.  

Daily Word of God

 

Daily Word On 21st September 2023

Lord, I am eaten up with zeal for your House

John 2:16–17 (NJB): Take all this out of here and stop using my Father’s house as a market.’ 17  Then his disciples remembered the words of scripture: I am eaten up with zeal for your house. 

When Jesus saw the merchants and sellers in the Synagogue, he became enraged. He does not want his church to function as a marketplace. He desires that his church be a place of prayer. He became enraged and angrily threw everything that these folks were selling down. We must be zealous about the Church of God. Psalm 69:9 (NJB): for I am eaten up with zeal for your house, and insults directed against you fall on me.’ It is critical that we show our Lord respect. Be calm and pray hard for what is bothering us when we receive insults or contempt from our church or community. 

Lord, grant us the grace to keep your house, which is our heart, pure and holy in order to make it a home for you. 

The Daily Word of God

Daily Word On 19th September 2022

Mother Mary told servants: ‘Do Whatever he tells you’ 

John 2:3–5 (NJB): the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ 4 Jesus said, ‘Woman, what do you want from me? My hour has not come yet.’ 5 His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ 

Mother Mary told Jesus that there is no wine in the marriage party. Jesus was not started his mission fully. So he told her “my hour has not come yet’. But she has the full faith in Jesus that he will do it for her. We can see the obedience of Jesus to his mother. Mother Mary told the servants ‘Do whatever he tells you’ and this should be our attitude towards God, without any doubt we should obey Him. So as Mother Mary told the servants ‘do whatever he tells you’ we should obey what Jesus tells us to do without looking back. 

Light and Darkness

 

Part XVII

   What Psalmist prays for, to keep his eyes from seeing the bad images of this world to avoid the sins and pleading to God to give him the word of life. Lord, ‘Avert my eyes from pointless images, by your word give me life.’(Ps. 119: 37). Satan always tries to show us all the worldly things in front of our eyes. Our Lord gave us beautiful eyes, our heart, body and mind, which should not be corrupted by all these evil desires. Once these things start to corrupt us, our desires for Jesus and for the heavenly things will be vanished away. Psalmist pleads to God to give him the Word of life. Psalmist entrusted his life for God by praising Him with hymns and songs. His pen he always uses to write beautiful praising hymns to enlighten his mind and to avoid darkness in his life. So what should we try to see? Search from the Word of life, the Scriptures. Everything is hidden in him.16 Search in Yahweh’s book, and read, not one of these will be missing, not one of them lacking a mate; for thus his mouth has ordained it, and his spirit has brought them together.Is 34:16. Isiah the Prophet says read from the Bible and we will be guided by His spirit to understand the Scriptures. Jesus in his Gospel promised to give us the Holy Spirit ; If you love me you will keep my commandments. 16 I shall ask the Father, and he will give you another Paraclete to be with you for ever, 17 the Spirit of truth whom the world can never accept since it neither sees nor knows him; but you know him, because he is with you, he is in you. Jn 14: 15-17. Here Jesus promises about the Holy Spirit and Worldly people cannot understand or know Him. He is the Spirit of the truth and we will understand the truth. The truth is Jesus, Jn 17:17;Consecrate them in the truth; your word is truth. 

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

                              The Alter of the Holy Sepulchre 

Lord, Your Holy Cross been exalted,

The Cross, on which our Lord was crucified, granted us salvation. 

The world considered this to be a disgraceful Cross.

But You brought a immeasurable value to Your Holy Cross

You were crucified like a thief by Jews and Romans.

They were given You vinegar to drink, and they all scoffed and yelled, 'He saved others, but cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down from the crucifixion now, so that we may see and believe.'

Even those who were crucified alongside him mocked him. 

How could I have forgotten the Crosses in my life?

Lord shaped me via these crosses to make me a friend of Jesus. 

Lord told me, 'my Cross is simple to carry, and my burden is light.' 

Lord, I keep your cross imprinted on my heart.

It is carried by the wounds on your body.

I reflect on these mysteries day and night, which are hidden because of the foolishness of this life. 

The Cross made me to humble in front of You and taught me humility to practice

According to the Holy Apostle, the only knowledge to know is Jesus the crucified. 

The message of the cross is folly for those on the road to ruin. 

But for those on the path of salvation, is God’s strength

Lord, and we must only teach the crucified Christ to bring redemption. 

When the Holy Mass begins, the priests make the sign of the cross.

When a priest consecrates the Eucharist, he makes the sign of the Cross. 

When the mass is finished, they make the sign of the Cross. 

They make the sign of Cross when the mass is ended 

The Cross is not the History but for the salvation of all humanity 

It is not easy to carry cross, but yes, those in the Spirit of God

Can anyone reject the cross and it is impossible

But Jesus says, my yoke is easy, for the gentle and humble heart 

Moses made the bronze serpent to save the Israelites

They all looked on the raised serpent in the desert

By looking on it, Lord, you saved them from death

Lord, we also look into your crucifix to get the life in fulness

Lord, your holy Saint Helena found the Holy Cross under the debris of Jerusalem

Along with her all the saints and whole Christianity has praised God 

St Helena found the burial grave of Jesus there,

Where she built a Church the Holy Sepulchre over the Tomb of Jesus 

The most holiest of Christianity  

 

Lord, the Crucifix makes us understand You have died for our salvation

Lord, we praise You, we adore You, we glorify You, by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world

MPI - Community of Grace 

The Daily Word of God

 

Daily Word On 13th Sept 2022

Jesus is giving us the grace and truth 

John 1:17–18 (NJB): for the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. 

Moses was given the law by God! But how Jesus is, he is above the law. He brought and and given us the grace and he reveals us the truth( that is Word of God). John 17:17 (NJB): Consecrate them in the truth; your word is truth. Only Jesus knows the Father and he only can reveal us who is Father in Heaven. Matthew 11:27 (NJB): Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. The Son (Jesus ) has to reveal The Father because everything is entrusted to Jesus by the The Father. Only Jesus has the authority to reveal the mysteries of God. It’s a special gift Jesus wants to reveal us. 

Lord, we don’t understand the hidden mysteries of Your Kingdom, but make us humble enough to know you and Father in Heaven! Amen

The Light and Darkness

Part XVI 

Lord, let our eyes guide us to Your real Light 

  The eye serves as our body's lamp, guiding us to the true light. We must exercise great caution when looking about for something that is forbidden in the eyes of God. If we see wonderful things with both our inner and exterior sight, we shall be filled with the light of Jesus. If we observe anything that is forbidden by Jesus' teaching, our eyes will get darkened. ‘The lamp of the body is the eye. It follows that if your eye is clear; your whole body will be filled with light. But if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be in darkness. If then, the light inside you is darkened, what darkness that will be!’(Matt. 6: 22-23) How our eyes will be diseased? For example, while we watch TV, there could be programmes which might have evil contents which can influence or corrupt the goodness within our soul, if we are not careful. St. Paul is saying: ‘Keep as your pattern the sound teaching you heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. With the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, look after that precious thing given in trust.’ 2Timo. 1: 13-14. We have to pray for the grace to overcome all evil ways and keep our eyes close to the Crucified Christ in order not to fall into the sin. Let us keep away our eyes from being seduced by the sight of the pleasures and the glory of this world. (Luke 4:5-8).