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25 January 2015
The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Mark 1:14-20)
Today we hear Jesus calling the first disciples to become fishers of men. Without any hesitation, they leave their nets and families to follow Him.
Today Jesus is also speaking to us. “Follow Me! Leave behind your nets that are all tangled up in selfishness. Leave behind your disordered pursuits of money, pleasure and recognition. Come follow Me. Give over to Me whatever it is that is taking your inner freedom. Give Me your sins, your illnesses, your pain. And I will heal you.”
St. Faustina shared this conversation in her Diary: ‘O my Jesus, in thanksgiving for Your many graces, I offer You my body and soul, intellect and will, and all the sentiments of my heart. Through the vows, I have given myself entirely to You; I have then nothing more that I can offer You.’ Jesus said to me, ‘My daughter, you have not offered Me that which is really yours.’ I probed deeply into myself and (…) unable to see what it was that I had not yet given to the Lord, I asked, ‘Jesus, tell me what it is and I will give it to You at once with a generous heart.’ Jesus said to me with kindness, ‘Daughter, give Me your misery, because it is your exclusive property’ (Diary 1318).
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, I trust in You and want to follow You. I give You my sins, my illnesses, and all the misery that is within me. I believe that You can heal me. Help me to desire You alone and to do Your holy will. Amen.
18 January 2015
The Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (John 1:35-42)
In today’s Gospel we see the disciples of John the Baptist following Jesus after coming to understand that He was the promised Messiah. When Andrew brings his brother Simon to Jesus, the Lord immediately tells him, “So you are Simon, the son of John? You shall be called Cephas.”
The Lord always calls us by name, inviting each person into friendship with Him. The call to vocation, be it to the priesthood, to marriage, or to the religious life, is always secondary, for everyone is called first and foremost to love God with his whole heart and whole soul. When we come to love Him in truth, our every action will help to bring others closer to Him. St. Faustina confirmed this, writing: “Observing myself and those who are close to me, I have come to understand how great an influence I have on other souls, not by any heroic deeds, as these are striking in themselves, but by small actions like a movement of the hand, a look, and many other things too numerous to mention, which have an effect on and reflect in the souls of others...” (Diary 1475).
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, I hear You calling me and I want to respond. I want to love You and to help bring others to love You, too. Draw me close to You and teach me to love. Amen.
11 January 2015
The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Mark 1:7-11)
In today’s Gospel we see Jesus standing among sinners at the bank of the River Jordan. Jesus accepts Baptism in spite of His sinlessness, for His mission from the Father is to take on Himself the sins of the whole world, undergoing His Passion and death on the Cross for those very sins.
Each sin we commit is an act of disobedience toward God spring ing from our weaknesses. Jesus knows our hearts; He knows we are weak. But He wants us to ask Him for the strength we need in our fight against sin, He wants us to give our sins over to Him, to surrender ourselves to His almighty power. Jesus looks at our efforts, doesn’t demand that we succeed every time in the fight against evil. If through prayer we invite Him to fight the evil in our hearts, we will become like Him, of Whom the Father said, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” Jesus told St. Faustina: “(…W)hen you are obedient I take away your weakness and replace it with My strength” (Diary 381).
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, sinner that I am, I want to be pleasing to the Father as You were. Help me keep fighting to give up my sinful ways. Give me the grace I need to keep getting up as often as my weaknesses cause me to fall. I trust in You! Amen.
4 January 2015
The Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord (Matthew 2:1-12)
In this week’s Gospel we see astrologers from faraway lands arriving in Bethlehem to pay homage to the Saviour and King of Kings. Jesus has been the Saviour for every generation of Christians since His birth over 2000 years ago. They give Him their sins, they give Him their selfish pursiuts after the stars of popularity, pleasure and money to become His happy followers and do His will. Then they lead others to Him through their example of love.
We, too, are happy followers of Jesus, as long as we remain pure of heart and do not allow selfishness to take root in our hearts. When we give in to sin and selfishness to do our own will, our souls lose their joy and beauty, and we end up closing ourselves to others. St. Faustina knew this when she wrote: “Sorrow will not establish itself in a heart which loves the will of God. My heart, longing for God, feels the whole misery of exile. I keep going forward bravely—though my feet become wounded—to my homeland and, on the way, I nourish myself on the will of God. It is my food. (…) Although the desert is fearful, I walk with lifted head and eyes fixed on the sun; that is to say, on the merciful Heart of Jesus. (Diary 886).
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, I offer You my heart and my life. Deliver me from selfishness and help me to follow You with a pure and undivided heart. Teach me to do Your will. Amen.