If you wish, you can make me clean

"A leper* came to him [and kneeling down] begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.”
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.”  (Mark 1: 40 - 41)

This leper  teaches us a number of lesson in the art of prayer.
First, great and successful prayer is born of great need.  This man covered with leprosy has little hope of being healed.  Yet he was not fatalistic about his condition. He bides his time, waiting for the opportunity and God's appointment.  He heard about Jesus and made a leap of faith that if he could approach Him, He would heal him.  Then suddenly, the opportunity appeared and Jesus is within an approachable distance.  He could not waste this opportunity for the whole world.  He approaches Jesus.  Jesus moves nearer to him.  He knelt down and made his prayer.  "If you wish, you can make me clean."  The rest is history.

Our needs drive us to Jesus.  Lord, heal me of the leprosy in my heart that prevents me from using fully my gifts to serve you.

I delight to do your will

"I delight to do your will, my God; your law is in my inner being!”  (Psalm 40: 9)
"Find your delight in the LORD who will give you your heart's desire." (Psalm 37:4) 

I find my delight in you O Lord and I desire to do your will.  Fill me therefore with your Holy Spirit to enable me to do your will always and everywhere.

"Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.”  (Matthew 21: 22)

I believe that the Father will grant me my heart's desire because of this promise:

"If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him?” (Luke 11: 13)

It is truly the word of God

"And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly, that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us, you received not a human word but, as it truly is, the word of God, which is now at work in you who believe."  (1 Thessalonians 2: 13)

Thank you Lord for feeding me everyday with your word.  Show me how to apply this word everyday.  May your word be a light for my every step.  My your word dwell in me richly.  May it increase my faith and understanding everyday.

Come after me, I will make you fishers of men

"Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Then they abandoned their nets and followed him."  (Mark 1: 17 - 18)

Lord, if you call me, here I am.  Although I may have answered your call "you too, go to the vineyard and work"  rather late in the day, I come with everything I have to the field.  All that I need is your sustaining grace.

I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of His sandals

"John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire."  (Luke 3: 16)

Dear Jesus, give me the humility and singleness of purpose of St. John the Baptist.
St. John the Baptist, pray for me.

If we ask anything according to his will, He hears us

"And we have this confidence in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, we know that what we have asked him for is ours."  (1 John 5: 14 - 15)

Father, what beautiful words of encouragement you have for me this morning.  If there is something I can say with certainty today, it is that I do not desire anything outside your will.  If I do, do not grant it.  I have come to learn and believe firmly that you know what is best for me.  Three of your greatest blessings to me today convinces of this truth.  I did not choose Casa, STM, SFJ by my own ingenuity.  Your loving providence guided me to these blessings. I did not choose to enjoy the blessings of Sunday because of my brilliance or goodness.  You gave it to me as a pure gift. Why then should I dishonor you by wanting anything outside your will?  Forbid that this will happen.

Father, you promise that since I do not know how to pray and what to pray for, your benevolent Spirit living in me will direct my heart and mind to pray in accordance to your will.  May this happen always and everywhere.  I ask for this in the name of your Son Jesus Christ.  Amen!!!

"I do will it. Be made clean."

"Now there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where he was; and when he saw Jesus, he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do will it. Be made clean.” And the leprosy left him immediately."  (Luke 5: 12 - 13)

This man was full of leprosy and Jesus touched him.  What can I learn from this?  Grant me the grace to extend my hand and touch all those you want me to touch.

The man said,  “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean."  The man has heard about the miracles of Jesus and believed that Jesus could heal him.  Faith is to believe that God has the power to do whatever He wishes come what may.  This leper has this faith. He also understands that God will not do everything He can do.  His will is the best for us.  He prays and hopes that God's will for him will be healing.

Jesus utters the gracious words, 'It is my will that you be healed.'  Then He said, "Be made clean."  And the leprosy left the man immediately.

I believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God

“For whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.”  (1 John 5: 4)

Scripture and religion teach us that there is a constant struggle in the world between the forces of good and evil.  If I am in any campaign or struggle, I will be interested in any shortcut to victory.   1 John 5: 4 caught my attention because it promises a silver bullet for any war.  That bullet is Faith.

What is faith?  In the very next verse, St. John the Evangelist defines faith:  “Who [indeed] is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”  (1 John 5: 5)

 In the Sacred Scriptures, there are many definitions of faith.  But 1 John 5: 5 appeals to me because of its simplicity.  I need a working definition of faith that I can use in battles.  I believe in Jesus Christ.  I believe that He is the Son of God.  I believe in His promise that if we ask, we shall receive; if we seek, we shall find; if we knock, the door will be opened to us.  Yes, I believe in prayer.  I believe in miracle.  I am learning today to leave the rest to God.  Once I exercise my faith through prayer, I surrender to God the outcome, the means and the timing of His answer.

Perfect love drives out fear

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love."  (1 John 4: 18)

Perfect awareness of God's constant and unconditional love for us means living in the full knowledge of His loving and powerful providence.  This providence is fully at work for us every moment and every step of our life's journey.

If you fear that God will abandon you with regard to family, health, finances, job, tools, food or future, it means that your understanding of His love for you is deficient.  Our spiritual journey is to take us from the place of fear, worry and doubts to the glorious freedom of fullness of charity.

He taught them many things

"When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things."  (Mark 6: 34)

Lord Jesus, you satisfied the hearts of those who seek to listen to your word by teaching them many things.  After teaching them many things, you fed them with bread and fish and they ate and were satisfied.  Grant me a compassionate heart for all those you appoint me to minister to.  May I remember from this event that nourishment for the body should not be neglected when teaching the word is the primary event.

Unleashing the Power of the Holy Spirit

After dinner on this feast of the Epiphany, I watched Christian TV and 2 of the presentations touched on my major theme for 2013:  How to be filled with the Holy Spirit and His power.  Both Merritt and Lindsey talked about what I know already.  The new thing I learned is this:  Every morning, I am refilled with the HS during morning prayer.  My asking for the HS in prayer with faith unleashes this outpouring.  How do I activate this power?  There is no global activation.  It is a point to point activation.  An analogy with the credit card is appropriate here.  Because your credit card is good and activated does not mean that you walk into a store, pick an item and walk out with it.  You still have to go through the checkout and present that card.  In the analogy with the HS, presenting the card at checkout point is ASKING FOR THE HELP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AT THE POINT OF NEED.  This is done through prayer.  The  prayer need not be lengthy or complex.  A simple "Help me O Holy Spirit" is enough.

The other important thing I learned about the Holy Spirit activation is this:  After invoking the help of the HS in faith, Surrender the Outcome, the Means and the Timing of the Solution to the Holy Spirit.  We see here, a deeper exercise of faith.  This is the level I fail.  Sometimes, it is difficult to surrender the Outcome, the Means and the Timing of the Solution to God.

As I reflect on the above, I remembered a prayer I learned  during my Desert Experience:
I believe in Prayer
I believe in the word of God
I believe in Miracles
I leave the rest to God.

The fourth step - LEAVING THE REST TO GOD is the hardest.  Leaving the Rest to God means Surrendering the Outcome, the Means and the Timing to God.  If I can do this, this will represent a quantum leap in my spiritual development.  At this point in my spiritual journey, my only hope of making this leap is pure grace.  This  I know that God is on my side and that in the fullness of time, He will grant me this grace in His mercy.

"Faith that is firm is also patient."  (Isaiah 28: 16)

You have overcome them

"You belong to God, children, and you have conquered them, for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."  (1 John 4: 4)

The first principle of a successful spiritual campaign is:  Do a thorough SWOT analysis   SWOT stands for:  S = Strength, W = Weakness, O = Opportunity, T = Threat.  I learned this principle in Marketing.  Then I saw that this is one of the principles of Ignatian spirituality.

After SWOT analysis, St. Paul urges the Ephesian Christians to:
"Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.
Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil.
For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens."  (Ephesians 6: 10 - 12)

For this warfare, we are to put on the full armor and not pieces of armor.  One of the most important pieces of armor is "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

The word of God, the sword of the spirit assures us even before the battle that we "have overcome them, for the one in us is greater than the one who is in the world."  What a tremendous boost to confidence is the sure knowledge that the outcome of the battle is certain to be victory for us.

They prostrated themselves and did Him homage

"and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh."  (Matthew 2: 11)

They prostrated themselves and did him homage even though they found Mother and Son in a very poor environment.  They walked by faith that led them to the house and not by physical and sense evidence.

They came, they saw and they worshiped.  No doubts, no fears, no worries.

Lord, grant me the faith of the Magi for your presence in the Eucharist and the Blessed Sacrament.

God Himself is the top prize

"LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you have made my destiny secure.
*Pleasant places were measured out for me;
fair to me indeed is my inheritance."  (Psalm 16: 5 - 6)

God Himself is the top prize.  He who has God has everything.

"And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life."  (Matthew 19: 29)

You are the living bread that came down from heaven

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”  (John 6: 51)

Lord Jesus, I ate this Bread today.  Thank you for inviting me to eat this Bread in the Kingdom. I participated in the Supper of the Lamb, therefore I rejoice when I read of your promise in John 6: 51.  Let it be done to me according to your promise.

God is not ashamed to call me a son

"Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."  (1 John 3:2)

The  Holy Spirit declares in the above scripture that here and now, I am a child of God.  Do I believe this?  Yes, I do.  Do I live the implication of this astounding declaration always and everywhere?  Not always and everywhere but  I am learning.  All the truth I need to live my filial adoption are contained in the Our Father, the Lord's Prayer.  God who is not ashamed to call me His son gave me a Brother in His Son Jesus Christ who is not ashamed to call me a brother.

Father thank you for adopting me as your son.  Jesus Christ, thank you for not being ashamed to call me your brother.  Grant me the  grace to embrace my  weaknesses so that I can return love for love.

"When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” (Luke 2: 48)
Consider this:  Jess Christ is not ashamed to call Mary His Mother.

My mood and every other thing is determined by my faith.  I am upbeat today.  Why? God says to me today: You are my son.  Jesus Christ says to me: You are my brother. Both Father and Son say to me:  We are not ashamed of you.

Jesus Christ is the light of all nations

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
Upon those who lived in a land of gloom a light has shone.”  (Isaiah 9:1)

The great light is Jesus.  He is the Light of all nations.
I like the exposition of John Gills on Isaiah 9:2:-

“they have seen a great light;
Christ himself, who conversed among the Galilaeans, preached unto them, and caused the light of his glorious Gospel to shine into many of their hearts; by which their darkness was removed, so that they not only saw Christ, this great light, with their bodily eyes, but with the eyes of their understanding; who may be called the "light", because he is the author and giver of all light, even of nature, grace, and glory; and a "great" one, because he is the sun, the greatest light, the sun of righteousness, the light of the world, both of Jews and Gentiles; he is the true light, in distinction from all typical ones, and in opposition to all false ones, and who in his person is God over all.”

Matthew Henry has equally good commentary on the above scripture:

“When the gospel comes to any place, to any soul, light comes, a great light, a shining light, which will shine more and more. It should be welcome to us, as light is to those that sit in darkness, and we should readily entertain it, both because if is of such sovereign use to us and because it brings its own evidence with it. Truly this light is sweet.”

The Lord bless you and keep you!

"The LORD bless you and keep you!
The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!
The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace!"  (Numbers 6: 24 - 26)

My God and My Father, what a beautiful blessing to start this year 2013!  I believe in you.  I have absolute trust in your power.  I know you want indeed to bless me.  With open heart, mind and hands, I receive your blessings this day.  I ask for one favor now, Father.  Never permit me to doubt the blessings  you have pronounced on me this day.  No matter the circumstances, always help me to remember this blessing and to take comfort in it.  I ask  this in the name of your Son Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen!!!

2013 - A definite Year of Change

"You know these things...now do them.
That is the path of blessing." (John 13:17)

Change happens not because of what you know but because of what you do daily.

Remember: Christmas is a season and not a day.
May 2013 bring you much joy & peace, deep experience of faith & good health.

Peace beyond understanding

"And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful."  (Colossians 3: 15)

The peace that Christ promises is the peace that can coexist with bad news.  It is a peace that is based on faith and our knowledge of God.  It is a peace that is enhanced by understanding, that gift of the Holy Spirit that reveals to us what God is doing in our life.  Without this peace, there can be no security.