Ark of Covenant

"Now have salvation and power come, the kingdom of our God and the authority of his anointed One." (Revelation 12: 10)

Salvation, power, kingdom and authority come through Jesus Christ, Son of Mary. One of the titles of Mary is Ark of Covenant.

Assumption of Mary into heaven

"Father in heaven, all creation rightly gives you praise, for all life and all holiness come from you. In the plan of your wisdom she who bore Christ in her womb was raised body and soul in glory to be with him in heaven. May we follow her example in reflecting your holiness and join in her hymn of endless life and praise…" (Mass Prayer in the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary)

• All creation gives God praise and rightly so.
  
• All life and all holiness come from God.
  
• Mary's Assumption was according to God's plan and wisdom.
  
• Mary reflected in an eminent way God's holiness. May we imitate her in holiness.

Heaven as our final goal

"All powerful and ever-living God, you raised the sinless Virgin, Mother of your Son, body and soul to the glory of heaven. May we see heaven as our final goal and come to share her glory….." (Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary)

How I would love to see heaven as my final goal every day. What difference would it make? It gives a supernatural perspective to everything I do. It shows clearly the transitional nature of everything here on earth.

Merciful heart

"Mercy is what pleases me not sacrifice." (Matthew 9: 13)

Lord, grant me a merciful heart. Show me how to exercise mercy today.

Banish these gods

"So now, fear Yahweh and serve him truly and sincerely; banish the gods whom your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh." (Joshua 24: 14)

Fear Yahweh

Serve Yahweh

Serve Him truly and sincerely

To serve God truly and sincerely, these gods must be banished:

• Money
  
• Health
  
• Job
  
• Tools
  
• Family
  
• Food
  

This is a hard saying. Who can do this? We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.

Hard teachings

"It is not everyone who can accept what I have said, but only those to whom it is granted." (Matthew 19: 11)

Some teachings of Christ are hard, for example:

• Chastity
  
• Simplicity
  
• Cost of discipleship
  
• Trusting God's providence
  

What percentage of the teachings of Jesus do I accept today? I know what I desire: to accept 100%. As God's kingdom expands its hold on our hearts, we accept more and more of Christ's teachings. Lord grant me the grace to accept all your teachings and live them.

Hard teachings

"It is not everyone who can accept what I have said, but only those to whom it is granted." (Matthew 19: 11)

Some teachings of Christ are hard, for example:

• Chastity
  
• Simplicity
  
• Cost of discipleship
  
• Trusting God's providence
  

What percentage of the teachings of Jesus do I accept today? I know what I desire: to accept 100%. As God's kingdom expands its hold on our hearts, we accept more and more of Chris's teachings. Lord grant me the grace to accept all your teachings and live them.

Journey through the wilderness

"And now I have given you a country for which you have not toiled, towns you have not built, although you live in them, vineyards and olive groves you have not planted, although you eat their fruit." (Joshua 24: 13)

Before the Israelites took possession of the Promised Land, they fought and won many battles through the help of God. The Enterprise is a journey through the wilderness. I must fight and win many battles with the help of God. It is wonderful to know that God is on my side. Because God is on my side, the mission is accomplished. At the end of the journey, may I be blessed to hear God say to me, "Well done good and faithful servant."

Give as you are given

"You wicked servant, I canceled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow servants just as I had pity on you?" (Matthew 18: 32 – 33)

Forgive others as the Father forgives you.

Give to others as the Father gives to you.

Do for others as the Father does to you.

If the Lord does not build the house

"Yahweh said to Joshua, 'This day, I shall begin to make you great in the eyes of all Israel so that they will know that, as I was with Moses, so shall I be with you." (Joshua 3: 7)

God appointed Joshua to succeed Moses. In Joshua 3:7, we see God equipping Joshua for the job. He is made great in the eyes of the people to facilitate the work of his leadership. He was not made great for his sake. All gifts come from God. God is the source of all inspiration and power.

"If the Lord does not build the house, they labor in vain who builds it." (Psalm 27: 1)

Answer to Prayers 2

"In truth I tell you once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I am there among them." (Matthew 18: 19 – 20)

When I meditated on the above scripture in 1999, I had a hot wish. Filled with faith, I called a number of friends to pray in agreement with me for an answer to that desire. Today, 2010, I am still waiting for an answer. What happened? What went wrong? Is Jesus unfaithful to His promises?

My understanding of prayer has grown since I responded to this scripture the way I did in 1999. Looking back at my frantic prayer and the apparent No Answer to that prayer, I feel like somebody who knows the mind of Jesus better today than I did in 1999. I feel that Jesus is saying to me: "I have heard your prayer. Just trust me completely with your life. You will have nothing to regret." I know and believe that Jesus is in control. I have come to see and believe that He knows what is best for me. I have peace and I surrender. Answer or no answer does not matter as much as knowing that Jesus is with me here and now. My devotion to Jesus has not lessened. On the contrary, it has increased.

The Spirit of Mission2

"Joshua son Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him and him the Israelites obeyed, carrying out the order which Yahweh had given to Moses." (Deuteronomy 34: 9)

Where the Holy Spirit is, there is the power to perform great tasks. We see this in the lives of Moses, Joshua, David, the prophets, John the Baptist, Jesus, Peter and Paul and so on. The Spirit is the source of inspiration and power for big tasks and big missions.

"All you need is the Holy Spirit." Dearest Mother of the Redeemer and Most Beautiful Spouse of the Holy Spirit, obtain for me great outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

St. Clare

"God of mercy, you inspired St. Clare with the love of poverty. By the help of her prayers may we follow Christ in poverty of spirit and come to the joyful vision of glory in the kingdom of heaven….."

St. Clare embraced the gift of God to love the poverty and simplicity of Jesus Christ.

What am I inspired to love?

• Eucharist
  
• Word of God
  
• Prayer
  
• Church
  

God is the source of inspiration and power

Those who love their lives

"Anyone who loves his life loses it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." (John 12: 25)

The world holds up for us models of people who love their lives and enjoy life. They have the following characteristics:

• Lots of money
  
• Good health
  
• Good food
  
• Large homes
  

The Gospel on the other hand presents us with models of people who "hate" their lives in this world. They too have their characteristics:

• Poverty
  
• Ill health
  
• Any food is good
  
• Small homes
  

If one lives and clings to his life in this world, he loses the real life. "It is the spirit that gives life. The flesh as nothing to give."

God is able

"God is perfectly able to enrich you with every grace, so that you always have enough for every conceivable need, and your resources overflow in every kind of good work." (2 Corinthians 9: 8)

Every good gift comes from God. Our time, talent and treasure all come from Him. Whenever God asks us to do something or give something, He wants us to remember the above promise. God is able to enrich us with every grace. He is able to provide all the resources we need for every kind of good work. Therefore let us respond to God with open and generous spirit. Can we ever outdo God in generosity? Never!

Release the shekel

"Go to the lake and cast a hook; take the first fish that rises, open its mouth and there you will find a shekel; take it and give it to them for me and for yourself." (Matthew 17: 27)

Jesus has shown before that He knows where all the fish are hiding. In the above scripture, He shows that He knows the particular fish that had swallowed a shekel. Now He commands the fish to release the shekel.

All things serve God. All things are possible for God. To know that my destiny is safely in the hands of God gives me a lot of comfort.

Fear God alone

"The Lord, your God, shall you fear, and him shall you serve; hold fast to him and swear by his name." (Deuteronomy 10: 20)

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom do I fear?" (Psalm 27: 1)

What we fear:

• People in authority
  
• Disease
  
• Poverty
  
• Death
  

The Lord wants us to fear Him alone. If we have fear of God in our hearts, we fear nothing. If we do not have the fear of God, we tend to fear everything.

 

 

 

All gifts come from God

"God of power, giver of the gifts we bring, accept the offering of your Church and make it the sacrament of our salvation……." (Offertory Prayer at Mass)

God is the giver of every gift. The offering we bring to Mass comes from Him. He inspires the work and gives the power that earns the money. Therefore, we should not be mean in offering Him our first fruits. We should remember that we can never outdo God in generosity.

The Eucharist is a great exchange of gifts. We bring our offering. God accepts it and in exchange gives us the Body and Blood of His Son, Jesus.

Taking the eyes off Jesus

"Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was, he became frightened; and beginning to sink, he cried out, 'Lord, save me!" (Matthew 14: 29 – 30)

How we become frightened in projects when we take our eyes off Jesus to focus on strong wind, earthquake and fire. But all is not lost, if we recover our senses and cry out like Peter, 'Lord, save me!"    

"When I am afraid, I put my trust in you, in God, whose word I praise, in God I put my trust and have no fear, what power has human strength over me?" (Psalm 56: 3 – 4)

A tiny whispering sound

"After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave." (1 Kings 19: 12 – 13)

Notice how God chose to reveal Himself to Elijah – "a tiny whispering sound."

"Be still and know that I am God."

"My salvation is in tranquility, my strength in confidence."

"My ways are not your ways."

Elijah first perceived loud wind, earthquake and fire. But when he heard the tiny whispering sound, he knew the difference. He probably knew the difference by the application of the gift of discernment. The servant of God knew the attributes of his Master.