The Holy Spirit is the Pledge

"It is God who gives us, with you, a sure place in Christ and has both anointed us and marked us with his seal, giving us as pledge the Spirit in our hearts." (2 Corinthians 1: 21 – 22)

I have a sure place in Christ Jesus. This is the special gift of the Father. But that is not all His gift to me. He has anointed me and sealed me with the Holy Spirit. Do I doubt the presence of the Spirit in me? Not at all! I know that God will complete the good work He has started in me. As long as I keep praying, I am winning. If God is with me, it is accomplished.

Hunger for Uprightness

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for uprightness: they shall have their fill." (Matthew 5: 6)

It is important to note that Jesus did not say: "Blessed are those who have righteousness…"

Righteousness is produced in the soul by the Holy Spirit. Our task is to sincerely desire and pray for it in season and out of season. In the fullness of God's time, our hunger shall be satisfied.

Father, grant me a great hunger and thirst for uprightness.

Father of Compassion

"Blessed be God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God." (2 Corinthians 1: 3-4)

I am struck by two points in the above scripture:

1. God encourages us in every single affliction. It may not seem so but that is the truth.
   
2. We can only encourage others with the encouragement we have first received from the Father.
   

For the past many weeks, I have been enjoying the consolations of the Father in these areas:

• Enterprise
  
• Job
  
• Tools
  

Thank you Father. Now, lead and guide me to those you want me to encourage and enable me to do so.

Table of the Lamb

"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)

This great promise of Jesus Christ is fulfilled everyday in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. It is also the memorial of His passion, death and resurrection. In one act, we encounter Jesus, the living bread that came down from heaven. In the same act, He invites us to feed on His flesh and blood. Blessed is he who is invited to the table of the Lamb.

The One Loaf

"Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf." (1Corinthians 10: 16-17)

The Eucharist is a sign of the unity of the Church. The Church is one because we are nourished from the same loaf world-wide.

One Shepherd, one body and one loaf.