Friday, January 01, 2021

The Feast of two great friends and saints: Basil the Great & Gregory Nazianzen.

"Remain in Him."  (1 John 2 : 27 & 28)

Saturday 2nd January 2021, in the Season of Christmas is the feast of two great friends, saints, Bishops and Doctors of the Church: Saints Basil the Great (329 to 379)and Gregory Nazianzen (329 to 389).  Both men, great friends in this world "proclaimed Christ crucified; Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God." (Cf 1 Corinthians 1: 23 - 24).

One of the words the Spirit gives the Churches today is: Remain. (1 John 2 : 22 - 28)  Several places in the first Reading, the Spirit urges us to "remain in Him."   (1 John 2 : 27,28)
What does remain in something or somebody mean? A few examples from the dictionary.
#1. Stay in the place that one has been occupying.
#2. Continue to possess a particular quality or fulfill a particular role. Eg: Constancy and fidelity.
#3. I'll treat you well, as long as you remain loyal.
#4. Abide in something or dwell in something.

The Spirit instructs us to remain in Jesus.

How do we remain in Jesus?
#1.  We remain in Jesus when we remain or abide in His word every day.  Jesus is in His word.
#2.  We remain in Jesus when we converse with Him in prayer.  When we pray, we talk to Jesus.  When we read the Word or a spiritual book, Jesus talks to us.
#3.  We remain in Jesus when we encounter Jesus in the Eucharist.  The Eucharist is the source, center and summit of the Christian life.
#4.  We remain in Jesus when we are aware of His promised presence in us as Emmanuel, the God who is always with us.

"And now, children, remain in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be put to shame by him at his coming."  (1 John 2: 28)

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

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