Built on Rock

"God our Father, Christ the living bread renews us. Let Christ our teacher instruct us that on this feast of St. Ephrem we may learn your truth and practice it in love…." ( Feast of St. Ephrem)

Jesus Christ renews us in the Eucharist. He also instructs us through the word of God proclaimed during the Eucharist and the prayers of the Mass. One recent lesson I learned is this: when we learn the truth that Christ is communicating to us and put it into practice, we become like the man who builds his house on rock. No hurricane could sweep it away. It is built on rock.

Keeping the Commandments

"Therefore, anyone who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of Heaven; but the person who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 5: 19)

The first benefit of keeping the commandments is that the peace of Christ controls one's heart. (Colossians 3: 15) Peace is the source of all spiritual and material blessings. The Prince of Peace promises that anybody who in addition to keeping the commandments, teaches other people to keep them will be considered great in the kingdom of Heaven.

The Holy Spirit enables us to keep God's commandments.

Christ is our Competence

"Such is the confidence we have through Christ in facing God; it is not that we are so competent that we can claim any credit for ourselves; all our competence comes from God." (2 Corinthians 3: 4-5)

The Holy Spirit helps us to be confident when we face God in prayer through Christ.

Jesus Christ is our light and our salvation. He is also our Savior. Christ is our competence in everything. "My grace is sufficient for you."

Fill our hearts with the Holy Spirit

"Lord, in your love fill our hearts with your Holy Spirit, who inspired the deacon Ephrem to sing the praise of your mysteries and gave him strength to serve you alone." (Feast of St Ephrem)

• The only thing you need is the Holy Spirit.

St Ephrem

"The Lord opened his mouth in the assembly, and filled him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding and clothed him in a robe of glory." (Scripture text on the feast of St. Ephrem)

The Lord made Ephrem deacon, saint and doctor of the Church. He filled him with a spirit of wisdom and understanding.

The Lord will fulfill too His purpose in my life.

Little light

"You are the light of the world. … In the same way, your light must shine in people's sight, so that seeing your good works, they may give praise to your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5: 14, 16)

Lord, how do you want my light to shine on people's sight today? What do you want me to do? How do you want me to spend my time today? How do you want me to interact with those whom I meet today?

Lord, I desire that your light shine on every thought, every word and every deed of mine this day.

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.

Do not forget God

"Do not forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery; who guided you through the vast and terrible desert with its seraph serpents and scorpions, its parched and waterless ground; who brought forth water for you from the flinty rock and fed you in the desert with manna, a food unknown to your fathers." (Deuteronomy 8: 14 – 16)

Do not forget God in your prosperity.

"O God, you have made us for yourself; our hearts are restless till they rest in you." Never allow us to prefer the gift to the giver of all gifts.

Eucharistic Presence of Jesus

"Lord Jesus Christ, we worship you living among us in the sacrament of your body and blood. May we offer to our Father in heaven a solemn pledge of undivided love. May we offer to our brothers and sisters a life poured out in loving service of that kingdom where you live with the Father and the Holy Spirit…." (Mass Prayer on the feast of Corpus Christi.)

We Catholics believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist species. We also believe in His real presence in the Blessed Sacrament where the consecrated Host is reserved. Why does Jesus make Himself so readily available? So that we can come to Him and find life, love and peace.

Lord Jesus, help us to come to you in the Eucharist and the Blessed Sacrament with deep faith and love. Enable us through the power of your presence to serve your people with love and perseverance.

Feast of Corpus Christi

"Lord Jesus Christ, you gave us the Eucharist as the memorial of your suffering and death. May our worship of this sacrament of your body and blood help us to experience the salvation you won for us and the peace of the kingdom where you live with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen." (Mass Prayer on the feast of Corpus Christi)

The Eucharist is the memorial of Christ's suffering and death. The Eucharist celebrates our redemption. The Eucharist celebrates Christ's real presence with us in His Body and Blood.

Jesus Christ is everyday inviting everyone to come to the Eucharist. "Come and eat bread without money." The more we respond to this invitation, the more we experience the salvation Jesus Christ won for us.

The Eucharist brings us immense peace. Do you lack peace of soul? Then go often to the Eucharist. The Prince of Peace is waiting to immerse you in peace.

The Eucharist and the Abundant Life

"The Lord fed his people with the finest wheat and honey; their hunger was satisfied." (Psalm 81: 17)

The Eucharist is "the finest wheat and honey."

The Eucharist completely satisfies our hunger for the abundant life. "I have come that they may have life and have it to the full."

Generosity

"In truth I tell you, this poor widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury; for they have all put in money they could spare, but she in her poverty has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on."

This poor widow shows great faith. She understands that all things belong to God. She knew something else: No one can outdo God in generosity.

Constant Praise

"Then Raphael took them both aside and said, 'Bless God, utter his praise before all the living for all the favor he has shown you." (Tobit 12: 6)

God deserves constant praise and thanks. He renews His favors every day. Without faith, it is impossible to appropriate God's promises. Faith gives us access to God's promise of:

• Peace
  
• Pardon
  
• Power
  
• Protection
  
• Provision
  
• Purpose
  

Delighting in the Word of God

"And the large crowd was listening to him with delight." (Mark 12: 37)

Jesus Christ was not just a great teacher but He also had great communications skills. He must have been witty in the way He narrated the parables in particular and His teachings in general.

Do we listen to the Gospel with delight? The seed that fell on good and fertile soil produced much harvest.

Joys and Trials

"I can see you, my son, the light of my eyes." (Tobit 11: 14)

God afflicted Tobit with blindness for a short time to try his faith. Tobit like job was steadfast in faith during his period of trial. God healed him of his blindness.

"For, having afflicted me, he has had pity on me and now I see my son Tobias." (Tobit 11:15)

Lord, your providential designs for my life encompass joys and trials. Help me during the period of trials to call upon you and to trust you completely.

Eucharist and the Power to Endure

"Lord, at this celebration of the triumph of your martyrs, we have received the sacraments which helped them endure their sufferings. In the midst of our own hardships may this Eucharist keep us steadfast in faith and love…." (Prayer in Mass)

The Eucharist helps us to endure suffering. The Eucharist helps to keep us steadfast in faith and love.