Saturday - January 11, 2020
"Judge
with charity all that you see others doing. When this is not possible, excuse
them and pray for them."
--St.
Francis de Sales
TODAY'S READINGS
January 11 2020
Saturday after Epiphany
Lectionary: 217
Reading 11 JN 5:14-21
Beloved:
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.
If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly,
he should pray to God and he will give him life.
This is only for those whose sin is not deadly.
There is such a thing as deadly sin,
about which I do not say that you should pray.
All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.
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.
If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly,
he should pray to God and he will give him life.
This is only for those whose sin is not deadly.
There is such a thing as deadly sin,
about which I do not say that you should pray.
All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.
We know that anyone begotten by God does not sin;
but the one begotten by God he protects,
and the Evil One cannot touch him.
We know that we belong to God,
and the whole world is under the power of the Evil One.
We also know that the Son of God has come
and has given us discernment to know the one who is true.
And we are in the one who is true,
in his Son Jesus Christ.
He is the true God and eternal life.
Children, be on your guard against idols.
but the one begotten by God he protects,
and the Evil One cannot touch him.
We know that we belong to God,
and the whole world is under the power of the Evil One.
We also know that the Son of God has come
and has given us discernment to know the one who is true.
And we are in the one who is true,
in his Son Jesus Christ.
He is the true God and eternal life.
Children, be on your guard against idols.
Responsorial PsalmPS 149:1-2, 3-4, 5-6A AND 9B
R. (see 4a) The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to the LORD a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to the LORD a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia MT 4:16
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelJN 3:22-30
Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea,
where he spent some time with them baptizing.
John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim,
because there was an abundance of water there,
and people came to be baptized,
for John had not yet been imprisoned.
Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew
about ceremonial washings.
So they came to John and said to him,
“Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan,
to whom you testified,
here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.”
John answered and said,
“No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven.
You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Christ,
but that I was sent before him.
The one who has the bride is the bridegroom;
the best man, who stands and listens for him,
rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice.
So this joy of mine has been made complete.
He must increase; I must decrease.”
where he spent some time with them baptizing.
John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim,
because there was an abundance of water there,
and people came to be baptized,
for John had not yet been imprisoned.
Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew
about ceremonial washings.
So they came to John and said to him,
“Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan,
to whom you testified,
here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.”
John answered and said,
“No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven.
You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Christ,
but that I was sent before him.
The one who has the bride is the bridegroom;
the best man, who stands and listens for him,
rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice.
So this joy of mine has been made complete.
He must increase; I must decrease.”
******************************
How can we be sure what is God's Will?
Divine guidance is not a complicated business. It is in reality, simple. It's always available, and God always speaks in the vernacular — He speaks our language, because He wants us to hear Him. It’s His great desire that we hear Him. The complications set in when we try to hear God without doing our part to open the channels of communication. Divine guidance is God simply communicating with His children.
In Isaiah 42:16, God says, "I shall lead the blind by a road they do not know, on paths they do not know I shall conduct them. I shall turn the darkness into light before them, and the quagmires into solid ground. This I shall do without fail." God guides us every step of the way in our ministries, down the road to destinations we do not yet know. God is always going ahead of us, preparing the way, leading us to where He wants us. The path may not look clear to us; that’s why He calls us "blind." It’s all clear to God. We have only to rely on His vision, His guidance.
We learn what God’s will is through a variety of ways, which work together. None of the following by themselves are reliable, but in unity with each other, they become God’s voice.
1. Inner peace: The Holy Spirit always comes in a whisper and in peace. Any time you feel a compulsion to make a decision a certain way, it’s time to stop and ask, “What’s going on? Who is this speaking? Who’s pushing me into this?” The driving force may seem perfectly logical, the people recommending it may sound perfectly rational, but compulsion means distraction from God.
On the other hand, when God speaks, there is peace. If the peace isn’t there, or if it’s not very strong, it’s time to pray and seek more discernment.
Listen to your heart. Listen to the uneasiness. Hear what the lack of inner peace is trying to warn you about. It’s only when we’re doing God’s will that we have peace inside of us.
Even when it seems scary or too challenging to follow God’s plans, go for it! God will never allow us to get in over our heads. God will lead us into excitement and fulfillment and successes that we never dreamed possible.
2. Right priorities: Feeling peace is not the same as feeling good about an idea. It’s the easiest thing in the world to feel good about something when our human desires are saying “I want to do this!” Many people run here and there, going to this meeting and that meeting, serving God this way and that way — all on the same day! They think they’re doing God’s will, because each activity is a “good thing.”
But a “good” idea is not always God’s idea. God does not want to use us where we would be distracted from a greater work that He has planned for us. And if any of our activities are putting our priorities out of whack, they are definitely activities of which God does not approve.
When something goes wrong in keeping our priorities straight, it always goes back to poor communication with God. We haven’t really checked it out with Him. We’ve decided on our own that we need this activity or that ministry in our lives — or out of our lives. Then we have to look at why. Are we running away from something? Are we hiding behind our busy-ness?
3. Audible voice of God: Some people have heard God speaking to them with their physical ears. They may be alone in a room, doing housework or working at their job, and they hear their name being called. It’s very clear, and they turn around expecting to see a person standing nearby. But no one is there. However, this form of communication is rare and should never be expected, waited for, or trusted by itself.
4. Direct voice of the Holy Spirit: Most of us, when we hear the direct voice of God, hear Him speak in our minds, in words that are as clear as our own thoughts. In many places in Scripture, we read that “God said–” or “God spoke–“. How did that happen? God communicated to people with clarity. And since God is unchanging, He still communicates this way today.
It’s possible to carry on normal conversations with God. In fact, this should be everyday Christian living for us. God desires it. But to experience this, we have to let go of our doubts and our mistaken beliefs that God is too high and mighty to speak to us this way or that only the holiest people hear God’s direct voice.
5. Scripture: Everything we hear from the Lord has to be 100% in agreement with the Bible. God will never, ever speak against His own Word. We test all of our discernment and inner voices by studying scriptures. But if we take verses out of context, we can use them to prove anything, so it’s important that we get to know the Bible and its message as a whole.
6. Circumstances: When one thing after another occurs in a pattern, or “coincidences” keep happening, we need to stop and ask, “Lord, what is it that You’re trying to speak to me about?” When God calls us to follow Him, and we proceed to obey, God prepares the way and everything generally falls into place. On the other hand, when we keep hitting walls — circumstances that feel like closed doors — that’s usually a clue that God has not opened this door and we should move in another direction.
7. Signs: Scripture says that if we are living according to the will of God, signs and wonders will follow. Notice: they follow. It’s not wise to ask God to prove that we are hearing Him correctly through some sort of miraculous sign before we obey His leadings. Yes, there are rare times when it’s necessary. The problem is, Satan can interfere when we ask for signs. He can throw in a misleading sign and send us off in the wrong direction. The true signs are those that bear good fruit after we have said yes to God and have begun to go where we think He wants us to go.
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God Bless You.....
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day
through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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