“Christ made my soul beautiful with the jewels of grace and virtue.
I belong to Him whom the angels serve.”
-St. Agnes of Rome
“Christ made my soul beautiful with the jewels of grace and virtue.
I belong to Him whom the angels serve.”
-St. Agnes of Rome
January 8, 2021
Friday after Epiphany
Lectionary: 216
Beloved:
Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and Blood.
The Spirit is the one who testifies,
and the Spirit is truth.
So there are three who testify,
the Spirit, the water, and the Blood,
and the three are of one accord.
If we accept human testimony,
the testimony of God is surely greater.
Now the testimony of God is this,
that he has testified on behalf of his Son.
Whoever believes in the Son of God
has this testimony within himself.
Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar
by not believing the testimony God has given about his Son.
And this is the testimony:
God gave us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son.
Whoever possesses the Son has life;
whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.
I write these things to you so that you may know
that you have eternal life,
you who believe in the name of the Son of God.
Responsorial Psalm
R.
(12a) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus proclaimed
the Gospel of the Kingdom
and cured every
disease among the people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
It happened that there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where Jesus was;
and when he saw Jesus,
he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said,
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
And the leprosy left him immediately.
Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but
“Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing
what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”
The report about him spread all the more,
and great crowds assembled to listen to him
and to be cured of their ailments,
but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.
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Proving that Heaven is Real
You know you're going to heaven, right? As it says in today's first reading, we have proof that Jesus is giving us eternal life -- proof provided by God himself through the baptismal water of repentance and adoption, and through the sacrificial baptism of the Christ's blood, and through the Spirit of Truth who lives within us.
There are three ways in which the Holy Spirit testifies that Jesus is giving heaven to us: First, the Spirit overshadowed the Virgin Mary to conceive Jesus miraculously. Second, when Jesus arose from the waters of his own baptism -- the "initiation rite" of his public ministry -- the Spirit descended upon him. Third, when Jesus shed his blood for us, he commended his Spirit to the Father, which then arose from death to carry you and me into eternal life.
These three proofs are of one accord. They work together to speak the same message. And now that we've been given the Holy Spirit of Jesus himself, we are the proof that heaven is real.
Do you ever feel like you don't have much value? God's Spirit in you gives testimony that you have tremendous value! Extremely important value! First, when you were conceived in your mothers' womb, you were made in the image and likeness of God. By being who God created you to be, you, whom others can see, reveal to the world what God is like, whom they cannot see.
Second, in the sacrament of your baptism, the Spirit descended upon you and the Father said of you, "This is my beloved child, in whom I am very pleased!" Thus you were initiated into the ministry of Christ and you have been sent forth to give his love and healing and salvation to the world in which you live, work, and serve.
Third, when you allow your sufferings to be an offering of love for others, your sacrifice is visible evidence of Christ's sacrifice. This sacrifice will not destroy your spirit but will purify it and strengthen it. Your continued life in the Holy Spirit will help Jesus carry others into eternal life, because it's a testimony about how God resurrects goodness from every bad situation.
How well are you translating this testimony into a language that others can understand? More specifically, are you giving yourself to others in ways that will allow them to experience what is valuable in you? Are you in a ministry of some sort, changing the world by sharing with others the gifts that God has given to you? If so, you are the true presence of Christ. And this is how you can be assured that you're going to heaven. And this is how you take others with you into eternal life.
Today's Prayer
Forgive me Lord, because many times I am worried about things that will never change my life. Thank you because you call me to raise my eyes to You, my source of abundant life. Amen.
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God Bless You.....
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