"We must not serve God for the sake of His consolations, but because He is worthy of being served."
--St. Paul of the Cross
"We must not serve God for the sake of His consolations, but because He is worthy of being served."
--St. Paul of the Cross
January 26, 2021
Memorial of Saints
Timothy and Titus, bishops
Lectionary: 520/318
Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God
for the promise of life in Christ Jesus,
to Timothy, my dear child:
grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I am grateful to God,
whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did,
as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day.
I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears,
so that I may be filled with joy,
as I recall your sincere faith
that first lived in your grandmother Lois
and in your mother Eunice
and that I am confident lives also in you.
For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame
the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.
For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice
but rather of power and love and self-control.
So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,
nor of me, a prisoner for his sake;
but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel
with the strength that comes from God.
OR:
Ti 1:1-5
Paul, a slave of God and Apostle of Jesus Christ
for the sake of the faith of God’s chosen ones
and the recognition of religious truth,
in the hope of eternal life
that God, who does not lie, promised before time began,
who indeed at the proper time revealed his word
in the proclamation with which I was entrusted
by the command of God our savior,
to Titus, my true child in our common faith:
grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our savior.
For this reason I left you in Crete
so that you might set right what remains to be done
and appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed you.
Responsorial Psalm 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10
R.
(3) Proclaim God’s marvelous
deeds to all the nations.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Sing to the LORD; bless his name.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Give to the LORD, you families of nations,
give to the LORD glory and praise;
give to the LORD the glory due his name!
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Say among the nations: The LORD is king.
He has made the world firm, not to be moved;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you,
Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed
to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Mk 3:31-35
The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house.
Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
“Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you.”
But he said to them in reply,
“Who are my mother and my brothers?”
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
“Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother.”
******************************
How can we know God's will?
In today's Gospel reading, Jesus states that anyone who does the will of God is a mother or sister or brother to him. The responsorial Psalm has us declaring, "Here am I Lord (not someone else -- me!); I come to do your will." But how can we be sure we know what is the will of God for us? Here are seven ways that God communicates it:
1. AUDIBLE VOICE OF GOD: Some people have heard God speaking to them audibly. However, this form of communication is rare and should never be expected, waited for, or trusted by itself.
2. DIRECT VOICE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: For most of us, the direct voice of God sounds like our own thoughts. It's possible to carry on real conversations with God using our imaginations, but it's difficult to know how much is only our imaginations and how much is God. Thus, we must always ask the Holy Spirit to bless and purify our imaginations.
3. INNER PEACE: Whether we're struggling to discern correct decisions or we're making them instantaneously, we should always remember to pause and ask the Holy Spirit: "What's going on? Who or what is pushing me into this?" The driving force may seem logical, the people recommending it may sound rational, but if there is no inner peace, don't trust it.
4. RIGHT PRIORITIES: Feeling peace is not the same as feeling good. It's natural to feel good about a wrong decision when our human desires are saying, "I want to do this!" And even good ideas are not always God's idea. Which choice best serves the kingdom of God? Which one strengthens our relationship with God? Which one is considerate of our own needs while at the same time respectfully cares about the needs of others?
5. SCRIPTURE: Everything we hear from the Lord will be completely in agreement with the Bible, but this means we have to build up a good understanding of what's in the Bible. We can purify our discernment and our interpretation of inner voices by studying scriptures, but if we take verses out of context, we'll use them to prove anything. It's important to learn the Bible and its message as a whole.
6. CIRCUMSTANCES: When patterns occur or "coincidences" keep happening, we need to stop and ask, "Lord, what are you trying to tell me?" God prepares the way for us to do what he asks of us, and everything generally falls into place. When we keep hitting walls (i.e., circumstances that feel like closed doors) God might be telling us to move in a different direction. However, obstacles are often really opportunities to trust God more and take a leap of faith. We cannot trust our interpretation of circumstances alone.
7. SIGNS: Scripture says that if we are living according to the will of God, signs and wonders will follow. Notice: they follow. We aren't wonder-seekers, we're God-seekers. The devil can put up misleading signs to send us off in wrong directions. True signs are the good fruits that are produced by following the leadings of Jesus.
Today's Prayer
Thank You, my Lord, for being always willing and anxious to receive us in Your great family which is the Church. Amen.
------------------------------
God Bless You.....
No comments:
Post a Comment