“'For the whole creation is waiting with eagerness for the children of God to be revealed.” Romans 8:19
Grace and Peace! In a very mysterious way, the whole creation shares in the holiness or in the sinfulness of man. We may find it a bit terrifying to realise that every act, no matter how insignificant it is affects the whole universe. The smallest act done out of love for God has the power to light up the Heavens and the earth. If we spend every moment of our lives in the love of God, then we are truly children of God. Therefore, let us keep in mind our exalted vocation - to be children of God, bearers of Eternal Life to the whole of creation. Praise God!“The Lord is tenderness and pity, slow to anger, full of faithful love.” Psalm 145:8
Grace and Peace! Have we experienced the tenderness and the pity of the Lord? We can if we wish to. If we wish to do so, let us cease running away from Him. How do we run away from Him? By refusing to acknowledge our sins and by continuing to live in them. Instead, let us take a few steps towards Him. How can we do that? By turning to Him. And how do we turn to Him? By acknowledging our sins in the presence of God. The moment we acknowledge our sins, we are like a sick patient who visits a physician in the hope of healing; we are like a wounded child running to its mother. O, with what tender care will the Lord take care of us, how mercifully will He treat our wounds, with what patience will He deal with our failings, with what measure of faithful love will He deal with those who come to Him. Therefore, dearest brothers and sisters, let us draw near to our good God through the Lord Jesus Christ, our merciful Saviour! Praise God!“And when Jesus had been baptised he at once came up from the water, and suddenly the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him.” Matthew 3:16
Grace and Peace! Baptism is something divine. At every baptism, three mysterious events take place: the opening of the Heavens, the descent of the Holy Spirit, and the Voice of the Father. Both our Lord and St. John witnessed the heavens being opened, the Holy Spirit descending in the form of a dove and heard the voice from Heaven, testifying to all: ‘This is My Son, the Beloved. My favour rests on Him.’ Let us therefore, dear brothers and sisters, have a great love for our own Baptism. Let us frequently recall it to mind and thank God for these three graces each of us received on that blessed day. Let us be faithful to the promises made to the Lord on that day. Let us daily pray to the Lord, “Lord, may your Holy Spirit help me to live as Your son, your daughter.” Praise God!“He must grow greater, I must grow less.” John 3:30
Grace and Peace! There is no human being who does not aspire to greatness. Once we reach a certain position in the world, we try our best to keep ourselves in it, safe from any threat. But today we see in the Gospel a person who did just the opposite. With great gladness, St. John the Baptist makes way for the One who came after Him. Let us too, imitate the life and person of St. John the Baptist, making way for Jesus - let us also say with St. John, “He must grow greater, I must grow less.” Praise God!“Young men and girls, old people and children together. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His Name alone is sublime, His splendour transcends earth and heaven” Psalm 148: 12-13
Grace and Peace! If there is one duty that every man and woman of every culture, nation and language has, it is to praise the Name of the Lord, who created the whole world out of nothing. He is the one who gives us food and fills our hearts with happiness. He is close to all who call on His Holy Name ‘the Lord’ and wants that we should feel our way towards Him and succeed in finding Him. Praise God!“Jesus, with the power of the Spirit in Him, returned to Galilee; and His reputation spread throughout the countryside.” Luke 4:14
Grace and Peace! Today the world is becoming more and more saturated with programmes in which experts teach and train us how we can become physically fit. In the passage of the Gospel that we have chosen for today’s reflection we hear another kind of fitness, another kind of power mentioned - the power of the Spirit. In fact, every time we seek to triumph over temptation, overcome sin, we seek this spiritual power. How can we achieve this? Jesus shows us the way. It is by humbling ourselves with prayer and fasting that we become powerful in the Spirit. Are we weak? Are we depressed? Do negative emotions overpower us? Do we want to come to the help of others? Let us have recourse to fasting and prayer, which guarantee the power of the Holy Spirit for each one of us. Praise God!“A heart founded on intelligent reflection is like a stucco decoration on a smooth wall.” Sirach 22:17
Grace and Peace! Stucco is used for decoration and one of its most important properties is that it hardens to a very dense solid. What has stucco got to do with our daily lives? Let us come to our daily lives. That part of ourselves which is present to the world around us is our heart. The heart moulds the expression of our entire being, whether for the better, or for the worse. God tells us that if we spend some time daily in reflection, thinking about God and our own eternal nature, He will change our hearts into something like stucco - an unshakeable peace and serenity will decorate our countenance. Praise God!“Those who trust in Him will understand the truth, those who are faithful will live with Him in love; for grace and mercy await His holy ones, and He intervenes on behalf of His chosen.” Wisdom 3:9
Grace and Peace! Every human being has in his or her heart a desire to know the truth - the truth about our real identity, who we are, where we have come from, where we are going and so forth. The Word of God tells us that God is not only our Creator, but also our loving Father. Therefore, let us trust in Him. In this way we will come to understand the truth - why we were created and what is the purpose of our lives. Let us love God our Father, His grace and mercy will never fail us in our difficult moments! Praise God!“Do not thrust me away from Your presence, do not take away from me Your Spirit of holiness.” Psalm 51:11
(Grace and Peace) Have we ever experienced the joy that comes from a deep conversion? This is a question that we must all ask ourselves as we reflect on today’s verse. If we have received this grace, we are sure to have had the divine experience of standing in God’s presence, something that fills us with unbounded joy! But there is a warning - we carry this treasure in jars of clay. If we lose the gift of repentance and become ungrateful and proud, we run the risk of being rejected by the Lord. Today’s prayer is from a heart that pleads to the Lord not to take away His grace. Let us implore Him everyday to help us persevere in His grace, to keep us holy, humble and faithful till the end. Praise God!“The sight of the star filled them with delight, and going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and falling to their knees they did him homage. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.” Matthew 2:10-11
(Grace and Peace) Today we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, the revelation of Christ to the nations. God sent a star to guide the three wise men to Christ the Lord. The star stands for the divine help which God sends to every person who earnestly seeks the Truth about God. Today we ask God to transform all of us into stars, shining with bright and gentle light, so that we may guide every person we meet to Jesus Christ, the Lord and King of the Universe. (Praise God!)“With God we shall do deeds of valour, He will trample down our enemies.” Psalm 108:13
Grace and Peace! Evil is a powerful force. We find ourselves fighting against evil everyday - this may be in ourselves or those whom we interact with on a daily basis. To conquer the power of evil, we need power from God. Without help from God, we will find ourselves defeated in our daily struggle. Before the day starts, therefore, let us ask help from God for the fight. Receiving divine strength and courage, let us also say boldly with the Psalmist, “With God we shall do deeds of valour, He will trample down our enemies.” (Praise God!)