“Our help is in the Name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” Psalm 124:8
(Grace and Peace) We as weak human beings need Divine Help many times during the day. God in His infinite wisdom has clothed us in a weak body of clay so that we never become proud like the angels, who were perfect and powerful spirits. The Lord wishes to remind us that He is close to us in our weakness and our frailty - the moment we call His Divine Name with faith and love, the Creator of Heaven and Earth comes swiftly to our rescue!“For the fascination of evil throws good things into the shade, and the whirlwind of desire corrupts a simple heart.” Wisdom 4:12
(Grace and Peace) The Scripture reminds us that the Evil One will try all possible means to fascinate the heart of the simple. By casting his shadow on the good deposits of the Holy Spirit, he whips up the whirlwind of desire, and soon enough the tender heart is carried away by his deceitful charms. Only those who have their heart and mind fixed on the Crucified Christ can ever hope to survive the temptations of the Evil One.“Our Lord is great, all-powerful, his wisdom beyond all telling.” Psalm 147:5
(Grace and Peace) The Lord our God is great - even though He is higher than all earthly kings and princes, yet He receives the lowly with the greatest affection; indeed, He makes His dwelling among them. He is all-powerful, able to overthrow with a single nod all the power of the Enemy. His wisdom is beyond all telling - He works with those who love Him, bringing great good out of even the most terrible misfortunes which may befall them.“But to those who did accept Him He gave power to become children of God, to those who believed in His Name.” John 1:12
(Grace and Peace) Accepting Jesus, the Son of God is the act that brings the greatest blessing we can ever receive - those who accept Him receive from Him the power to be born again as God’s own children. What a great privilege this is! Indeed, if our eyes were opened to the greatness of this privilege, with what eagerness, zeal and holy preparation would we accept our Lord Jesus Christ!“Be persevering in your prayers and be thankful as you stay awake to pray.” Colossians 4:2
(Grace and Peace) Persevering prayer is so powerful that it never fails to win a hearing. The person who perseveres is confident that his prayer will be heard and seals his prayer with his faith. May our hearts never fail in pouring out a constant stream of thanksgiving for the Lord’s mercies which are without number. St. Paul urges us to stay awake to pray, meaning that our prayers should arise in God’s presence not only during the day, but also during the watches of the night.“He replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.’” Luke 10:27 (Grace and Peace) Jesus reminds us that the greatest commandment is to love God our Creator and to love those whom He created in His own image and likeness. Love is, in fact, a universal language. Love is the most powerful means of communication in our world; as Blessed John Newman said: “Heart speaks unto heart!” Therefore, we pray that the Lord to move our hearts to love Him and to love our neighbour as much as we can. Let us love as Jesus loves! *********************
“Through him, let us offer God an unending sacrifice of praise, the fruit of the lips of those who acknowledge his name.” Hebrews 13:15
(Grace and Peace) Quite often, we pay very little attention to the numerous summons in the Holy Bible to praise God our Creator. Many use their lips to praise mere human beings; others even go to the extent of mocking or maligning God. As for us, let us constantly and lovingly praise God by taking the Holy Name of Jesus on our lips. This is a most precious and acceptable sacrifice to God - the more frequently we offer this sacrifice, the more holy we become.“Let faithful love and constancy never leave you: tie them round your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.” Proverbs 3:3
(Grace and Peace) The Scripture tells us that faithful love and constancy are so important that they should be with us every moment of our life. These two virtues should appear in all our actions directed towards God and neighbour. In asking us to tie them round our neck, God wishes to tell us that they should be manifest in the sight of men, and in asking us to write them on the tablet of our heart, He wishes that they should form the basis of our relationship with Him.“Your hands have made me and held me firm, give me understanding and I shall learn Your commandments.” Psalm 119:73
(Grace and Peace) The Lord trains each of us like a father teaching his child to walk. He holds our hand tight to prevent us from falling into the clutches of our enemy the Devil. We need the Divine gifts of wisdom and understanding in order to walk in the footsteps of our Lord. The commandments are the guidelines on our journey to eternal life. When the Commandments are in our hearts, they give us confirmation that our journey is indeed in the right direction. Therefore, let us aim to follow the Commandments so that we may experience the Lord’s protection and guidance.“Hence, he had this expiatory sacrifice offered for the dead, so that they might be released from their sin.” 2 Maccabees 12:45
(Grace and Peace) In Heaven, there is a multitude of Saints who stand before the Throne of God, and at the same time, in Purgatory, there is another multitude of souls who still need to be purified from their sins. There is great spiritual mystery behind this. When we pray for these departed souls and offer Holy Mass in memory of them, they receive much relief. Today, as we remember all the souls who stand in need of our prayer, let us lift them up with faith at the Altar and we pray that the offering of the Body and Blood of Jesus may release all souls from every bondage of sin. (Amen.)‘Who are these people, dressed in white robes, and where have they come from?’ Then he said, ‘These are the people who have been through the great trial; they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb.’ Revelation 7:13-14
(Grace and Peace) The Apostle John describes his vision of heaven being filled with a multitude of men and women dressed in white robes who have passed through the great trial. The Saints are always a great encouragement for us because they were ordinary people like us who had a sincere desire to reach Heaven and they persevered through all trials in order to attain this heavenly goal. If we want to join the company of Saints, then we need to patiently persevere through the great trial of this life. We should consider it a great joy when trials come upon us because each trial is a stepping stone to Heaven. Always remember that there is a great multitude of Saints who are interceding for us, so let us follow their example and joyfully carry our Cross to the gates of Heaven.