Meditation for the Day

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent, March 18

May We Always Be Opened to God’s Spirit Teaching Us, Guiding Us Along the True Path Which Leads to Our Eternal Salvation.

“If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony cannot be verified. But there is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.”

In today’s Gospel, we find Jesus addressing the Jewish leaders regarding their lack of faith and their failure to understand the true meaning of the Scriptures. They are like horses wearing blinders – oblivious, unaware of what is going on around them, unaware of what is truly occurring in their very midst.

The people of Moses’ day were also blinded. Even with the great miracles and wondrous signs which God performed while bringing them out of Egypt from under the rule of Pharaoh, their faith was still weak.

In the absence of Moses, they created for themselves a golden calf, an idol image to which they could give worship. They lost faith in that which they could not see or feel. They were like sheep without a shepherd, who were traveling along a dark path which could only lead to despair and sadness.

And it is this weak faith, or lack of it, which resulted in God’s anger. But it was through Moses’ unwavering faith that God relented in punishing His people, for we read that Moses stood “…in the breach to turn back His destructive wrath.”

And now we come to today’s scene in the Gospel, where the disbelieving authorities were going out of their way to condemn Jesus, despite all the good works He had performed – since He was performing them for the Glory and in the Name of His Father.

And this, apparently, was the catalyst for their hatred – Moses never declared he was God’s Son; John the Baptist, who heralded the coming of the Christ, never said he was the Son of God.

But it was John who publicly pointed to Jesus as the Messiah, and had repeatedly borne witness to him. And it was Moses who wrote about the Messiah as the Savior.

The problem with the scribes and the Pharisees was that they failed to fully embrace what Moses had written. Rather, they desired the praise of their fellow humans; and since they were so focused on themselves, they became blind to the Eternal Truth which stood before them!

They were so preoccupied with their own position as authorities and interpreters of the Mosaic Law that they became hardened and unable to understand the true Word of God! Their pride stood in the way of their ability to hear God’s voice speaking to them, both in the Scriptures and in the Person of Jesus Christ.

Scripture tells us that God reveals Himself to the lowly – to those who trust not in themselves, but who trust in God and listen to His Word with an eagerness to learn and to obey. And it is in the Gospels where we find Jesus revealing to us the mind and heart of God – a God who is Love, a God who is merciful and compassionate, a God who only wishes to shepherd and take care of His children.

And through the gift of the Holy Spirit, He opens the ears of our hearts so that we may hear His voice. And in hearing His voice, He fills our minds and our souls with a love and knowledge of God, who invites each of us into a righteous and intimate relationship with Himself.

It is when we become deaf to His Word, it is when our minds and our hearts become closed to His Truth that we begin to find ourselves straying from the path upon which God wishes us to walk, a path which brings us to know His will for us.

Such was the case with the Israelites, who made for themselves a molten calf and worshiped it, “…sacrificing to it and crying out, ‘This is your God, O Israel…’”

And such is the case today where we find a secularistic and materialistic culture becoming the molten calf in the lives of so many people in societies throughout the world – lives driven by ego, selfishness and greed!

And yet, this is NOT the path that God has designed for us! And He sent His Only Son into the world to show us the way – the true path which leads each of us into a loving, holy and intimate relationship with Himself, the path which leads to eternal life.

We know this path to be true, for as Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel, “The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.”

As you and I draw closer each day to the great Paschal Mystery of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, may our hearts never be closed to God’s Truth. May we always be opened to His Spirit teaching us, guiding us along the true path which leads to our salvation – a pathway which leads to eternal Light and unending Love.

For ours is a faith of love. Ours is a faith of charitable and joyful sacrifice.

And ours is a faith which fills us with an everlasting hope, as we walk with our Lord all the days of our life! †

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Please Comment, Like and Share, and Suggest to your Facebook friends – to spread the message of God’s Merciful Love.

Por favor Comente, Le Gusta y Comparta, y Sugiera a tus amigos en Facebook – en difundir el mensaje del Misericordioso Amor de Dios.

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Scripture for the Day

• “If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony cannot be verified. But there is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.” (John 5:31-32)
• “They forgot the God who saved them, who did great deeds in Egypt, amazing deeds in the land of Ham, fearsome deeds at the Red Sea. He would have decreed their destruction, had not Moses, the chosen leader, withstood him in the breach to turn back his destroying anger.” (Psalm 106:21-23)
• “The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.” (John 5:36b-37a)
• “You will show me the path to life, abounding joy in your presence, the delights at your right hand forever.” (Psalm 16:11)
• “The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (Psalm 18:2)
• “But the path of the just is like shining light, that grows in brilliance till perfect day.” (Proverbs 4:18)
• “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.” (Acts 4:11)
• “…hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5)

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Prayer for the Day

“Eternal and Most Loving God,
I recognize that I have not truly lived
my life for You up until now.
I have been living for myself and that is wrong.
I need You in my life; I desire You in my life.

“I acknowledge the completed work
of Your Son, Jesus Christ, in giving His life
for me on His Cross at Calvary,
and I long to receive the forgiveness You have made
freely available to me through this sacrifice.

“Come into my life now, Lord.
Take up residence in my heart
and be my King, my Lord and my Savior.

“From this day forward, I will no longer be controlled by sin,
or the desire to please myself,
but I will follow You all the days of my life.
Those days I now place in Your hands.
I ask this in Jesus’ Most Precious and Holy Name. Amen.”

Salvation Prayer