Meditation for the Day

Tuesday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time, September 28

It Is Through the Victory of Christ, and God’s Unfathomable Love for Each of Us, That We Are No Longer Slaves to Sin; We Are No Longer Filled with a Hopelessness Which Binds Us, and Despair Does Not Have a Lasting Hold on Us.

In the Gospel, we read today, “When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem.”

No matter where you or I may find ourselves in life, our existence here on this side of Heaven is a journey, one which takes us through many highs and lows, a journey which allows us to experience the wonderful peaks along with the heartrending valleys through which each one of us must continue to travel throughout our lifetime.

The road upon which we find ourselves traveling may sometimes appear level and smooth; at other times, it is strewn with cracks and potholes.

Our journey of faith can also be very much like this. There will be times in our lives when our relationship with God will seem alive and wonderful. But there will also be those times when we feel all alone, as though God has abandoned us.

It is at times like these when we begin to feel overwhelmed with a great emptiness – a spiritual darkness which seems to envelop us, as though God is no longer listening to our prayers or our pleas for help.

But we know only too well that it is during these times in our lives that our Lord is truly closest to us, for our faith teaches us that God is always listening and always at our side, especially when we find ourselves entering into the despair of our own personal Gethsemanes.

And it through those occasions of darkness, which each of us will have to embrace at different moments in our lives, that we are called to realize a much more intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, for it is only through an open heart that our sufferings allow us to become closer to God; it is through our trials and tribulations in life, accepted in faith, wherein we become sanctified with grace as we move one step closer to that final glory which awaits each of us.

And this is where we find ourselves in today’s Scriptures. In our First Reading, God is telling us that peoples of all races, creeds and nationalities will become aware of the great wonder which exists in the New Jerusalem, in which people will respond to His invitation to become one with Him.

“There will yet come peoples and inhabitants of many cities; and the inhabitants of one city will approach those of another, and say, “Come! let us go to implore the favor of the LORD and to seek the LORD of hosts.”

And for their journey to become possible, Jesus must make that final and decisive journey of His own, one which shall bring Him to His own despair and darkness – from the anguish of Gethsemane to the suffering and death on the Cross – all for the purpose of making available, to those who will follow, the opportunity of realizing and embracing their own journeys of despair and suffering, their own journeys of darkness – which will ultimately bring them to that Divine Light which shall await them at the end of their passage through this life.

How often have we taken the time to truly wrap our arms around the idea that God sacrificed His only Son out of Infinite Love, so that you and I might be free from sin, free from Satan’s unholy grasp upon us, so that we may be offered the most wondrous gift of all – becoming co-heirs with our Lord and Savior in Heaven?

Without this ultimate Sacrifice, we would not enjoy the faith we have today. Without this definitive and decisive surrender of Christ upon His Cross, and His victory over death, we would not have the Mass; we would not know the Sacraments as we do today.

But, most importantly, we would not be nourished and strengthened with the Eucharist – which is the Glorified and Risen Christ Himself, the very Source and Summit of our life of faith!

It is through the victory of Christ, and God’s unfathomable Love for each of us, that we are no longer slaves to sin. We are no longer filled with a hopelessness which binds us; and despair no longer has a lasting hold on us.

God’s invitation to share in His victory goes out to each of His children. Even those who reject Him are invited again and again, for God desires that no one should be lost and that all be united with Him in His Kingdom. If only they would choose to say “Yes”, then the wonders which await them would be beyond human description!

In today’s Gospel, the disciples asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” And “Jesus turned and rebuked them.” It took the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to help them realize that we are all God’s children – invited to share in His Love, invited to live in hopefulness and joy. For peoples of all nations are called by God to embrace His Truth and His Love.

It is up to us to actively live our faith and open our hearts, extending God’s invitation and His Love to all who are filled with despair and hopelessness. We are each called to be the extension of Christ Himself in a world which so badly needs to feel the Love of God in their hearts.

For then, as our psalmist tells us today, we shall all sing, we shall all celebrate in our own way, the wonderful realization that our eternal home is truly with God when we hear our Lord say to us:

“…Well done, my good and faithful servant…Come, share your master’s joy.” †

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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

• “When the days for Jesus being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51)
• “There will yet come peoples and inhabitants of many cities; and the inhabitants of one city will approach those of another, and say, ‘Come! let us go to implore the favor of the LORD and to seek the LORD of hosts.’” (Zechariah 8:20b-21a)
• “In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10)
• “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (John 3-16)
• “Because of the tender mercy of our God by which the daybreak from on high will visit us to shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” (Luke 1:78-79)
• “…shout for joy and be glad forever in what I am creating. Indeed, I am creating Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight; I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult in my people.” (Isaiah 65:18-19a)
• “But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57)
• “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on…let them find rest from their labors, for their works accompany them.” (Revelation 14:13bc)
• “…Well done, my good and faithful servant…Come, share your master’s joy.” (Matthew 25:21ac)

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Prayer for the Day

“Almighty and Most Merciful God,
You have renewed the face of the Earth.
Your Church throughout the world
sings You a new song,
announcing Your wonders to all.

“Through a virgin,
You have brought forth a new Birth in our world;
through Your miracles, a new power;
through Your suffering, a new patience;
in Your Resurrection, a new hope;
and in Your Ascension, new majesty.

“May each of us one day share in the glory of Your Majesty
as we gaze upon the beauty of Your Face,
where we shall come to know You as You truly are:
All-holy, All-powerful, All-loving, All-merciful.
For it is in our knowledge of You
which shall fill us with an unending joy. Amen.”

cf. Psalm-Prayer (Roman Breviary)