Daily Spiritual Reflections
19th May 2021
------------------------------------------------
WEDNESDAY, SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER
Reading 1: Acts 20: 28-38 Paul addresses to the elders of the Church of Ephesus: “I commend you now to the Lord, and to that gracious word of his which can enlarge you.”
Gospel: Jn 17: 11-19 Jesus continues his prayer for the apostles: “protect them . . . . that they may be one, even as we are one.”
------------------------------------------------
LET US BELONG TO CHRIST
Paul had always zealously guarded his Christian communities against all attacks against faith. Now, aware that this was the last time he would be seeing them, he uses this opportunity to warn them of the numerous challenges to their faith that they would face – persecutions, disunity, wrong doctrines – which would scatter the believers. He exhorts the leaders especially to be strong in face of such challenges and to strengthen the weaker among them.
In the gospel, Jesus, realizing that his hour of glory was drawing near, and that he was soon to leave his disciples and go to the Father, continues his priestly prayer, praying especially for his disciples. He requests the Father to keep them united. He also stresses that though they are living in the world, they do not belong to the world and hence would inevitably face challenges and persecutions; thus, they were in great need of God’s protection. He declares that the disciples, in belonging to Jesus, also form a bond of unity with the Father just as they are united with Christ.
St John of the Cross says this about the principle of love: When a person loves, he becomes equal or a slave of that which he loves. If one loves something, one can be equal to the thing loved or its slave, and if one loves a person, one becomes equal to the person loved or that person’s slave. Therefore, loving God is proper in that once someone loves God, that person is transformed. Thus, when we love Jesus, we radiate his person in our being.
Christians, being followers of Jesus, belong to him. Though we live in the world, we cannot live as if belonging to the world, allowing worldly cares and possessions to possess us. We must pray that Jesus “may free us from being Christians without hope, who live as if the Lord were not risen, as if our problems were the centre of our lives.” (Pope Francis).
Res. Psalm: Ps 68: 33-36 Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.
Copyright ©2013-2021 ©Springs of Living Water by ® http://springs.carmelmedia.in
No comments:
Post a Comment