“SPRINGS OF LIVING WATER”
Daily Spiritual Reflections
31st December 2021
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FRIDAY, CHRISTMAS OCTAVE
1 Jn 2: 18-21; Ps 96: 1-2,11-13; Jn 1: 1-18
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HOW DISTANT AM I FROM THE FLOCK?
The distance from the flock is a metaphor that symbolizes the tepidity of the people to meet the standards set by our Lord. The first reading today is stern in calling the people going away from the flock as ‘the antichrist’. There are generally three kinds of Christians.
•The people who only call themselves Christians. These kind of people neither know nor are interested in the way of life; perhaps, they only want a title of honour.
•Those who behave like true Christians, but only externally. People of this kind are very dangerous. They tend to even mislead others who truly want to follow the Christian way. The Lord talks of their fate in scripture (cf. Rev 3: 16).
•Genuine Christians who live the spirit of the flock. The characteristics of these genuine Christians are the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Their lives become the measure to identify them.
Living a life solely for the sake of living is easy, but ordering it by a set of principles and standards is a challenge. That is why only a few tread the way of the cross. All desire Christmas but only some accompany the Lord till the cross. A man who truly wants to follow Christ desires to know how to follow more radically, more faithfully, the path his master walked. Following ‘the Way, the Truth and the Life’ becomes his only food.
Let us resolve today, the last day of the year, not to allow the flame of the Holy Spirit within us to fade. Let us live the spirit of the Gospel. A life of virtue should be our guiding wand. May our hands of service extend fully their limits. To live like Christ should be our only motive. Let the will of God be our daily food; let us strive resolutely not to be among those who rejected him when he came to be among us.
Response: Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad
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