1 John 3:22---4:6, Psalm 2:7-8, 10-13, Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25
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| Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man |
My Beloved, You are true to Your promises. When You ascended into heaven You sent Your Holy Spirit upon Your Apostles so they would recall all that You said and did. We too receive the same Holy Spirit who enables us to grow in faith and love as we receive grace upon grace to keep the commandments to love God and neighbour.
Love is the first step we take in response to Your love - because we believe we love and because we love we obey. Our journey from this life to the next can be easy if we yield to You completely or it can be as difficult as the strength of our resistance to the Holy Spirit.
This is Your promise that whatever we ask we shall receive provided we keep Your commands and do what pleases You. Obedience is easy when we love and loving is easy when we understand that God loved us first. God loved us so much that He sent You to lay down Your life for us in turn Your love for Your Father was so great that You obeyed Him and became the willing Victim for our sins.
We live in a world that is constantly coming at us with all kinds of ideas and ideologies promising instant gratification, instant, quick fix relief and solutions to problems and if we are not grounded in the truth it is easy to go astray and be tossed about by every idea that appeals to our flesh and our senses.
We are called to discern whether any inspiration we receive comes from the Spirit of God or the spirit of the world. You are the Son of God who came into the world as a Man to save us; this is the foundational truth upon which everything we believe in stands or falls. This is how we know if we are of God or of the world. Anyone who professes to know God listens to Him and is guided by His Holy Spirit.
The fullness of Truth is found when these two components are present - the Word of God and Apostolic Tradition handed down in an unbroken line to the successors of Peter. This Sacred Deposit of our Faith is found in the Church which has these four marks One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.
When in doubt go to Peter there You will find the Spirit of Truth.
Psalm 2:7-8, 10-13
My Beloved, begotten by God eternally You are God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God. To You has been given all authority, all power and dominion over all that is was and ever shall be. It is right and fitting that everything on the earth, in the heavens and under the earth bow down before You and acknowledge Your Lordship. All kings, rulers, powers and principalities are subject to Your authority.
We are all called to serve God by serving one another in a spirit of love. All those who do, have God as their Father, Brother and Spouse.
Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25
My Beloved, we find sometimes that those who believe in God can be rigid, narrow minded, self righteous bigots. They try to mold God into their own perceived idea of Him and anyone who do not conform to their way of thought are rejected. Perhaps this is why You went first to places where You knew the people would be more receptive and open to the grace of God's Presence among them. Not being hidebound by the various religious groups and their concept of who God is and how He involved Himself in the affairs of man, they are able to accept more freely and be amazed when God makes Himself known to them by the works that He does among them.
When You began Your public ministry You went to those who would receive Your message of complete conversion because they saw the work You did and understood that such power must surely be divine.
Those who heard You and saw all You did were so excited that they carried the message of the Good News of the Kingdom eagerly wherever they went and soon people began to bring all those who were sick in mind body soul and spirit to You for healing.
Our works are the visible fruit and testimony that God's power is in us as we live out the faith we believe in and profess.
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