Trust in Gods Providence

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’...your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. - Mathew 6:30-33

"but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.- 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. “-1 Thessalonians 5:16-19

We will be sad and depressed because of our situations, or our habits or our unrighteousness. We may be thinking about the low situations we are, we may be feeling that we are lost beyond recovery. We may be troubled even now for the condition we are in….but God says,

“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness”- 2Corinthians 12:19

Let us praise God for the situation we are in...trust that it is for Gods glory to be manifested through us..There is an intention behind our weaknesses..you know what?

“I won’t say any more, because I don’t want people to think more of me than what they see me do or hear me say. But I must not be too proud of the wonderful things that were shown to me. So a painful problem was given to me—an angel from Satan, sent to make me suffer, so that I would not think that I am better than anyone else.”- 2Corinthians 12:6-7

When we look around, the marvels of nature and the natural phenomenons, we realize that Gods creations are just amazing. Our manipulations reach no where. Lets admire the nature around us and understand How wonderfully He is nurturing all creations. Look at the birds, the animals, the flowers, even though they don't toil and run around the world like us, they are perfect in the way they are created. We feel to praise God by seeing the beauty of the nature. We are His prime ones- His Children, it is beyond our imagination, of the ways, how great He is able to care us..lets acknowledge God in all we have and is going to have. Let us seek Him first and put trust in Him and His power working in us. He knows what is good for us even better than us. Do not restrict God with our solutions by forgetting to realize his power of providence.

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us “-Ephesians 3:20

Be content in the way we are, because it is Gods plan that we should be so. May be we are weak, ineligible, or great and productive, God has called us to be so. In whatever situation we are, our aim is to glorify God in us, this is His will for us.

Let us remain humble under Gods hands. Take out all our anxieties about life, commit our ways unto Him and seek Our Lords face and His providence, He will raise us at the right time. Admire the Natures Marvels and Adore our Lord for a perfect trust and submission.

Prayer

Oh Lord Heavenly Father, thank you for showing us Your amazing power through the wonderful Nature around us. Help us to have a STOP in our rushing life and praise You through Nature so that Our trust in You increases and we learn to submit unto Your providence for the perfect satisfaction comes from You. Let us receive everything from Your hands. Thank You Lord.

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen

Christ- Our Treasure

Others are boasting about their lives in the world. So I will boast too.-2 Corinthians 11:18

If I must boast, I will boast about the things that show I am weak. - 2 Corinthians 11:30

“Don’t save treasures for yourselves here on earth. Moths and rust will destroy them. And thieves can break into your house and steal them. Instead, save your treasures in heaven .Your heart will be where your treasure is.- Mathew 6:19-21

Those who look to God will shine;
    their faces are never ashamed.On every side, the Lord’s messenger protects those who honor God; and he delivers them. 

-Psalm 34: 5,7

Most of our time,Our heart is upon our worldly deposits and we may boast upon what we have gained here.. Our Lord says to us, the worldly treasures are perishable and can be stolen. What about our hearts that we put on it? It will also shatter.

Don't save treasures here on earth, let it be saved in Heaven, so that our hearts are set above. We are raised in Christ and is a new creation. Being so we live in perfect submission to Gods will ,depositing in heaven.

'Therefore, if you were raised with Christ, look for the things that are above where Christ is sitting at God’s right side. Think about the things above and not things on earth. '(Colossians 3:1-2)

While on earth, let us boast about our weaknesses and not on our gains of world. Gains of world shows our satisfaction for this world, but through weaknesses Gods power is manifested. We do what we cannot.

He said to me, " My grace is enough for you, because power is made perfect in weakness. "So I'll gladly spend my time bragging about my weaknesses so that Christ's power can rest on me.

- 2 Corinthians 12:9

Let us turn our focus from the world to Christ and Lord ,from what is below to what is above, from dark to light. Let us turn our eyes to the source of light, so that we shine through Him and let others receive the light through us and shine in the ultimate Light together.

"The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how terrible that darkness will be! - Mathew 6:22-23

Those who look to God will shine;
    their faces are never ashamed.On every side, the Lord’s messenger protects those who honor God; and he delivers them. (Psalm 34:5,7)

God protects us and delivers those who have kept focus and trust on Him and their deposit is everlasting.Hence what is best, looking on world or looking to God ?

Prayer

Oh lord ,source of our light and perfect satisfaction, help us to set our focus unto you. Help us to realise and accept our weaknesses and use it to glorify You because in our weaknesses we see you acting for us. Let us be able to say in deep faith ,'my Lord is my treasure and life.'

'I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ' - Colossians 3:8

In the name of the Father Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

The Nature of Our Call

2 Corinthians 6:1-10

“We are workers together with God. So we beg you: Don’t let the grace that you received from God be for nothing. We are servants of God. We never give up, even though we face troubles, difficulties, and problems of every kind.”

Jesus say..”don’t fight back against someone who wants to do harm to you. If they hit you on the right cheek, let them hit the other cheek too.If anyone wants to sue you in court and take your shirt, let them have your coat too.If a soldier forces you to walk with him one mile, go with him two.Give to anyone who asks you for something. Don’t refuse to give to anyone who wants to borrow from you. -Mathew 5:38-42

We are all called for Gods mission like Jesus. “ the Holy Spirit will come on you and give you power. You will be my witnesses. You will tell people everywhere about me “-Acts 1:8

We receive the power to humbly submit us for this mission through the holy spirit that strengthened Jesus during all His trials. Jesus says ”I can assure you that whoever believes in me will do the same things I have done. And they will do even greater things than I have done, because I am going to the Father”- John14:12

If we believe we can see the glory of God. The nature of our call in our life is to follow the same as Jesus did. It is said”If we say we live in God, we must live the way Jesus lived. “- 1John 2:6 and in this mission “In your life together, think the way Christ Jesus thought.”- Philippians 2:6. Giving love for those who hate us and our enemies, sacrificing for those in need with what we have all in Gods love for his children and for His glory.

Hence He says”don’t fight back against someone who wants to do harm to you. If they hit you on the right cheek, let them hit the other cheek too. If anyone wants to sue you in court and take your shirt, let them have your coat too. If a soldier forces you to walk with him one mile, go with him two. Give to anyone who asks you for something. Don’t refuse to give to anyone who wants to borrow from you.”

Hence let us take up the mission that our Father have entrusted us, with the same attitude and feeling of mercy love and kindness, letting not the grace that we received from God go in vain. Let us humbly submit our life for God to act through us and use us. We do this by our perfect obedience to the inner voice of the Holy spirit gaining strength to all the trials we face in our way of life. Let us pray like Jesus did “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done. “Luke 22:42 and let us pray like our Mother Mary who pondered on the living word of god from the beginning till Calvary and even now, by interceding for us in our weaknesses, “And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. “-Luke 1:38

God gives us strength for what we are called for...just we must believe in Him and submit in perfection unto Him.

"Jesus has the power of God. And his power has given us everything we need to live a life devoted to God. We have these things because we know him. Jesus chose us by his glory and goodness, 4 through which he also gave us the very great and rich gifts that he promised us. With these gifts you can share in being like God. And so you will escape the ruin that comes to people in the world because of the evil things they want."2Peter1:3-4

Prayer

God loving Father thank you for giving us the right to called as your Children. Help us to submit ourselves unto you and fill us with strength of Holy Spirit so that we never give up in our mission of life, even though we face troubles, difficulties, and problems of every kind. Fill us with Your love.

In the name of the Father ,The son and The Holy Spirit. Amen

Reading

2 Peter 1:3-15

Psalm 25

Psalms 51

The Crosses of Life- " arm yourselves with Jesus attitude"

 As Jesus prayed in Gethsemane with great anguish and fear..he poured out his heart to Father Almighty. He raised His heart full of troubles and anxieties to heavens and cried to Lord ,“Father, if it’s your will, take this cup of suffering away from me. However, not my will but your will must be done.” A prayer out of helplessness and prayer of perfect submission. Abba Father Help me!!

This is when Father sent out His strength through angel, “Then a heavenly angel appeared to him and strengthened him”. Heavenly Father sent out His strength and filled Jesus heart with Spirit and love. God is love (1John 4:8) .What was the nature of this strength and love that Heavenly Father filled Jesus. Strength- the strngth of the spirit to endure the cross and offer himself as a living sacrifice. Love- Was this love for His only son Jesus? If so , this love would have saved Jesus from the sufferings...it did'nt. Hence the nature of the love was different- this love was the deep fathoms of love that our Father has for His children- this love filled in Jesus hearts that;

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us -Romans 5:8

Jesus prayer during the situation of suffering the cross for us, he raised his own heart to Heavenly Father, which filled him with Gods spirit of strength and love in his heart which changed the entire face of suffering and sacrifice. Jesus was filled with love of God to his children, Jesus was filled with spirit of courage to sacrifice himself for the sake of this love.

“ He was pierced because of our rebellions
  and crushed because of our crimes.
  He bore the punishment that made us whole;
  by his wounds we are healed. -Isaiah 53:5

Jesus endured the cross with the Love and strength of Heavenly Father.

This is the perfect model for us to endure crosses in our life.“Therefore, since Christ suffered as a human, you should also arm yourselves with his way of thinking..so as to live for the rest of your earthly life no longer by human desires but by the will of God.”1 Peter 4:1-2

In every Holy Eucharist this is what we should do, just as Jesus prayed with perfect submission by raising His heart to Lord , as we enter the Holy Mass the priest says “lift up your hearts” Response: “We lift them up to you oh Lord”..Priest: let us give thanks and praises to Him...Response: “It is right and just”...We have to raise our heart with our cross humbly towards our Lord give thanks and praises to Him..no matter how troubled we are...pray more intensely as Jesus did..and do the perfect submission and out of helplessness--,“Father, if it’s your will, take this cup of suffering away from me. However, not my will but your will must be done.”

After submission of our offerings we enter the most important event – Jesus gives His own Body and Blood for us – it dissolve in us when we receive the Holy Eucharist – the spirit of Jesus,Holy Spirit fills in us – the spirit of Love and endurance, the spirit of the perfect sacrifice for the children of God. Once this fills in us, it is by this spirit that we are going to carry the crosses of troubles that we have. The entire outlook of our suffering or trouble transforms to a holy mission. 

In each Holy Eucharist, let us pour out our heart to Our lord. Let us cry out of helplessness raising our hearts unto Him, then he shall fill us with His spirit and life -the living God in us as body and blood- the living word. We are renewed in life each time we receive it. We get the power of Jesus who has already overcome the world and sufferings...'In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." - John 16:33

As we submit “He will change our humble bodies and make them like his own glorious body. Christ can do this by his power, with which he is able to rule everything.” Philippians 3:21

Let the spirit of Christ fill in us through our perfect submission of our life...the spirit with which Jesus suffered for us in love, so that we carry our cross in the same spirit.

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world-- our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God”- 1John 5:4

Our crosses for the day might be our job, or kids, or partner or a friend or a stranger or a disease or a pain...whatever it is...let us face carry our crosses filling ourselves with love and sacrifice of our lord. Let us take cloth ourselves with the attitude of Our lord….It is by denying ourselves ,taking our cross and following Him..we near to Him - the perfect satisfaction of love. We cannot attain it by denying our problems or crosses but we are getting near to God  by carrying them filled with Gods love and sacrifice, by denying our "self" (our comforts and selfish intentions that satisfies us).

Prayer

Thank You for talking to us and helping us realize Your strength for enduring the Cross and giving us your strong loving and sacrificial spirit by receiving Your Body and Blood in the Holy Mass. Let us now carry the cross with Your attitude in your Holy Spirit...with love and sacrifice to all You give us. Let us from now experience your real presence in the Holy Eucharist. Purify us and transform us to You as new creation in Christ. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Readings

Isaiah 53

Philippians 2:5-11

John 17

1 John 4:7-21