Today’s Readings:
Daniel 7:15-27
Daniel 3:82-87
Luke 21:34-36
If I could summarise all my reflections into one theme, it is this: STAY HOLY! It pays to be holy. Holiness is your mission on earth and the reason we were created. It is the reason you are in a relationship with God and with your neighbour. It should be the backbone of all your relationships and interactions with others. It is the bedrock of your thinking, your desires, and your actions.
Holiness is so fundamental that to lose sight of it is to fall like a deck of cards and end in calamity. Jesus’ advice is: “Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery (excessive indulgence in sex, alcohol or drugs) and drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day will be sprung on you suddenly, like a trap” (Luke 21:34). The day He speaks of is Judgment Day, when “the saints of the Most High shall be granted sovereignty” as Daniel says. Heaven is ours. We are made for God and this world is only a passageway. On no account should we lose focus and be carried away by the cares of life. Sin is a slippery slope to destruction and eternal separation from God.
How then should we stay holy and not lose focus?
Invite the Holy Spirit into your heart daily.
Remind yourself daily that you are a child of God.
Pray for the grace to go through the day without sinning (if you ask, you shall receive).
Flee from every suggestion of sin, no matter who is involved.
Add value to others and money will follow.
Keep your promises to God. Be faithful to the vows you have made (baptismal, marital, priestly, and so on).
Wish others well. Do not become envious when others seem to be doing better than you.
Pray for everyone you are connected to. Your success is tied to theirs and vice versa.
Listen to the counsel of those you trust even when your opinion differs from theirs.
Do all you can each day as though there is no tomorrow.
Dispel the seed of doubt (this is the way the devil sinks his root in us).
Believe that God is always in control, no matter how bad things become.
Stay close to the Church, the sacraments, and communion with the faithful.
It is the final day of the liturgical year. May God’s grace which has seen you through this year, carry you safely into the New Year and into every blessing which you desire through Christ our Lord. Amen.
JUDE-MARY OWOH
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you so much for creating me and making me a gift to the world. Thank you for making me a citizen of heaven and a light in the world. By your presence in my life, give me the grace to lead others to heaven. Amen.
Sweet Heart of Jesus, make my heart pure and my soul Holy. Amen.
Key of David, who opens the gates of the eternal kingdom, comes to liberate from the prison of sin, misfortune, barrenness, ill-health, and backwardness those who live in darkness through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
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