Today’s Readings:
Psalm 103:1-18
John 14:21-26
Colossians 1:24-29
The yardstick of a rich life for most people is length of days and luxury. To this end, it is a curse to die young and poor. This is a very narrow definition of a rich life. If this is the acceptable standard of a rich life then, our heroes of faith would be unfortunate, but this is not the case. St Catherine of Siena lived to be only 33 years old (like Jesus Christ her chaste spouse). She consecrated her virginity to God at the age of seven. She wrote to the Pope who at the time was exiled to France, to return to Rome. She has enriched the Church with her classic writing “The Dialogue” (1378) which contains her mystical conversations with God. She is also renowned as the Patroness saint of Europe and also patroness of journalists, media, and nursing. She was declared a doctor of the Church (in 1970) because of her writings and holiness of life.
How then do you live a rich life?
The rich life consists in letting God love you and offering the loving gift of yourself to others in service. Love and service. Jesus says to us, “If you love me keep my commandments and my Father and I will love you and I will reveal myself to you” (John 14:21). God's self-revelation is the greatest gift you can ever hope for in this life or in the world to come. No wonder the ministers of the God bless us saying, "The Lord be with you". If God is for you, who can be against you? (Romans 8:31). Knowing that God loves us and that His love is a shield of protection and a banner of boundless love for us, we must in turn serve others with the same love that God has showered on us. By so doing, we fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body which is the Church (Colossians 1:24). This simply means that for love to abound in the world and for us to experience the joy of loving, we each have to play it forward. We do so by serving through our work, in our families, in our relationships with our spouse and friends, in caring for the sick and needy, in serving our community through acts of charity and by generally being responsible for ourselves and others.
Most of us are hoping to find love while waiting on others to call us, send text or chat messages, surprise us with gifts. All the while, we fail to see so many people whose lives could have been made better by our care and concern. No love that can surpass the supreme advantage of having Christ in your life and offering others the joy of knowing Him (Philippians 3:8). Only a humble person can love and be loved. God has already shown us the humility of love when he took our human nature, died and rose for our salvation. The world needs more humble and selfless people. Saint Catherine of Siena says, “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” God meant for you to experience his love and to offer that same love to others each day.
JUDE-MARY OWOH
Prayer:
Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:
Sing forth the honour of his name; make His praise glorious, in Jesus name.
May the love of Christ heal my past, transform my present and secure my future in peace, joy and righteousness forever, in Jesus name.
Create in me O Lord a new heart, renew a right and humble spirit within me, in Jesus name.
Let the blood of Jesus cleans my body, soul and spirit, in Jesus name.
Lord, that I may know You, and experience the power of Your resurrection, in Jesus name.
Our Father in heaven, take charge, take control in the lives of our children, youths and young adults; grant that they love You and Your word, in Jesus name.
O Lord, uproot everything You have not planted in Your Church, and the gate of hell shall not prevail, in Jesus name.
Father, walk through the length and breadth of our nation with your shoe of fire, and uproot what you have not planted, that Your plan for our nation may kthe fulfil, in Jesus name. Amen.
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