The WORD today reminds me that I should choose God daily.
In
the first reading, we are reminded of what God wants from us. God wants us to
act. To do good. As we saw, faith without works is dead. Simple. It is not
enough to say we have faith in God. It is not enough to say we love God. We
should prove it. We should do it. And the gospel further tells us that we
should do these things daily.
We
make a lot of small decisions everyday: what to eat, what to wear, where to
eat, what task to do, how to do it, etc. However, we sometimes do not realize
that these small decisions are part of a “bigger decision” of following God.
The gospel tells us that if we want to follow Jesus, we must do so everyday.
Our little everyday decisions contribute to our
decision to follow Jesus daily.
They say that your thoughts
become your words, and your words become your actions, and your actions become
your habits, then your habits eventually determine your character.
This has a lot of sense into it, and following it, we are reminded that we
should start our decision to follow God with our thoughts, for they eventually
shape us. We should start our decision to follow God through our simple
everyday decisions for they contribute and eventually determine the kind of
life we are living.
No decision is too small
that it is trivial.
What we wear shows if we are following God and treating
our body with the dignity it deserves as the temple of the holy spirit. What we
eat shows if we follow God, if we nourish our bodies properly and keep it
healthy so we can continue to serve God. How we react during situations of
stress or even traffic shows if we are following God. How we treat others shows
if we are following God.
Following God is not a one time, major decision. It is
a conscious, everyday decision,
just as Jesus said in the gospel. And as we are reminded to live our faith, we
should do so daily.
How do I live my faith in God? Do I love God? How do I
show him? Do I live my faith with my life? Do I live right and choose what God
wants for me in little decisions? What is he challenging me to do today?
May we make everyday decisions to love God, to serve Him
through others, and to do our love offerings or sacrifices for him.
Daily.
Father God,
Thank you for today. Thank
you for another day to live. Thank you for another day to experience your love.
Thank you for the reminder of how you want me to live and how I can follow you.
Lord, sorry for the times I ignore these things. Sorry for not giving you the
importance you deserve. Help me live pleasing to you. Be with me and guide me
as I live my life. May I grow closer to you as i choose you daily. May I
praise and glorify you through my acts, through my life. Amen.
Blessed Day!
In Christ,
-g-
Ps
See related reflection:
February 21 2020
«
Friday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 339
Lectionary: 339
Reading
1 JAS 2:14-24,
26
What
good is it, my brothers and sisters,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can that faith save him?
If a brother or sister has nothing to wear
and has no food for the day,
and one of you says to them,
“Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,”
but you do not give them the necessities of the body,
what good is it?
So also faith of itself,
if it does not have works, is dead.
if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can that faith save him?
If a brother or sister has nothing to wear
and has no food for the day,
and one of you says to them,
“Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,”
but you do not give them the necessities of the body,
what good is it?
So also faith of itself,
if it does not have works, is dead.
Indeed
someone might say,
“You have faith and I have works.”
Demonstrate your faith to me without works,
and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.
You believe that God is one.
You do well.
Even the demons believe that and tremble.
Do you want proof, you ignoramus,
that faith without works is useless?
Was not Abraham our father justified by works
when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?
You see that faith was active along with his works,
and faith was completed by the works.
Thus the Scripture was fulfilled that says,
Abraham believed God,
and it was credited to him as righteousness,
and he was called the friend of God.
See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
For just as a body without a spirit is dead,
so also faith without works is dead.
“You have faith and I have works.”
Demonstrate your faith to me without works,
and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.
You believe that God is one.
You do well.
Even the demons believe that and tremble.
Do you want proof, you ignoramus,
that faith without works is useless?
Was not Abraham our father justified by works
when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?
You see that faith was active along with his works,
and faith was completed by the works.
Thus the Scripture was fulfilled that says,
Abraham believed God,
and it was credited to him as righteousness,
and he was called the friend of God.
See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
For just as a body without a spirit is dead,
so also faith without works is dead.
Responsorial
Psalm PS 112:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
R.
(see 1b) Blessed the man who greatly
delights in the Lord’s commands.
Blessed the man who fears the Lord,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed.
R. Blessed the man who greatly delights in the Lord’s commands.
Wealth and riches shall be in his house;
his generosity shall endure forever.
Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
R. Blessed the man who greatly delights in the Lord’s commands.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice;
He shall never be moved;
the just man shall be in everlasting remembrance.
R. Blessed the man who greatly delights in the Lord’s commands.
Blessed the man who fears the Lord,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed.
R. Blessed the man who greatly delights in the Lord’s commands.
Wealth and riches shall be in his house;
his generosity shall endure forever.
Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
R. Blessed the man who greatly delights in the Lord’s commands.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice;
He shall never be moved;
the just man shall be in everlasting remembrance.
R. Blessed the man who greatly delights in the Lord’s commands.
Alleluia JN
15:15B
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I call you my friends, says the Lord,
for I have made known to you all that the Father has told me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I call you my friends, says the Lord,
for I have made known to you all that the Father has told me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel MK
8:34–9:1
Jesus
summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the Gospel will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
What could one give in exchange for his life?
Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words
in this faithless and sinful generation,
the Son of Man will be ashamed of
when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the Gospel will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
What could one give in exchange for his life?
Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words
in this faithless and sinful generation,
the Son of Man will be ashamed of
when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
He
also said to them,
“Amen, I say to you,
there are some standing here who will not taste death
until they see that the Kingdom of God has come in power.”
“Amen, I say to you,
there are some standing here who will not taste death
until they see that the Kingdom of God has come in power.”
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