As we draw close to the end of the year and decide to make a new year’s resolution, there can be only One for and that is to do the Will of God our Heavenly Father!
For to keep His commandments and strive for heavenly virtues, so as to do His Holy Will for us is what will give us life to the full in Him. For we live in the light of the Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. So let us always turn to Him in our weakness to bless and sanctify us through His precious blood, so what we may live free from the bondages of sin and to glorify the Lord our God by our lives.
Of the many sins in the world, most are drawn out from these two, Pride and Lust! We must resist with all our might and call upon the Holy Spirit to help us so that we can steer clear of these temptations which plague some of us on a daily basis.
Finally we are very much in need of the Annas of the world, who dedicates their lives to pray through prophetic intercession. That is praying according to the will of God for His people. With purity of heart and mind we can be ‘Anna’ to hear His voice as we pray. Amen
First reading
1 John 2:12-17
Observance of the will of God
I am writing to you, my own children,
whose sins have already been forgiven through his name;
I am writing to you, fathers,
who have come to know the one
who has existed since the beginning;
I am writing to you, young men,
who have already overcome the Evil One;
I have written to you, children,
because you already know the Father;
I have written to you, fathers,
because you have come to know the one
who has existed since the beginning;
I have written to you, young men,
because you are strong and God’s word has made its home in you,
and you have overcome the Evil One.
You must not love this passing world
or anything that is in the world.
The love of the Father cannot be
in any man who loves the world,
because nothing the world has to offer
– the sensual body,
the lustful eye,
pride in possessions –
could ever come from the Father
but only from the world;
and the world, with all it craves for,
is coming to an end;
but anyone who does the will of God
remains for ever.
Gospel
Luke 2:36-40
Anna speaks of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem
There was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well on in years. Her days of girlhood over, she had been married for seven years before becoming a widow. She was now eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer. She came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.
When they had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was with him.
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