We give too many excuses on why we cannot be holy as we ought to be. Or rather why we are not living as saints as we are called to as Christians. Too busy with the distractions of day-to-day life! Datelines to meet, targets to achieve, busy, busy, busy! Then what little time we have left in the day is for our leisure, that is to unwind. So, we turn to other things to distract us from the busy day we had.
Here is the thing….we look skywards to heaven, that is if we look up at all; to pray when things are desperate or when we have a dire need. As if Heaven is somewhere up in the sky and beyond and the Lord is in that Heavenly abode in the sky. How sad it is that we go on living the rest of our lives not realising that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ has already brought Heaven here on earth and we can set our sights and thoughts on heavenly things as St Paul encourages us to do so in today’s first reading.
In prayer, dwelling on our Lord’s Word and in living in His presence, Heaven is already upon us. And we can minister to others through the grace we received in the Heavenly realm. Ours is the kingdom of God and nothing can separate us from His love. Therefore we should always live in the light of Christ by renouncing ourselves, taking up our cross and following after Him. For He is our all in all!
Open the eyes of my heart Lord, I long to see You, be with You, now and forever. Amen
Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop, Doctor pray for us…
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First reading
Colossians 3:1-11 ·
You must look for the things that are in heaven
Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed – and he is your life – you too will be revealed in all your glory with him.
That is why you must kill everything in you that belongs only to earthly life: fornication, impurity, guilty passion, evil desires and especially greed, which is the same thing as worshipping a false god; all this is the sort of behaviour that makes God angry. And it is the way in which you used to live when you were surrounded by people doing the same thing, but now you, of all people, must give all these things up: getting angry, being bad-tempered, spitefulness, abusive language and dirty talk; and never tell each other lies. You have stripped off your old behaviour with your old self, and you have put on a new self which will progress towards true knowledge the more it is renewed in the image of its creator; and in that image there is no room for distinction between Greek and Jew, between the circumcised or the uncircumcised, or between barbarian and Scythian, slave and free man. There is only Christ: he is everything and he is in everything.
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Gospel
Luke 6:20-26
Happy are you who are poor, who are hungry, who weep
Fixing his eyes on his disciples Jesus said:
‘How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God.
Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied.
Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh.
Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets.
‘But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now.
Alas for you who have your fill now: you shall go hungry.
Alas for you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep.
‘Alas for you when the world speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.’
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