Posts Tagged ‘be reconciled’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 3, 2024 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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All too often we take our sonship and daughterhood in God our Heavenly Father for granted. We forget that by choosing sin, that is to give in to sinful inclinations and temptations, we separate ourselves from Him. That means the peace, love and joy we would naturally experience by living life in His presence goes missing. Those of us who still have a conscience, will have to endure guilt, shame till we repent and seek reconciliation.

That is why we must choose to turn our eyes to Jesus alone! For He has set us free by laying His life down for us. He died upon the cross so that we might have eternal life with Him!

Let us therefore encourage one another and point all others who do not yet know Him, towards our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, proclaiming, “Behold the lamb of God who took away the sins of the world, blessed are we called to the supper of the Lamb.” Amen


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First reading
1 John 2:29-3:6


Everyone must try to be as pure as Christ


You know that God is righteous –
then you must recognise that everyone whose life is righteous
has been begotten by him.

Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us, by letting us be called God’s children; and that is what we are.
Because the world refused to acknowledge him, therefore it does not acknowledge us.
My dear people, we are already the children of God but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed; all we know is, that when it is revealed we shall be like him because we shall see him as he really is.

Surely everyone who entertains this hope must purify himself, must try to be as pure as Christ.
Anyone who sins at all breaks the law, because to sin is to break the law.
Now you know that he appeared in order to abolish sin, and that in him there is no sin; anyone who lives in God does not sin, and anyone who sins has never seen him or known him.



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Gospel
John 1:29-34


‘Look: there is the Lamb of God’

Seeing Jesus coming towards him, John said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. This is the one I spoke of when I said: A man is coming after me who ranks before me because he existed before me. I did not know him myself, and yet it was to reveal him to Israel that I came baptising with water.’ John also declared, ‘I saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove and resting on him. I did not know him myself, but he who sent me to baptise with water had said to me, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is going to baptise with the Holy Spirit.” Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: June 8, 2021 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Yes indeed it is exhausting to always try and do what is right before the Lord our God, then falling into sin, temptation. Once again we struggle to pick ourselves up from despair and shame to live in His light! But what is the alternative if we don’t? To live in darkness? To search endlessly for peace, love and joy?

Nay! We must hold fast to the promises of Christ! He knows we are heavy laden and burdened, He will give us rest when we turn to Him. Our loving Lord understands the struggle we go through each and every day.  We make wrong choices from time to time and end up straying from Him. Still He is our shepherd who goes out looking for us, and welcomes all who are contrite with open arms eagerly waiting to embrace us. So let our Yes always be for Him and in Him; by His grace we will once again shine brightly as beacons of His light in the world. Amen

First reading

2 Corinthians 1:18-22 ·

God himself has anointed us and given us his Spirit

I swear by God’s truth, there is no Yes and No about what we say to you. The Son of God, the Christ Jesus that we proclaimed among you – I mean Silvanus and Timothy and I – was never Yes and No: with him it was always Yes, and however many the promises God made, the Yes to them all is in him. That is why it is ‘through him’ that we answer Amen to the praise of God. Remember it is God himself who assures us all, and you, of our standing in Christ, and has anointed us, marking us with his seal and giving us the pledge, the Spirit, that we carry in our hearts.

Gospel

Matthew 5:13-16

Your light must shine in the sight of men

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, what can make it salty again? It is good for nothing, and can only be thrown out to be trampled underfoot by men.

    ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven.’