WEDNESDAY OF THE TWENTY-FIFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, SEPTEMBER 25, 2024

St Cecilia's Benedictine Abbey in the isle of Wight, England

.MASS READINGS:

Gospel

Lk 9:1-6

Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority

over all demons and to cure diseases,

and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God

and to heal the sick.

He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey,

neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money,

and let no one take a second tunic.

Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there.

And as for those who do not welcome you,

when you leave that town,

shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them."

Then they set out and went from village to village

proclaiming the Good News and curing diseases everywhere.

REFLECTION

Take nothing for the journey

My life is far from cloistered. In the morning I give my all to God. Morning prayers, Mass and Adoration are my daily routines.

By the time I get home, my love for God turns my attention to self. Unfortunately, I reward myself by “slacking off”: watching TV, playing on computer/cellphone, and relaxing. Cooking, cleaning and gardening are always offered up to God. My prayer life turns into mediocrity in the afternoon. Making time for afternoon and evening prayers is hard. Divine Mercy is prayed rapidly and not with much thought; evening prayers are said but not as well as the morning prayers. The words are beautiful but not prayerful. My mind wants to be somewhere else as many things are vying for my attention.

Confessing this difficulty in prayer, I was surprised when my penance was a rosary. Putting away my list of prayers, my “to do’s” for the morning, I meditated on the sorrowful mysteries that Friday in front of Jesus.

Confession was meant to be a vignette; however, an hour later I was still meditating and praying the rosary. Let me share my thoughts....such peace and understanding.

I was surprised by the penance, but I see how the Lord showed me what I needed and He provided me with the grace to reconcile with Him. Without ceasing, He seeks me day and night. I should no longer say, morning is His and the rest of the day is mine. Nothing should interfere with intimacy with God throughout the day. We should turn our lives into a prayer so that every waking moment of the day is a prayer to God. Scheduled written prayer is a helpful reminder to take a break and make time to converse with Him.

It’s not all about self discipline, though one needs to control the will. In order to pray, I need to know the benefits of a good prayer life. To be healthy, one knows about exercise and diet, yet it takes several months to see the results. I need to open the door to the Holy Spirit’s calling and His gifts. Prayer opens the latch.

I need to know Him better and trust that He will provide all that I need to love Him above all things, so that I can say, "I want to accept Him every moment of my life". I want to participate in Him, in His life. The Holy Spirit is always at work renewing life in us.

Obedience to going where I don’t want to go is what He calls me to do, leaving all things behind, except His will.

With Jesus praying in us, please pray for me as I pray for you, dear reader, to give ourselves totally to God and to have the love I wish I had.

Continue praying for good confessors. Thank you to all our priests.

God bless you