Lord, You are with me today, tomorrow and for all eternity ~ Prayer

God, I cannot see Your face,

but my heart knows you are here.

I feel Your hand upon me 

when I am in need

and my soul hears Your whispering

"peace, be still"

when the storms of this world threaten me.

I look and Your work is easy to see

and I praise You 

for the miracles given to me.

Others may believe what the wish,

but as for me

there is no doubt at all in my mind,

You were with me yesterday,

You are with me today, 

tomorrow and for all eternity.

Amen.

Lord, teach me the right way to pray.... Holy Spirit guide me

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" 

(Matthew 7:7)

"You do not have because you do not ask" 

(James 4:2)

"You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, 

that you may spend it on your pleasures" 

(James 4:3)

The necessity of prudent foresight

Do you make good use of your money and possessions? Jesus seemed to praise a steward (a manager entrusted with his master's goods) who misused his employer's money. What did the steward do that made Jesus praise him? The steward was responsible for managing his wealthy landowner's property. 

Love God above all things

"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength."

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself"

Recall the Last Supper, He is surrounded by his disciples. He tells them a new commandment, "Love one another as I have loved you." So now, He says that our love for one another has to mirror Jesus' love for us. And, how did He love us? You can scarcely count the ways. For the love of us He became human, born of a teenage Jewish girl and grew up in a small village where everyone knew His every secret, except the big secret that He was not Joseph's son, but God's. For the love of us He walked the long dusty roads of Palestine, healing the sick and raising the dead, comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable. He was hungry and thirsty with no place to lay His head.

Each word, each gesture was shaped of love and all of this crowned by the last great act of love, crucifixion. No greater love than this to lay down your life for your friend or for an enemy. Even crucifixion was not enough. He never stops giving, giving His very self. How many times have you heard these words, "This is my body given for you."? What does this all mean to you? With all that crowds in upon us, how is it possible today to love God above all things? The only way I know how to do that is not to just know about God but to come to know God, to have in some way experienced Him, to have Him touch you and you touch Him. Get to know God. You cannot love someone you do not know.

source: this week's reflection, Fr.Bob Warren, SA

Every one who believes in him will be raised up at the last day

Is your hope in this present life only? What about the life to come after our physical death? God puts in the heart of every living person the desire for unending life and happiness. While physical death claims each of us at the appointed time, God gives us something which death cannot touch - his own divine life and sustaining power.

God does not abandon us to the realm of the dead 

One of the greatest examples of faith and hope in the promise of everlasting life with God is the testimony of Job in the Old Testament. God allowed Job to be tested through great trial, suffering, and the loss of everything he had. In the midst of his sufferings Job did not waver in trusting God. In chapter 19 of the Book of Job, he exclaims:

" For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another" (Job 19:25-27).

Through testing and purification God strengthened Job in faith and abundantly rewarded him for his trust and hope in God's promises.

King David also expressed his unwavering hope in the promise of everlasting life with God. In Psalm 16 David prays,

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand (Psalm 16:9-11 NIV translation).

We wait with hope for the Lord to raise us up to everlasting life 

Jesus made an incredible promise to his disciples and a claim which only God can make and deliver: Whoever sees and believes in Jesus, the Son of God, shall have everlasting life and be raised up at the last day (John 6:40)! How can we see Jesus? The Lord makes his presence known to us in the reading of his word (John14:23), in the breaking of the bread, and in his church, the body of Christ.

The Lord Jesus reveals himself in many countless ways to those who seek him with eyes of faith (Hebrews 12:2, 11:27). When we read the word of God in the Bible the Lord Jesus - who is the Word of God - speaks to us and reveals to us the mind and heart of our heavenly Father. When we approach the table of the Lord, Jesus offers himself as spiritual food which produces the very life of God within us ( I am the bread of life, John6:35). He promises unbroken fellowship and freedom from the fear of being forsaken or cut off from everlasting life with God. And he offers us the hope of sharing in his resurrection - being raised again with him to abundant life that will never end. Do you recognize the Lord's presence in your life and do you long for the day when you will see him face to face?

The Holy Spirit is the key to growth in faith 

What is the source of faith and how can we grow in it? Faith is an entirely free gift which God offers us through his Son Jesus Christ. We could not approach God if he did not first approach us and draw us to himself. The Lord Jesus gives us his Holy Spirit who works in us to open our ears to hear God's word and to respond to it with trust and submission. The Holy Spirit is the key to our growing in faith. The Holy Spirit is our teacher and guide who makes our faith come alive as we cooperate with his help and and to his wisdom and instruction.

To live, grow, and persevere in faith to the end we must nourish it with the word of God. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) said: I believe, in order to understand; and I understand, the better to believe. Jesus promises that those who accept him as their Lord and Savior and submit to his word will be raised up to everlasting life with him when he comes again at the close of this age. Is your life securely anchored to the promises of Christ and his kingdom of everlasting peace,joy, and righteousness?

Lord Jesus Christ, your death and resurrection brought life and hope where there was once only despair and defeat. Give me unwavering faith, unshakeable hope, and the fire of your unquenchable love that I may know you fully and serve you joyfully now and for ever in your everlasting kingdom.

source: From the desk of Don Schwager, 

hosted by Kairos Europe and the Middle East

All Saints Day (1 November) - Petition for the Prayers of the Saints

Oh all you saints and angels,

who see Him face to face,

and thou, most especially, ever blessed Virgin Mary,

in whose sacred womb He was conceived

and borne for nine months�

I most humbly beg the assistance of your prayers and intercession,

that I may in such a manner receive Him here in this place of banishment

and to be brought, one day,

to behold Him with you in our true home

and there to praise and bless Him for ever and ever. 

Amen.