Prayer Prompt before reading LK 14:1, 7-11: Come, Holy Spirit, teach me how to pray, interpret the Scriptures for me so that I may know the Truth about who God the Father is and God the Son so that I may know who I am.
FOR EVERYONE WHO EXALTS HIMSELF WILL BE HUMBLED, BUT THE ONE WHO HUMBLES HIMSELF WILL BE EXALTED.” LK 14:1, 7-11
Humbly submit your will to God (Thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary and Joseph.
Today, Jesus uses the wedding banquet to teach us about humility. He will go on to use a parable to teach us about the rich and the poor, the difficult task of being a true disciple of Christ, and that we will be persecuted for it. That sounds great doesn’t it!
It is interesting how the harder you work for something and the more you give up the greater the satisfaction and the reward. The same goes for getting to heaven. When we cooperate with God’s grace and love (willing the good of the other and doing something about it) God can achieve holiness in us.
Today, Jesus focuses on humility. Humility helps us defeat Satan who is constantly trying to make us rush, distract us, make us worry, anxious, and break up our family/separate us from our spouse/friends. He will tempt us when negative thoughts enter our minds. Satan brought envy into the world because he wanted to be God.
Humility is knowing who you are in perspective to who God is. It takes a lot of prayer, reading Scripture, receiving the sacraments, catechism, spiritual readings, and seeing Jesus in the face of the poor and giving them something even though they can’t repay you.
Then, we think completely differently (metanoia-conversion) and fall in love with Jesus Christ. People can actually see we have been transformed. The crazy thing is a person can’t explain it! Welcome to true love, sacrificial love, the hearts greatest desire!
Next time you pray ask Jesus to see yourself the way He sees you. Before you read the Bible ask Jesus to teach you the Truth about who He is and the Truth about who you are. Be ready to be humbled. We need to bow down to God and recognize we need Him. Actually, Jesus tells us in the Vine and the Branches analogy, “you can do nothing without me”.
Humility is the first beatitude, a poor spirit. We need God’s mighty powers to help us to fight the fallen angel. We need to recognize we cannot do it alone. Rise each morning and remind yourself who you are and what you need. Discover this Truth in the Scriptures, pray to Our Father, sit in silence and allow God to give us perspective for each day. Each day we wake we start over and we think with our limited minds.
We inherited a fallen nature so we have a leaning towards sin. In the morning, prepare for battle with our first thoughts being Our Father and storming heaven to help us each day. Next, receive Jesus and be open to allowing Him to transform you to rid yourself of sin and help build up strength against it. This is the first step to holiness/sainthood Bishop Barron teaches in his book “The Strangest Way”, JESUS AS CENTER OF YOUR LIFE.
Run to Mary who is our greatest intercessor against Satan (she repels him) to protect us in her mantle. St. Joseph, protector of the Holy Church and Terror of Demons, we have learned in the year of St. Joseph is also a great intercessor for us. Look to the saints who have seen through the Devil’s schemes and lies and defeated him asking them for their intercessions.
We are entering battle each day. Use the spiritual powers God gave you of intellect, will, and memory to be humble recognizing we need God and His powers to defeat Satan, overcome persecution and our fallen human nature, and win as true disciples of Christ.
Today’s challenge: Be humble
Be humble, be a saint today!
#Christian YODO (You Only Die Once; we will live again!)
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