If the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be. – Matthew 6:23 - Daily Bible Reflections June 17,2016

ROOM IN YOUR HEART

 

If the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be. – Matthew 6:23

 

       I am presently living in New Zealand where a few months of the year, the sun sets late in the evening, sometimes as late as 9 p.m. So you get to do a lot of things late into the night.

       I happily take advantage of this to move around and do errands, visit some place or do whatever my husband and I want to do while there is still some light.

      This makes me wonder how it would feel to live in the Antarctic where, for several months of the year, it is just night.

       Inside us, there is darkness and light. Light is hope, faith and love. Darkness is unforgiveness, cynicism and resentment, to name a few. One gives us room to move, to be happy, and to really live. The other curtails our life’s movement.

       How lit is the room in your heart? Have you much room to move? Joyce Sosoban-Roa (jsosoban@gmail.com)

 

Pope Francis Says: “From my point of view, God is the light that illuminates the darkness, even if it does not dissolve it, and a spark of divine light is within each of us.”

 

Dear Lord, sometimes my darkness is so dark that I’m not even aware of it. Have mercy on me, Lord. Let Your love shine Your light in my life.

 

St. Joseph Cafasso, pray for us.

How has the quality of your prayer time improved over the years? - Daily Bible Reflections June 16, 2016

PRAYER   Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. – Matthew 6:8          I was buying something online but I couldn’t complete my transaction.       I called my credit card company and a recorded message asked me to select among five options. Then it asked me to select among another four. Then enter my credit card number. Then choose among another set of options. Finally, there was an option to speak to someone! When I chose it, I was asked to wait for someone to be available to talk to me.      When I finally heard a live voice, I was asked for my credit card number and a bunch of questions to confirm it was really mine. By the time she understood and addressed my concern, I had been on the phone for 30 minutes.        Talk about a long process.     I’m so glad talking to God is not complicated. No queue, no veri-fication, no complex process just to be heard. He taught us just how easy it is to pray. Plus, He already knows exactly what we need, so there’s no need for the long drawn explanation. We are certain He understands clearly. Kitty D. Ferreria (kittydulay@yahoo.com)   Reflection: How has the quality of your prayer time improved over the years?   Lord, help me establish and improve my prayer time.   St. John Francis Regis, pray for us.

How has the quality of your prayer time improved over the years? - Daily Bible Reflections June 16, 2016

PRAYER   Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. – Matthew 6:8          I was buying something online but I couldn’t complete my transaction.       I called my credit card company and a recorded message asked me to select among five options. Then it asked me to select among another four. Then enter my credit card number. Then choose among another set of options. Finally, there was an option to speak to someone! When I chose it, I was asked to wait for someone to be available to talk to me.      When I finally heard a live voice, I was asked for my credit card number and a bunch of questions to confirm it was really mine. By the time she understood and addressed my concern, I had been on the phone for 30 minutes.        Talk about a long process.     I’m so glad talking to God is not complicated. No queue, no veri-fication, no complex process just to be heard. He taught us just how easy it is to pray. Plus, He already knows exactly what we need, so there’s no need for the long drawn explanation. We are certain He understands clearly. Kitty D. Ferreria (kittydulay@yahoo.com)   Reflection: How has the quality of your prayer time improved over the years?   Lord, help me establish and improve my prayer time.   St. John Francis Regis, pray for us.

And your Father who sees what is done in secret will repay you. – Matthew 6:6 - Daily Bible Reflections June 15, 2016

DO YOU WANT TO

KNOW A SECRET?

 

And your Father who sees what is done in secret will repay you. – Matthew 6:6

 

        “I have a secret,” says my friend. I lean towards her and I’m all ears. I can’t tell you the secret but I can tell you that I am happy she trusts me enough to share what’s important to her.

      Prayer is like this. It is an intimate conversation between close friends. I can tell God my deepest secrets and I believe He also wants to share His with us. “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know,” He said in Jeremiah 3:33.

       I learned that God loves the humble and hidden things. In Sri Lanka, there is a beautiful and rare flower called kadupul, which blooms fully at midnight and completely wilts before dawn. No one sees it blooming and dying, but I believe it makes God smile.

       There is also the snow gum tree, whose height is proportional to the depth of its roots. Like this tree, we will grow to our fullest potential when our roots are nourished in prayer. What we do in secret will bear fruit, like a person whose skin glows because of the healthy food he eats. What is done in secret is ultimately rewarded by God’s overflowing love and generous servings of the fruits of His Spirit. Marjorie Ann Duterte (marjorie.travels@gmail.com)

 

Pope Francis Says: “Praise is the ‘breath’ which gives us life, because it is intimacy with God, an intimacy that grows through daily praise.”

 

Lover of hidden things, draw us close to Your heart and tell us great and unsearchable things we do not know.

 

St. Marguerite d’ Youville, pray for us.