Daily Bible: Testified to Love
Go to the Head of the Class for the “Practical Prayer” and Learn How to Make Your Prayer More Focused, Meaningful and Intimate!
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Join us this Advent for the Practical Prayer “First Class”! Go through the first version of Practical Prayer and get up to $50 back from your purchase price! This Advent we’re going to talk about what keeps us from really focusing in prayer and making our prayer deep, meaningful and intimate. Sign up to go to the head of the class and to be the first to be notified when enrollment opens!
Practical Prayer is the second course in the Keys to Spiritual Growth online Catholic spirituality program.Keys to Spiritual Growth is intended for the lay faithful who are struggling to build a spirituality around the chaos and bustle of their everyday life.
In 3John 5–8 Saint John celebrates another local church that is showing its love by supporting others. I think it shows a lot about how we need conversion of heart when we see how parishes and dioceses tend to compete with each other rather than loving and supporting each other for the sake of Jesus. In one city I lived in an ancient grudge between parishes had continued since the 1960’s to the point that one parish wouldn’t attend any program if it was held at the other parish. Even where I live now the parishioners in our parish cluster won’t drive the 5–10 minutes to attend a program at another parish in the cluster. How have we gotten so parochial? How can we change our hearts and embrace the love of the brethren that Saint John talks about here?
Psalm 112: 1–6 continues the theme of how following God’s will leads to blessing and happiness. This psalm uses the term “fear of the Lord,” which has traditionally referred to the Gift of the Holy Spirit by the same name. We have to realize that this does not mean being afraid of God. It means being afraid of losing our relationship with God. It means acknowledging that we are not worthy for such a relationship in the first place, and if God tells us how to have a relationship with Him we had better work really hard to do what He tells us. And this relationship with God is what brings us happiness and blessing. What an amazing God we have that He would allow us to love Him, show us how to do it, and then bless us for following His instructions!
In the parable Jesus teaches in Luke 8:1–8, God is compared to an ornery judge who doesn’t really care about the people he’s supposed to serve. But this judge gives in to the woman’s demands because of her persistence. Jesus is not saying that our Heavenly Father is like this judge. Quite the opposite, God loves us and cares for us — and how much more would He respond to the needs of His children than this judge would if we would just ask in faith? Jesus closes these words with a message that sounds a bit depressing, “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” How much do we really trust that God will answer our prayers the way a good father would answer the requests of his children?
Reflection Questions
1. Who could testify of your love for others?
2. What could you do to increase the love and sense of brotherhood with other parishes and dioceses?
3. How do you need to trust your Heavenly Father more?
Go to the Head of the Class for the “Practical Prayer” and Learn How to Make Your Prayer More Focused, Meaningful and Intimate!
Please enter your name.
Please enter a valid email address.
I agree to be added to From the Abbey’s email list
You must accept the Terms and Conditions.
Something went wrong. Please check your entries and try again.
Join us this Advent for the Practical Prayer “First Class”! Go through the first version of Practical Prayer and get up to $50 back from your purchase price! This Advent we’re going to talk about what keeps us from really focusing in prayer and making our prayer deep, meaningful and intimate. Sign up to go to the head of the class and to be the first to be notified when enrollment opens!
Practical Prayer is the second course in the Keys to Spiritual Growth online Catholic spirituality program.Keys to Spiritual Growth is intended for the lay faithful who are struggling to build a spirituality around the chaos and bustle of their everyday life.
Originally published at Catholic Spiritual Growth.
