A WORD FOR TODAY 1 JUNE 2021

A WORD FOR TODAY

BE A GOOD CITIZEN OF HEAVEN AND EARTH

_"And they brought one. And he said to them, Whose likeness and inscription is this? They said to him, “Caesar’s. Jesus said to them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they were amazed at him."(Mark 12:16-17)_

_*The one indisputable truth is that we are children of God, created by Him and made in His own image and likeness. He put us in the world to serve Him and to live for Him so as to be with Him eternally in heaven. Therefore, we are primarily citizens of heaven and by extension citizens of the earth.*_

_As citizens we are saddled with the responsibility of living a life that will be worthy of our calling. We are meant to live a life that will show the world that we are from God and we do all we do for His own glory._

_*We are in the world, yes, but we are not of the world and as we are told in the Scriptures to seek the things that are above, in heaven where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father. (Colossians 3:1-4). We must live a good life, but that will not make us to renegade on our responsibility as citizens of the world.*_

_Infact, by living a good life we will become the voice of reason in the world and our light will shine and help others who are in darkness to come and embrace the new life in Christ._

_*Our primary loyalty is to God, but we must also be patriotic citizens who will respect constituted authorities. In as much as we are called to live our lives here on earth as good citizens of heaven, we must not fail to fulfill our civil obligations as good citizens. You must live it out in your homes, work and business places, schools and in the society.*_

_We can never be good citizens of heaven if we fail to live our lives well here on earth with respect and in obedience to those whom the Lord has placed over us. This is what we see in the life of Tobit in the first reading. He carried out his corporal works of mercy of burying the dead well for the good of the society and to the glory of God. We must speak the truth and live in love. We must avoid acts of dishonesty and corruption and make sure always that we are doing what will promote peace, unity and development in our environment and community and stay away from acts that wi bring chaos and anarchy._

_*God own all things and our allegiance must go to Him first, but He also created the political authorities and we must work together with them for the good of our world. Therefore, our knowledge of God should make us better citizens of the earth and if we live well here, we will definitely be admitted into the eternal banquet of heavenly citizens in Heaven.*_

_Today we celebrate the memorial of St. Justin the Martyr (c.100-166). He was born in Syria and had a good education. He is the first great Christian apologist and the patron of Catholic Philosophy. Because of His defense of the faith, he was arrested and beheaded at the age of 67. Let us learn from him to continue to witness for Christ even to the point of death._

_*Good morning dearest one. Smile😊as you do your work and do have a beautiful day and a blessed new month of June. May God help you to be a responsible citizen. Amen. And may the Almighty God bless you: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.*_

*Meditation:* Tobit 2:9-14/Psalm 112:1-2,7-9/Mark 12:13-17

*Watch-Word:* With a firm heart, the just man trusts in the Lord.

*We have no other choice but to live well here in earth for God so as to be with Him in heaven.*

(Tuesday of the 9th week of the ordinary time. Year 1. Memorial of St. Justin the Martyr.)

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