A WORD FOR TODAY 15 OCTOBER 2020

A WORD FOR TODAY

BE HOLY AND BLAMELESS BEFORE GOD

_"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him."(Ephesians 1:3-4)

Holiness is a project every true believer must take seriously in the course of living as disciples of Jesus. If we are going to be pleasing in the eyes of the Lord, we must aim for perfection just as our heavenly Father is perfect.

Saint Paul exhorts us in the first reading of today to remember that we have been blessed by God in Christ with every spiritual blessings in the heavenly places. This will enable us to live for Him and to do His will. He chose us before the foundation of the world that we should he holy and blameless before Him.

This should be our daily task, to continue to strive to be holy and blameless before the Lord and to serve Him with all our heart and mind and stay away from things that will defile us and make us unworthy.

In the journey of striving to be like Jesus and to do His will, we can fall from time to time, but what we do when we fall really matters. We must truly be contrite and remorseful and then make a firm resolve not to fall again. We must keep pushing towards goodness and perfection no matter the things that may come to draw us back.

To be holy and blameless, you must love the things of heaven more than the things of the flesh. You will cherish your friendship with God and work hard to uphold it. You will try to be just and kind in your dealings with others and avoid acts that will make you become a slave to sin again.

Holiness is possible in our time and generation and it begins with the desire to do God's will which will be backed up with concrete actions of faith and reverence which will help us to aim to be like God at all times.

Today we celebrate the memorial of saint Teresa of Avila, virgin and Doctor of the Church(1515-1582). She was born in Avila and entered the Carmelite convent at the age of 20. She devoted her life in contemplative prayers which reflected in the work she did. She was declared a doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI in 1970. Let us learn from her to be holy by doing our work well here on earth.

Good morning dearest one. Smile😊as you do your work and do have a peaceful day. May Jesus give you the grace not to be tired of making effort to live a holy life. Amen. *And may the Almighty God bless you: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Meditation: Ephesians 1:1-10/Psalm 98:1-6/Luke 11:47-54

Watch-Word: I am the way, the truth and the life, says the Lord.

Holiness is possible if you make the decision to do God's will and not your wish.

(Thursday of the Twenty Eight week, year II. Memorial of St. Teresa of Avila)