A WORD FOR TODAY 28 DECEMBER 2019

A WORD FOR TODAY

LOVE ALWAYS LIKE JESUS AND DO NOT HATE

_Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Innocents. It is a feast that honours the heroic martyrdom of so many children who were killed as a result of the hatred and wickedness of Herod. They died for committing no crime and we could say that they died in order to keep the infant Jesus safe. We must always be ready to die for the sake of Christ._

_*At the root of the action of Herod is hatred and wickedness. He was ambitious of remaining the only king, but he was not a good king. Now when he got the information that a new king is born, he did not waste anytime to set in motion the process that will eliminate Jesus so that only him will remain king. He was jealous and this vice drove him into doing things that were abominable before the Lord.*_

_When we let the love of Christ dwell in our heart we are not going to do anything that will displease the Lord. As saint John tells us in the first reading of today that God is light and in Him there is no darkness, therefore, anyone who follows Him will never walk in darkness, but will dwell in the light. Let our love be the light that will guide those in darkness to come to embrace Christ who is the light._

_*Sin comes in various degrees and if we do not acknowledge that we are sinful and confess before the Lord, we may never get any help from Christ and be saved. Sins of hatred, wickedness, envy, jealousy, lack of empathy and compassion e.t.c is killing our world and the only remedy is for us to love like Jesus. If we love like Him we will be ready to suffer and die for others as He suffererd for us on the cross of Calvary and as the Holy innocents suffered and died for a crime they did not commit.*_

_We must grow in love and remove from our heart anything that will make us hate others. We must love like Jesus and live in the light always. If we have fallen into sin as a result of human weakness, we can get help from Him and He will forgive us if we return to Him with a contrite heart. We should never let darkness to take root in us, so that we will continue to shine out as the light in the world. We must 'fight' and defend the little children in our world from abuse and other evil that threatens their holistic growth and realization of their full potential._

_*As we follow Jesus we must learn from Him to love as He loved us. We must be ready also to suffer for His sake. We may suffer unjustly like these little infants, but we will never suffer in vain because our reward will be great in the kingdom of God. Show love more and eschew hatred and wickedness and you will help to make the world a beautiful place.*_

_Good morning dearest one. Smile😊as you do your work and do have a wonderful weekend. May God come to the aid of all those who are suffering for a crime they did not commit and vindicate them, especially those in prison and in other places of detention. Amen. *And may the Almighty God bless you: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.*_

*Meditation:* 1 John 1:5-2:2/Psalm 124:2-5,7-8/Matthew 2:13-18

*Watch-Word:* God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.

_*Never hate, quarrel or fight with people because they possess what you do not have. Just show them love and you will be great in the sight of God.*_