Mary and Elizabeth – pregnant with Jesus and John the Baptist – meet and rejoice at the goodness of the Lord. Both women knew hardship, yet their faith inspires us to see God at work…in good times and in bad.
Jesus tells his heavenly Father, “I pray for them.” His words offer hope: the Lord prays for us! Our faith, transmitted through time and space from those first disciples, inspires us to pray for one another with the grace and strength of Christ.
We say in the creed, “He ascended into Heaven” yet we often do not consider what that means for our lives here on earth:
Where are we going?
What are we doing?
How are we doing it?
With Heaven as our home we can evaluate and review our words and actions in preparation for the day when the Lord calls us to follow Him from this world to the next.
“Whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you” reminds us that our requests are rooted in our relationship with the Lord. As we grow closer to Christ we change and grow, not only learning what to ask for, but trusting that the one who knows us best will give us what we need.
The Lord bluntly teaches that grief is part of our journey of faith, but that it is not the final destination. As we face our challenges today we turn to Jesus Christ for the strength and guidance that will bring us to joy in His kingdom.
The first reading offers specific details of location, people and occupation – reminding us that the Lord works through the particular aspects of every human life…including our own!
The Lord promises us the Holy Spirit, who will guide us in truth. What challenges are you facing today? Call upon the Holy Spirit for the guidance you need!
Paul and Silas – beaten and imprisoned for their faith – bring people to faith in Philippi. Their example shows us that God can use our weakness to bring about great deeds.
With proper diet and exercise our bodies grow stronger. Over time what seemed difficult becomes easy through discipline and hard work. The same is true for our spiritual lives: we grow stronger as we draw near to Christ and grow in his love…thus allowing us to love in difficult and challenging times as we carry out the Lord’s command to love as he loves us.
Chosen by God does not mean that life will be easy; on the contrary, it will be hard! We know from experience that there are times when we pay the price for doing the right thing, and as we follow Jesus Christ we know that we will meet opposition and difficulty…yet with the Lord’s grace we will be given what we need to keep going.