Devotion
You are my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased
David Jacobs
I spent a lot of my adult life trying to please my father. He is not the easiest man to please, or at least he says that he is not pleased much of the time. There have been moments when I really drove with all of the energy to please my father, only to receive little to no recognition for what I had done. Unfortunately, I lost my temper on one of these occasions, asking my father why he never could admit to being happy with what I had done. Fortunately, my father is a kind and patient person, giving me exactly what I needed. He told me that he thought that I knew he was pleased with him so much so that he didn't even need to say it. With that, my spirit was lifted, and I never felt this insecurity again.
Any son that has had a relationship with their father knows how much it means to be acceptable in good in the mind of your father. As a child, we look up to our parents so much, and although it may sound ridiculous considering Christ is God and God is Christ, I still believe that the human part of Christ looked up to his father the same way that I looked up to mine. He wanted His blessing; he wanted to be affirmed in his goodness; he wanted God to tell him that He loved him. That is exactly what God does.
Prayer
God doesn't just say it to Jesus; He says it so that the people that witnessed the baptism with John could hear it too. They would go from that place to tell the people about it, and the good news of Christ would begin to spread like a wildfire.
Devotion
Culpability
Frances Taylor
This is an interesting passage because, among other things, it talks about sin and who is considered guilty of sin. Paul is talking about how he has been forgiven, how God has been merciful to him because his actions were committed in unbelief. In order for sin to be committed, one needs to know he is committing it. No one can commit sin in retrospect. Sin is always a deliberate act. This can be hard for some to understand. Actions can be considered sinful, even though the person committing them may not be culpable. For example, lying is a sin. However, is the two year old hiding behind the curtains sinning when he or she claims not to have broken the vase? No, because the child has no understanding of the difference between truth and lie. Those who do not have a relationship with God, who do not know the commandments, who have never heard of Jesus, may commit sinful actions, but are not guilty of sin. This is what Paul claims is his situation. Paul ...
Morning Prayer
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, ) full of grace and truth.
Inspiration
When the Lord sent his only Son, he sent also his word. For his body was this very word made flesh. Importantly this was not simply a manifestation of God's word, but also rather an 'animation' of it (meant here in the original Latin as 'animare' –'to instill with life or spirit'), an instance of God's love and divine grace in action, among us.
Prayer
Lord, I am grateful for your mercy in showing us your word made flesh so that we may be redeemed. Further, I am grateful to you for showing us your love and grace through your only begotten son. Let his body not have been torn and broken for no avail, but feed us now in the Eucharist. Let not his blood have...
