Morning Prayer
And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
Inspiration
Paul and Silas were in a very discouraging situation – they had been arrested, beaten and placed in prison for doing nothing wrong. Anyone else in that given situation would have been in tears, discouraged by their circumstances. Paul and Silas chose to pray and sing hymns to God. This account ends with them miraculously escaping jail. Prayer can also help us in times of despair; it can open doors for the miraculous to occur. When we resort to praying, we are going over our emotions and setting our minds to God's faithfulness instead. That, in itself, is defeating the plan of the enemy, who was only interested in keeping you down.
Prayer
Dear God, I thank you for your faithfulness and the blessed assurance I have in you, that I am in Christ and He is in me. Father, I thank you that there is no situation that is bigger than you. Lord, I pray that in any time I find myself in despair, may I focus on you and your goodness. I will always remain hopeful and I will find a reason to rejoice. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
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...
