Devotion
Blessed is He
Frances Taylor
Blessed is often a synonym for "happy." If happy is what we want to be, then the psalmist gives us some ideas as to how to achieve it. The main thing he tells us is what not to do and who to avoid. Understand whose advice we listen to comes first. It can be difficult to know who is wicked, who is trying to lead us away from God. As we know, Satan will never come to us offering us something unpleasant; everything Satan offer us looks good. What's in it for me, is a question that isn't asked by the person putting God first! But it is often the way the "wicked" entice us to make our decisions. Scoffers, the nay-sayers in our company are the ones who often question the very existence of God. Religion is considered bunk and people who believe, fools. Get what you can now, how do you know there's an afterlife? Do these people in our lives make us happy? Not me!
I find my happiness with positive people who believe as I do in a loving, compassionate and forgiving God. To be happy, we need to get our counsel from Scripture. Most people read the Ten Commandments and think they know them. But read a little further and the commandments are broken down into some very specific rules to live by. Jesus goes further with the Beatitudes, another list that promises happiness and is an important part of his Sermon on the Mount. If we meditate on these guidelines and from them take counsel, our life may not be free of pain or trouble, but we will be happy.
Prayer
Lord, may I love your laws. 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...
