BEADS OF JOY 10-23-16
“Be Merciful To Me A Sinner”
©2016 James Dacey, Jr. OFS
My Friends,
Today’s Gospel: Luke 18:9-14 (Be Merciful To Me A Sinner)
“He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others: "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, `God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, `God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Reflection:
Pride and prayer just don’t mix. What I get out of this personally is this: When you pray, don’t put yourself on a pedestal and throw your neighbor to the gutter with judgement while you pray; when you do that, you are a hypocrite in your prayers. When you pray, be humble and bow your head in humility and offer praise and thanksgiving before the Lord, knowing that you are unworthy. God will judge us in the end; we should ever assume or presume anything. The only thing we do know is that God will measure us by the measure we give. That is all we know! Ultimately we do not know God’s final word in our lives; it is best to remain humble and do all we can to obey what our Lord teaches us.
Our responsibility is our own, of cause we can help and encourage and pray for one another, but we can’t literally save or speak for one another. God’s mercy is amazing and He loves all of us; we must trust in His mercy and His love knowing that He will love us always. By His Grace we will be saved and it is by His grace that we will have the humility; to bow our heads before Him knowing that He will indeed be showered by His love. One thing we need not worry about and that is God loving us, He loved us first; it’s our love for Him that must be sincere true and real. He knows our hearts even better than we do.
There’s nothing in this world that should come before our Lord in your life. Jesus gave His life for us. God chose His Only Son to die so that we might live. We need to live our lives with full knowledge of those facts. Think about that. Or even better, let’s take it off on a tangent for a second. If a stranger jumped in front of an oncoming vehicle to save your life and either got killed or permanently injured for the rest of their life; because they saved your life, wouldn’t you feel some sort of loyalty to them? Just knowing they sacrificed all so that you could live and not be killed or injured. How does that make you feel about that person? Now think about everything Jesus has done for You! For Us! How can we not feel a certain special loyalty to Him, especially since He is our Lord and Savior to. Our allegiance should be even more solid knowing all this. Well, it’s something to think about, I do. Nothing can separate my love from my Lord. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior period! Hope you all feel the same way. Talk to you tomorrow. Hope you have a fantastic Sunday.
LOVE YOU GUYS !!!!
Your brother in Christ Jesus
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS
**(NEW DAILY FEATURE)
Today is Sunday: We pray the Glorious Mysteries:
The Glorious Mysteries
1. The Resurrection (Faith) –Mark 16:1-8
2. The Ascension (Hope) –Luke 24:50-53
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Love) –Acts 2:1-4
4. The Assumption of Our Lady
(Grace of a Happy Death) –Rev 12:1-6
5. The Coronation of Mary (Mary’s intercession) –Judith 15:9-10
Glory and Honor and Praise to You Lord Jesus Christ!
Rosary Man Jim's Glorious Reflections: http://beads-of-joy-blog.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-glorious-mysteries.html
