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To: All
One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

 

<< Friday, March 2, 2007 >>
 
Ezekiel 18:21-28 Psalm 130 Matthew 5:20-26
View Readings  
 
WILL YOU BE A TROPHY FOR SATAN?
 
"If the virtuous man turns from the path of virtue to do evil, the same kind of abominable things that the wicked man does, can he do this and still live? None of his virtuous deeds shall be remembered, because he has broken faith and committed sin; because of this, he shall die." —Ezekiel 18:24
 

When we accepted Jesus as our Savior, "He saved us" (Ti 3:5). We put our lives in His hands, and His hands were a welcome, loving embrace for us. Jesus makes it clear that neither Satan, his demons, or any person has the power to snatch us out of Jesus' hands (Jn 10:28-29). Alleluia! Praise Jesus, our Savior!

However, God's word makes it abundantly clear that we ourselves have the power to renounce the salvation we once accepted with such fervor. If we persist in taking our eyes off Jesus (cf Heb 3:1) and choose to selfishly focus on the enticements of this world (1 Jn 2:16), we are forced to choose between the world or Jesus. We will hate one and love the other.

If we choose the world, we'll eventually hate Jesus (Mt 6:24). We'll now view His hands as choking us instead of embracing us. We will scream: "Jesus, get Your hands off me!" We will serve the world and crucify Jesus to get Him out of our life (Heb 6:6). This is the worst condition possible (see 2 Pt 2:20-21; Lk 11:25-26). It's nearly "impossible" for us to "repent again" and return to Jesus after such a disastrous decision (Heb 6:6). We are now a trophy for Satan; he has lured us away from Jesus.

Jesus says: "By patient endurance you will save your lives" (Lk 21:19). Accept Him as your Lord and Savior — every day of your life.

 
Prayer: Jesus, save me from myself. Give me the grace of final perseverance, and never let me be parted from You.
Promise: "With the Lord is kindness and with Him is plenteous redemption." —Ps 130:7
Praise: Miranda practices ministering to and looking for Jesus in the most marginalized and the "least" (Mt 25:40).
 

23 posted on 03/02/2007 9:23:08 PM PST by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All
Compline -- Night Prayer

Compline (Night Prayer)

O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 world without end.
Amen.


This is an excellent moment for an examination of conscience. In a communal celebration of Compline, one of the penitential acts given in the Missal may be recited.

A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.


Psalm 87 (88)
The prayer of one gravely ill
I cry out to you, Lord, by day and by night.
Lord God, my saviour,
 I have cried out to you by day and by night.
Let my prayer come before you:
 turn your ear to my request.

For my soul is full of evils,
 my life has come close to its end.
I am counted with those who go down to the pit:
 I am left without help.
I am one of the dead,
 like the murdered who sleep in their tombs,
who lie there forgotten,
 cut off from your care.

You have thrust me down into the pit,
 to the gloom and the shadow of death.
Your anger weighs heavy upon me;
 you have drowned me under your waves.

You have taken my friends away from me:
 you have made me hateful in their sight,
 I am shut in, I may not go out.
My eyes are weak from my sufferings.
I have called to you, Lord, all the day;
 I have stretched out my hands to you.
Is it for the dead that you perform your wonders?
 Will the ghosts rise up and proclaim you?
In the tomb, will they tell of your kindness?
 Will they tell of your faithfulness in the place of the lost?
Will your wonders be known in the darkness,
 or your righteousness in the land of oblivion?

And so I have called out to you, Lord,
 and in the morning my prayer will come before you.
With what purpose, Lord, do you reject my soul?
 Why do you hide your face from me?
I am poor; from my youth I have been dying;
 I have borne the terrors you sent, I am lost in confusion.
Your anger has overrun me, your terrors have broken me:
 they have flowed round me like water,
 they have besieged me all the day long.
You have taken my friends and those close to me:
 all I have left is shadows.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 world without end.
Amen.
I cry out to you, Lord, by day and by night.

Reading (Jeremiah 14:9)
You, Lord, are in our midst, and we are called by your name; therefore do not abandon us, Lord, our God.

Short Responsory ?
Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
- Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
You have redeemed us, Lord, God of faithfulness.
- Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
- Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

Canticle Nunc Dimittis
Keep us safe, Lord, while we are awake, and guard us as we sleep, so that we can keep watch with Christ and rest in peace.
Now, Master, you let your servant go in peace.
 You have fulfilled your promise.
My own eyes have seen your salvation,
 which you have prepared in the sight of all peoples.
A light to bring the Gentiles from darkness;
 the glory of your people Israel.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 world without end.
Amen.
Keep us safe, Lord, while we are awake, and guard us as we sleep, so that we can keep watch with Christ and rest in peace.

Prayer
Let us pray.
Lord, let us be so united with your only Son that we become worthy to rise with him into new life, who lives and reigns for ever and ever, Amen.

May the almighty Lord grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.
A M E N
An antiphon to Our Lady should be recited here.

24 posted on 03/02/2007 9:47:35 PM PST by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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