Isaiah,
Chapter 10, verse 24
Therefore
thus says the Lord, the GOD of hosts: My people, who dwell in Zion, do not fear
the Assyrian, though he strikes you with a rod, and raises his staff against
you as did the Egyptians.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me, delivered me from all
my fears. (Ps. 34:5)
Sometimes
the Lord asks us to go out into the desert for it is in the desert that we can;
like Abraham and Moses, have an encounter with the living God. Deserts are fearful places and are full of rocks,
pointy things, snakes, spiders and the indescribable beauty of God’s creation.
By encountering God in the desert we learn that
the very same stones that somehow get in our shoes and make progress impossible are the very same stones that lay foundations, bridges and roads.
In
the desert we can search for God; avoid of our distractions and find Him. In
the desert we can write out our sins and confess them to God. In the desert we
can shed our old lives like the snake sheds its skin and find a new perspective
for life. It is during this time alone with; He that IS; we make a spiritual
change of clothes. In the desert we can make an all-night vigil and with the
coming of the new day we can proclaim as in the Negro spiritual: When I fall on
my knees with my face to the rising sun, O Lord, have mercy on me.
For
it is in the desert that we can quit deluding ourselves and be doers of the
word and not hearers only. For it is in the desert we can find the strength to
keep ourselves unstained by the world and find that pure and undefiled religion is to
care for others in their afflictions. In the desert we can ponder the "Our Father" and know what it means.
When you pray do not use many words, for the heavenly Father knows what you need before you ask. When you pray, say:
“Our Father, who are in heaven. Hallowed be your name. Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Thoughts (Read all. Ponder the ones that attract you.)
- In the Our Father, Jesus explains what the disciple should desire.
- The Heavenly Father and His Kingdom must come first.
- In all things, the disciple must accomplish the Father’s will.
- The disciple must receive the daily bread of the Eucharist.
- The disciple’s sins must be forgiven to gain the Kingdom.
- The disciple must forgive all who have inflicted injuries.
- The disciple must persevere in all trials and temptations.
- The saints said this prayer slowly and devoutly.
The
world was created to be a Temple and Adam was to be its priest. We are hardwired
for priesthood. We will not be fulfilled unless we exercise it. The human race
received a priestly vocation from the moment of its creation. In the book of
genesis, we see that God made a lush garden in Eden, and he placed Adam there “to
till it and keep it”. The verbs in Hebrew, abodah
and shamar, comprise man’s primal
vocation. Yet, in all the rest of the Old Testament they appear together on to
describe the priestly service of the tribe of Levi, who offered sacrifice and
guard Israel’s sanctuary from defilement. When God call the tribes of Israel
out of Egypt, declared that they should be “a kingdom of priests and a holy
nation”. Yet Israel like Adam, forfeited the office when the people sinned by
worshipping the golden calf. Afterward, the priesthood was reserved for the
tribe of Levi, whose members had refused to take part in the idolatry. Levites
offered sacrifice 24/7 but the most important sacrifice was the first offering.
Jesus was both a priest and a sacrifice and by offering Himself up He has
restored the human race through the Catholic Church. We are called to make an
offering of our life, as Jesus did. Our work space, our living space-these are
where we exercise our kingship and our priesthood. One way Catholics exercise this
priestly vocation is by praying a “Morning Offering” each and every day. In the
time of Jesus, there was a prayer the pious Jews prayed every morning. Jews
still pray it today. Jesus knew it by heart, and he assumed that all his
listeners were familiar with it.
Hear,
O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your
God with all your Heart, and with all your soul, and with your entire mind, and
with all your strength.
The
Church has urged member to make a similar priestly offering every day, in union
with the holy sacrifice of the Mass.
O Jesus, through the
Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of
this day for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy
Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in reparation for my sins, for the
intentions of all my relatives and friends, and in particular for the
intentions of the Holy Father. Amen.
[1]
Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40 Catholic Customs and their biblical roots. Chap.
11. Morning Offering.
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