Tag: God’s Will

Jesus, Intercessor

“Jesus is always able to save those who approach God through him, since he lives forever to make intercession for them.” (NAB, HEB 7:25) How incredible it is that our Lord, Jesus Christ, constantly intercedes on our behalf, not only as our High Priest, but as the Son of God. His intercession for us is perfect, just as he himself is perfect in holiness and righteousness, the sinless, unblemished Sacrificial Lamb of God. The Letter to the Hebrews continues: “It was fitting that we should have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens. He has no need, as did the high priests, to offer sacrifice day after day, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did that once for all when he offered himself.” (7:26-27)

God gave himself to us so that we might give ourselves to him. Our unity with God is made possible through the perfection made possible through the one-time, perpetual, and eternal sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, who humbled himself as Son of God, becoming one like us. We cannot make ourselves worthy or holy, but it is through the transforming power of Jesus that we become worthy and holy as sons and daughters of God the Father. It is not our merits, rather, it his perfection that brings us to perfection in the Eternal Kingdom of Heaven, and we cooperate with God’s grace in our daily struggle to humble ourselves and unite our will to his: “Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Jesus, you are my Intercessor, my great High Priest, who sacrificed yourself out of love for me. Give me the grace and humility I need to relinquish my will, so as to unite myself completely with you. Allow me to trust in your infinite love and give me confidence in knowing that whatever happens to me is for my good and your glory. Amen.

Click for Mass Readings.

The Spirit Dwelling Within

We may have heard the phrase that “Christians live in the world, but are not of the world.” While it is true that we are temples of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of God dwells in each of us, the world is occupied and oftentimes driven by the Evil One, the spirit of darkness and death. We are nevertheless assured of God’s presence in us, however, as John tells us in his letter: “Those who keep [God’s] commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit whom he gave us. You belong to God, children, and you have conquered [the Evil One], for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. We belong to God, and anyone who knows God listens to us, while anyone who does not belong to God refuses to hear us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.” (NAB, 1JN 3:24, 4:4, 6)

We have nothing to fear in this world as we are members of the Body of Christ, the same Christ who conquered death and sin. There is nothing in this world that is more powerful than the love and grace of God, and we, as children of the Father, have the freedom to live according to the Law of Love, for we have received by faith, through grace, the indwelling eternal Spirit of God. In the words of the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy Kingdom come … on earth as it is in Heaven.” We bring about the Kingdom of God in this world as we live virtuously, by loving God and our neighbor through the faith we have received and in the hope of eternal life in the perfection of that same Kingdom in Heaven.

When I am frightened or challenged by the spirits of this world, give me confidence and strength to turn to you, Lord, realizing and remembering that you have already defeated the Evil One, his offer of sin, and the consequence of death. I am a child of the Kingdom; I am a child of God, and the Spirit that dwells in me is greater than any spirit in this world. Allow me to be a light in this world of darkness and despair, where sin seems to abound, to make known your love in all that I do. “Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done.”  Amen.

Click for Mass Readings.