Jas 1:12-18
Blessed is anyone who perseveres when trials come. Such a person is of proven worth and will win the prize of life, the crown that the Lord has promised to those who love him. Never, when you are being put to the test, say, ‘God is tempting me’; God cannot be tempted by evil, and he does not put anybody to the test. Everyone is put to the test by being attracted and seduced by that person’s own wrong desire. Read More
Jas 1:1-11
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greeting. Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Read More
In prayer, I heard one day these words: “Do not lose heart when evil seems to triumph. These are Pyrrhic victories, fictitious victories, after which comes defeat and the definitive separation between good and evil.”
When we notice how evil seems to triumph in the world and around us, the temptation is great that we become despondent, lose heart and thus indirectly give evil even more influence. But it should not be so! Read More
“Give thanks with joy to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light” (Col 1:12).
1 Cor 10:31–11:1
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please all men in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. Read More
1 Kgs 12:26-32; 13:33-34
In those days, Jeroboam thought to himself, ‘As things are, the kingdom will revert to the House of David. If this people continues to go up to the Temple of Yahweh in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices, the people’s heart will turn back again to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will put me to death.’ So the king thought this over and then made two golden calves; he said to the people, ‘You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough. Here is your God, Israel, who brought you out of Egypt!’ He set one up at Bethel, and the people went in procession in front of the other one all the way to Dan.
We continue meditating on chapter 17 of the Gospel of St. John. Before the hour of His Passion comes, Jesus turns to the Father and says: “I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do” (Jn 17:4).
To live in an intimate relationship with God the Father, as He desires and even asks, carries with it a great responsibility on our part.
1 Kgs 11:29-32; 12:19
One day when Jeroboam had gone out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah of Shiloh accosted him on the road. Ahijah was wearing a new cloak; the two of them were in the open country by themselves. Ahijah took the new cloak which he was wearing and tore it into twelve strips, saying to Jeroboam: ‘Take ten strips for yourself, for Yahweh, God of Israel, says this, “I am going to tear the kingdom from Solomon’s hand and give ten tribes to you. He will keep one tribe for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
“I can do all things in him who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13).
With these words, St. Paul expresses how, in all the situations of his apostolic life, he found a way out because he knew how to face them in the Lord. In this way, he also gives us the wise counsel to trust in God firmly and unwaveringly.
