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Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.

Prayer of Resolve

Blessed Jesus, my Savior and Master, model of all perfection, I resolve — and will try this day with my full heart — to imitate Your example, to be like You: mild, humble, chaste, zealous, charitable, and kind. I will redouble my efforts to see Your image in all those I meet and deal with this day — not only people I like — and to be as helpful to them as I would be to You. I resolve to avoid this day all those sins which I have committed heretofore and which I now sincerely desire to give up forever.

by Mason Barge, from a Catholic prayer

For a Blessing on the Families of the Land

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who sets the solitary person in the comfort of families; I commend to your continual care the homes in which your people dwell. Put far from them, I beseech you, every root of bitterness, the desire of boastful vanity, and the pride of life. Fill them with faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness. Knit together in constant affection those who, in holy wedlock, have been made one flesh; turn the heart of the parents to the children, and the heart of the children to the parents; and fill us all with true love and charity, so that we put aside petty differences and act with kind affection and the sympathy of brotherly love; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Meditation

[What are the roots of bitterness?]

Benediction (from Colossians 3)

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within me all this day; and whatever I do in word or deed, may I do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Think of the day ahead in terms of God with you, and visualize health, strength, guidance, purity, calm confidence, and victory as the gifts of His presence.

Farewell of Paul and Peter, by Alonzo Rodriguez (16th century).

Psalm 142:5-7

Ephesians 1: 5-12 (NIV)

Praise His Glory

God destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace which he lavished upon us.

For he has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him, according to the purpose of Him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will, we who first hoped in Christ have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of his glory.

Notes on the Scripture

Most people go on self-improvement jags, by fits and starts. Many of them come to nothing; some are partly fulfilled; and every once in a while, we will turn over a new leaf that actually stays turned over! But almost everyone has some sense of things they want to accomplish, something they want to do better, problems they want to handle, etc.

When we do this, it is well also to reflect on how much we have been given. It is a good time to back away from our lives for a minute and think about what is important. Because if we do, no matter how many problems we have, we can put our problems in the perspective.

Everyone has problems. Wouldn't it be interesting to be able to be somebody else for a day? I think most of us would choose somebody younger, richer, thinner, better-looking, smarter, or having other aspects of their life free of what we perceive to be worldly problems or shortcomings that make us suffer. But what would be most interesting would be to see how burdened they are with their own problems.

We might be surprised, stepping into the life of a multimillionaire, how much pain they are feeling from a child with behavior problems or who despises and rejects them, or from a parent who is critical of them. Or if we choose to be that slender beautiful teenager for a day, how crushed they are feeling about not getting into the college they wanted, or the confusion and anxiety they feel about their future. If we live life in the shoes of the successful young attorney, perhaps his girlfriend is pregnant, or he is feeling tremendous pressure to work even harder and is getting an ulcer. We do not feel, or often even see, other people's problems.

But there is one thing we know for certain: "God destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will." We are destined to be God's children by our faith in Jesus Christ. The one critical problem has been solved. It is a problem we do not have. Our sins and our failures have already been erased by the exercise of the greatest power in the universe, the infinite grace that has been "lavished upon us". Does Bill Gates have 50 billion dollars in U.S. currency? You have 50 billion plus one dollars in heavenly currency, and there is nothing outside of you that can make it disappear, and you are never going to lose one penny of it; even death cannot steal your salvation.

Do 20 million people know and admire Kim Kardashian or Dr. Phil? The angels don't watch television. Who would you rather have love you, 20 million fickle mortal tv watchers, or God's heavenly host? Would you rather have the maitre d' at a snooty restaurant fawn over you, or have an infinitely powerful God ready to welcome you with endless love?

We have everything we need stored up for our future. Our problems are temporary, but the fullness of God's grace is permanent. How lucky we are not to be somebody else!

Daily Inspiration

“His Arms are Open”

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