Shalom

9 Jan Wed	Wednesday after Epiphany
	1 Jn. 4:11-18 Ps. 71:2, 10-11, 12-13 Mk. 6:45-52

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A great leader once said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself!" Very true, say today's readings. When Jesus tells the disciples not to be afraid, it is more than a word of comfort. It is a command! Fear is what prevents us from reaching our full potential in the Spirit. So many wonderful things that God plans for us come to nothing because we draw back in fear. Our fear effectively ties God's hands.

It has been said that John's revelation that God is love is the entire New Testament in a condensed form, and all else is commentary. If God is love, then our lives must be completely reformed to reflect that reality. God can find a home and dwell in us only when we love others. God cannot enter a bitter, resentful, or selfish heart. Love is not optional for a Christian, but absolutely necessary. If God is love, then we can reveal God to others! If God is love, there is no need for us to be afraid. Let us repeat this always as if it were a mantra, and pattern our lives on this wonderful revelation.

Lord, let perfect love drive fear from my heart.

DAILY OFFERING

Eternal Father, I offer You everything I do this day; my thoughts, words, joys and sufferings. Grant that, vivified by the Holy Spirit and united to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, my life this day may be of service to You and to others. I also pray that all those preparing for marriage discover in Sacrament the source of Christ's grace for living a fithful and fruitful love. Amen.

PRAYING WITH THE CHURCH

INTENTION
That Christians may intensify their efforts to announce together Jesus Christ, the only Saviour of the world.
Elaboration

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P R A Y I N G W I T H T H E C H U R C H

INTENTION :	That Christians may intensify their efforts to announce together Jesus Christ, the only Saviour of the world.
In the Apostolic Letter At the Beginning of the New Millennium Pope John Paul II looks towards the future and exhorts the members of the Church not to be afraid to leave the coastal waters "where there is nothing to fish" and move into deep waters. If we are prepared to do this, our catch will be abundant. The Pope particularly exhorts Christ's disciples to intensify their efforts to bring greater unity in the Christian Community. The invocation "Launch out into the deep" is a binding imperative, the strength that sustains us, and a salutary rebuke for our slowness and closed-heartedness. It is on Jesus' prayer and not on our own strength that we base the hope that even within history we shall be able to reach full and visible communion with all Christians. Our trust that we may succeed in attaining the full and visible communion of all Christians, "rests on Jesus' prayer, not on our own capacity". The Lord calls us to unity and will not fail to pour forth His grace on us. But in this context also, as in all our relations with God's salvific grace, we too must do our share. God does not save us against our will; God does not save us if we do not collaborate towards our salvation.
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