REFLECTION AND PRAYER
Day Fifteen of Lent
Hearing and Observing the Word of God
While he was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” Luke 11:27-28
During Jesus’ public ministry, a woman in the crowd called out to Jesus, honoring His mother. Jesus corrected her in a way. But His correction was not one that diminished the blessedness of His mother. Rather, Jesus’ words elevated the blessedness of His mother to a new level.
Who more than our Blessed Mother would daily “hear the word of God and observe it” with perfection? No one was more deserving of this elevation to blessedness than our Blessed Mother.
This truth was especially lived as she stood at the foot of the Cross, offering her Son to the Father with full knowledge of His saving sacrifice and with complete consent of her will. She, more than any other follower of her Son, understood the prophecies of old and embraced them with complete submission.
How about you? As you gaze at the Cross of Jesus, are you able to see your own life united to His on the Cross? Are you able to embrace the burdens of sacrifice and self-giving which God is calling you to live? Are you able to observe every command of love from God, no matter how much He asks of you? Are you able to “hear the word of God and observe it?”
Reflect, today, upon the true blessedness of the Mother of God. She fully embraced the word of God and observed it to perfection. As a result, she was blessed beyond measure. God also wishes to bless you in abundance. The only requirement of these blessings is openness to the word of God and its full embrace. Understanding and embracing the mystery of the Cross in your life is truly the richest source of the blessings of Heaven. Understand and embrace the Cross and you will be blessed with our Blessed Mother.
PRAYER
Dearest Mother, you allowed the mysteries of the suffering and death of your Son to penetrate your mind and elicit great faith. As you understood, you also assented. I thank you for your perfect witness and pray that I may follow your example.
My Mother, draw me into the blessings that were bestowed upon you by your Son. Help me to find great value in freely embracing the Cross. May I always see the Cross as the source of the greatest joys in life.
My suffering Lord, I gaze upon You with Your own mother and pray that I may see You as she sees You. I pray that I may understand the depth of love that motivated Your complete self-gift. Pour forth Your abundant blessings upon me as I seek to more fully enter into this mystery of Your life and sufferings. I do believe, dear Lord. Please help my moments of unbelief.
40 Days Journey with Our Lord
Day Fifteen: Power
“If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” This first temptation our Lord endured was a temptation to misuse His divine power. Of course, the devil was right in that he knew that Jesus could easily turn the rocks into bread with a single command. But Jesus did not come to gratify Himself by misusing His sacred power. He came to sacrifice Himself out of love for the salvation of souls, which is a far superior use of His sacred power.
Each of us is entrusted with responsibility. With responsibility comes a form of power. For example, those entrusted with much money can either misuse their wealth for their selfish indulgence or use it for the glory of God. Others have natural talents, such as in music, art, mechanical know-how, physical agility, etc. Each of us must regularly look at our lives, identify the gifts and talents we have, and determine how to best use them for God’s glory.
What gifts, blessings, or talents do you have? What are you good at? What have you been blessed with that others have not? Jesus’ “gift” was His divinity. And though He could have put the power of His divinity to work at His own service, to gratify His human hunger, He did not. The devil tempted Him to do this and He rejected it.
As you ponder Jesus’ refusal to exercise His divine power in a selfish way, look honestly at how you use what you have. Do you put everything you have, everything you are, every gift and every talent at the service of God and the salvation of souls? Or do you give in to the temptation to use your blessings for self-gratification?
Ponder the power you have been given. Jesus set the example for us that every power of His divine soul was ordered for the singular purpose of the fulfillment of the Father’s will. He endured heat, hunger, thirst, temptation, discomfort, and many forms of hardship willingly and joyfully because doing so fulfilled the Father’s will. Look at your life and determine whether or not you imitate the sacrificial example of our Lord. Devote every power of your soul to the only thing worth living for: the will of God.
PRAYER
My all-powerful Lord, You could have turned stones into bread to satiate Your hunger, but You chose to use Your divine power for the sole purpose of fulfilling Your Father’s will. Please help me to always remember that every gift I have, every power, every responsibility, must be focused solely upon giving glory to our Father in Heaven by fulfilling His divine will. I choose Your will again this day, dear Lord, and pray that I will never misuse my life for selfish reasons.
Mother Mary, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.
Source: mycatholiclife