Sunday 26^th October – 30^th Sunday of the year

Reflection: 1 Thessalonians 1: 5-10

WHAT MUST YOU BREAK AWAY FROM?

An unexamined life, it is said, is not worth living. If we will make any significant impact in life, we must periodically take out time to evaluate our lives. We must have a proper knowledge of where we are coming from, where we are and where we are heading to in life. As we daily respond to varying situations and circumstances in life, our habits get formed. However, these habits go a long way in determining how we will end up in life.

From today’s second reading (1 Thessalonians 1: 5-10) we are told that the believers in Thessalonica broke with idolatry in order to serve the living God. Beloved in Christ, what must you and I, as youths break away from to better serve the Lord? Do you have habits limiting your achievement in life? Talk of pornography, fornication, masturbation, inordinate pursuit of riches, drunkenness, substance abuse – these are some “idols” that desecrate our lives and make it uninhabitable for God. Habits like procrastination, gluttony, lateness, reckless spending etc. can easily curtail our achievement in life if not put in check.

Periodic appraisal of our lives helps us to identify these “dark spots”. Awareness of them alone is insufficient; we must concretely move against all that seeks to debar us from being the best God has purposed us to be (Hebrews 12:1; Jeremiah 29:11). This we cannot independently achieve by our own might; we need to seek and trust in God’s grace (John 15:5; Philippians 4:13). Our God is willing and able to help us out of all these when we genuinely cooperate with him.

PRAYER: Oh Lord! By the help of your grace, I renounce all that undermines my relationship with you and all that prevents me from being the best that you have called me to be. Amen.

KNOW YOUR FAITH: YOUCAT304 – Why is it virtuous to be moderate?

Moderation is a virtue because immoderate behavior proves to be a destructive force in all areas of life.

Someone who is immoderate abandons himself to the rule of his impulses, offends others by his inordinate desires, and harms himself. In the New Testament words like “sobriety” and “discretion” stand for “moderation”.

 HIDE A TREASURE: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us” Hebrews 12:1 RSV-CE

Readings for Today: Exodus 22: 20-26; Psalm 18: 2-4, 47, 51; 1 Thessalonians 1: 5-10; Matthew 22: 24-40