Tag Archives: witnessing

KEEP WITNESSING

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Saturday 11th April – Saturday in the Octave of Easter

Reflection: Acts 4:13-21

KEEP WITNESSING

It is not an easy task to speak for justice and truth in a world deep in falsehood and corruption. It is even more difficult to rejoice in the hope that Christ would return in glory to bring victory to those who have held on to him in the midst of the great suffering in this world. It is easy to say “I will be a Catholic till I die”, but it is really an uphill task to keep alive the fire of the Holy Spirit in daily Christian living. Witnessing to Christ in words and actions is however not impossible because we can trust in God’s grace to strengthen us.

Peter and John in today’s reading understood clearly that witnessing to the Christ is a call from the God. Hence, they refused to be dissuaded by the council’s order (Acts 4: 19-20). What is your reaction when you are persecuted for standing for truth? As a young person, your decision to strive for holiness will not go unnoticed. Members of your family, peers at school, in your neighbourhood or at your work place will notice that your life is different. Trials will come especially from those who filled threatened by you. Will you decide to give up in order to please them?

Dear Friend, God calls you to be His witness in a fallen world. Let your life proclaim Him and seek opportunities to share the joy of the good news with someone. Like the Peter and John, obey God rather than man!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, make me a faithful witness to your Resurrection, and when I face persecution, remind me that you are there with me. Amen.

KNOW YOUR FAITH: YOUCAT 354 – Can people be forced to believe in God?

No. No one may force others to believe, not even one’s own children, just as no one may be forced to be an unbeliever. A person can make the decision to believe only in complete freedom. Christians, however, are called to help other people, by word and example, to find the way to faith.

HIDE A REASURE: “Preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season”. 2 Timothy 4:2 RSV-CE.

Today’s Readings: Acts 4:13-21; Psalm 118:1, 14-21; Mark 16:9-15

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LED BY THE SPIRIT

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Saturday 24th May – Saturday of the 5th week of Easter

Reflection: Acts 16: 1-10

LED BY THE SPIRIT

The power to witness to Jesus is so awesome and abundant. It is born out of God’s call. By our baptism, we are prophets to the nations; speaking boldly the eternal word of Christ and destroying the reign of sin. Let us embrace this truth and act on it with our whole being. God’s Spirit enables us. Just as the scripture says in Acts 1:8, He gives us the power to witness.

The actions of Paul and Timothy in our reading today (Acts 16:6-8) should open our eyes to the source of our authority and power; the Spirit of Jesus. They were directed and prompted by the Holy Spirit because their spirit has been renewed by God’s Spirit (Romans 8:16). Christ has given us His Spirit to quicken our mortal bodies. If this is so, how do we live our daily lives? Do we care about what the Spirit is saying? Dear friends, our spirit is the lamp by which God searches our hearts, and it is by the Holy Spirit we also discern the mind of God (1 Corinthians 2: 9-12). There is need to daily nurture our spirit on the word of God in other for us to clearly recognize His promptings.

God is faithful; He will lead us to our glorious future once we surrender all to him. The human nature will sometimes protest but its tricks should be subdued by the power of God at work in us. When we allow God to use us as He wishes, we cannot be put to shame. Stay blessed.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, quicken my mortal body by your Spirit and help me to respond daily to your invitation of a new experience of your power. Amen.

KNOW YOUR FAITH: YOUCAT120 – What does the Holy Spirit do in my life?

The Holy Spirit makes me receptive to God; he teaches me to pray and helps me to be there for others [CCC738-741]

Augustine calls the Holy Spirit “The quiet guest of our soul”. Anyone who wants to sense his presence must be quiet. Often this Guest speaks very softly within us and with us, for instance, in the voice of our conscience or through other interior and exterior promptings.

HIDE A TREASURE: “To be controlled by human nature results in death; to be controlled by the Spirit results in life and peace”. Romans 8:6 GNB

Readings of Today: Acts 16:1-10; Psalm 100:1-5; John 15:18-21

WITNESSING IN TRUTH

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Thursday 27th March – Thursday of the 3rd Week of Lent.

Reflection: Luke 11:14-23

WITNESSING IN TRUTH

As we progress through this season of repentance, there is a need to be watchful and prayerful especially with the way we handle the celebration of our faith and the way we portray Christ. To live for Christ is indeed a life of sacrifice and constant determination to fight temptations and overcome them. Withdrawing from this fact and shying away from our identity is unacceptable to God. The scripture says that we should rejoice in our trials. (Matthew 5:11-12).

Jesus Christ in our reading today was accused of a false power. What audacity they had to address Jesus that way! You and I should expect even greater accusations. This must therefore make us to examine our lives and cut ourselves away from any connection which we might have with the devil. No one can serve two masters; one must take precedence over the other. Let us therefore give full attention to the teachings of our faith in and outside the church so that we can be credible in our witness for Christ.

A life of hypocrisy is like a flicking lamp that goes on and off. Better the lamp be put off than to continue malfunctioning. If we are in Christ, the old life is gone and we should live in newness of life (2 Corinthians 5:17). Christ bought us for a price; so let us walk in the Spirit if we live by the Spirit.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, deliver me from every evil attachment and fill me with your Spirit. Set my feet on your solid rock that I might remain in your love always. Amen.

KNOW YOUR FAITH: YOUCAT 453 – What does our relationship to the truth have to do with God?

Living in respect for the truth means not only being true to oneself. More precisely it means being truthful, being true to God, for he is the source of all truth. We find the truth about God and about all of reality quite directly in Jesus, who is “the way, and the truth, and the life”.

HIDE A TREASURE: “Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ” Ephesians 4:15 GNB

Readings for today: Jeremiah 7:23-28; Psalm 95:1-2.6-9; Luke 11:14-23