The Word of God

by Fr. Dmitri, New Zealand

Saturday 30 October 2010 (20 Paapi;20 Babah)

But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them.
(Wisdom 3:1)

Constant prayer adds God's great Dignity to the human being.
(Heguman Pishoy Kamel)

Love Him who made you, and do not forsake his ministers.
Fear the Lord and Honor his priests, and give them their portion as commanded, the first fruits.
(Sirach 7:30-31)

Learn if one receives more and another less, yet all are Yours and without You nothing can be received.
(Imitation of Christ)

God you are my life. You are my creator. You are my light.
You are my guide. You are my castle and my existence.
Have mercy upon me and hold me up. You are the breath of my life.
(St. Augustine)

Your life in is the hand of God, and not in the hands of people.
(Pope Shenouda III)

Man is in no way submitted to necessity.
(S.Macarius)

As from now, I do not fear God, because I love Him, and love drives away fear.
(Anthony the Great)

Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.
(Psa.127:1)

Humility is the admission that in all the world one is least important and is also the greatest sinner.
(Anon)

Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind & mute man both spoke and saw.
(Matt.12:22)

REFLECTION:

What great power of the souls, have over the heart of God!
If we realized this fact and averted to all the graces that we can gain through their prayers, these would not be so forgotten.

God, Our Creator and Redeemer, may we become righteous in Thy sight and that our prayers be of benefit to us and our dear ones.
(John Vianney)

HOMILY:

THE WORD:

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. (Psa.119:105)

A man taught by God's Law is wiser than opponents, would-be teachers, the proverbial wise elders. The explanation is that in His Word, God is the teacher, and the result is love and sound moral judgement. The element of moral discipline is obedience. We cannot have God without His word. The man who wants God, whole-heartedly desires His favor and grace. It is impossible to abide in Him unless His word abide in us. (see John 15:7)

If we understand Gods word, it lightens up our whole life. It gives us markers throughout our life. I think of the motto of my Old College. "Lumen Accipe et Imperti" - Take the Light and Pass it On. I often think back to those days and wonder how many of us actually did that.

If we do not have these Sign Posts throughout our lives we could go off the track. If we go out at night for a walk and did not take a torch and had no street lighting, we could stumble and fall.

It is the same with the Word of God, it is our light which enables us to go along life's Pathway without stumbling and falling by the wayside. This wayside could conjure up a lot of meanings.

It could mean falling into Sin, then we would need repentance. It could mean falling into Error, which also requires repentance and seeking the way back onto the Straight and Narrow.

We truly need the Light of the Word to guide our footsteps along life's pathway. The Psalmist also found that he needed this Light, as his life's path was full of obstacles. Without the Word of God to show him the way, he might have tripped over these obstacles. He was right in saying: "Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my Path."

May we accept the Light of His word and pass it on is my prayer in Jesus' Name. AMEN!

To Thee be glory and praise, now and ever, unto Ages of Ages.

AMEN!

Today's Readings:

Evening: Psalm 32:11&6; Luke 22:24-30.
Morning: Psalm 33:1&12; Matt.25:14-23.
Liturgy: Heb.13:7-25; 1 Peter 5:1-14; Acts 15:12-21;
Psalm 132:1-2,9-10;
Gospel Mark 9:33-41.