Sincere and complete devotion

Good News ReflectionThursday of the 11th Week in Ordinary TimeJune 18, 2009
Today's Readings:2 Cor 1:1-11Ps 111:1b-4, 7-8Matt 6:7-15http://www.usccb.org/nab/061809.shtmlAudio:http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/09_06_18.mp3
Sincere and complete devotion
Oh how easy it is to fall prey to what St. Paul talks about in today's first reading! Our thoughts do get corrupted by "other gospels" and we do fall away from our sincere and complete devotion to Christ — at least in some areas of our lives.
I've been entrusted with the task of bringing the scriptures to life in your daily circumstances, and it's only through the Holy Spirit that I'm able to do this. If I fail to rely on God as my source, I lose the sincerity of my ministry, and my devotion to Christ decreases. So, daily in prayer and in Mass, I ask the Lord to keep me faithful to the calling he has given to me for your sake.
Like Paul, I share the Gospel free of charge. What a joy it is to put people under no obligation when aiding them into a deeper and truer relationship with our Lord! However, God is generous, and through the readers he provides what this ministry needs to get the bills paid and to prepare for future development. God has hopes for this ministry that are bigger than what I can dream of, plans that seem impossible, plans that require the growth of a community of people who are committed to helping Good News Ministries so that more people can be helped in more ways.
How seriously do you devote yourself to God's hopes and dreams, making use of the opportunities he provides for your spiritual growth and for your calling? Do you go to adult faith enrichment events that are held in your church? Do you pick up and read the pamphlets and devotional booklets that you see in the church racks?
Do you act upon the messages in these Good News Reflections and other resources, especially those that challenge you to make difficult changes in your life? Are you reading that book that God inspired you to buy?
Do you make confession a priority? Do you get to daily Mass when your schedule permits? Do you take time out to pray, giving God your undivided attention and your complete devotion?
Do you pray each line and each word of the Our Father prayer sincerely? Jesus gives us this prayer in today's Gospel reading, as a summary of THE best, THE most comprehensive way to pray. But we "say" instead of "pray" this prayer, rushing mindlessly through the words, because we're so familiar with it.
To make the individual words of the Lord's Prayer come alive with meaning, read the Catechism, beginning with paragraph 2777 (see http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p4s2a2.htm). Take a little time over the next several days to go through this, one pearl at a time, to really avail yourself of its riches.
And try the Good News WordByte, "The "Our Father" Prayer: Do I Really Mean What I Pray?" - http://wordbytes.org/ministry/ourfather.htm, which is also published (by Catholic Digital Resources) as a leaflet for distribution in churches and elsewhere - http://catholicdr.com/faithbuilders/ourfather.htm
© 2009 by Terry A. ModicaFor PERMISSION to copy any of my reflections, go to:http://gogoodnews.net/DailyReflections/copyrights-DR.htm
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