Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to live a life of such
deep union with you that it simply pours forth from every part of our lives. That is what true witness is all about. Amen.
Scripture: Colossians 4:2-6
Journal: How are your prayer and your gratitude and your
attentiveness and your witness all tied together? What does a life full given to God and to his
service look like?
Reflection:
Ministry is the least important thing. You cannot not minister if you are in
communion with God and live in community.
A lot of people are always concerned about:” How can I help people? Or help the youth come to Christ? Or preach well?" But these are basically nonissues. If you are burning with the love of Jesus,
don't worry: everyone will know. They
will say,” I want to get close to this person who is so full of God."
(from an interview with Henri J.M. Nouwen in Christianity Today,
October 3, 1994)
God wants not only to be
God for us, but also to be God with us. That happens in Jesus, the Emmanuel who walks
with us, talks with us, and dies with us.
In sending Jesus to us, God wants to convince us of the unshakable
fidelity of the divine love. Still there
is more. When Jesus leaves he says to
us, "I will not leave you alone, but will send you the Holy
Spirit." The Spirit of Jesus is God
within us. Here the fullness of
God's faithfulness is revealed. Through
Jesus, God gives us the divine Spirit so that we can live a God-like life. The Spirit is the breath of God. It is the intimacy between Jesus and his
Father. It is the divine communion. It is God's love active within us.
This divine faithfulness is the core of
our witness. By our words, but most of
all by our lives, we are to reveal God's faithfulness to the world. (Here and Now by Henri J.M. Nouwen)
Prayers
Closing Prayer: We beseech Thee, O Lord, let our hearts be
graciously enlightened by Thy holy radiance, that we may serve Thee without
fear in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life; that so we may
escape the darkness of this world, and by Thy guidance attain the land of
eternal brightness; through Thy mercy, O blessed Lord, Who doest live and
govern all things, world without end. Amen. ~Sarum Breviary
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