GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY (based on Catholic Liturgical Readings)
DATE: 8TH OCTOBER 2016
SATURDAY OF THE 27TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
1ST READING: Galatians 3:22-29
PSALM: Psalm 104:2-7
GOSPEL: Luke 11:27-28
THEME: THE PATH TO BLESSEDNESS
A road map is very handy when one has to make a journey on a road that one is not familiar with. It gives directions to the road user, helping him/her to know where to turn, go ahead or stop. Similarly, life here on earth is a journey on a road of uncertainties. No one knows for certain where the bends of life’s journey are. Consequently, a person who desires to get to his/her blessed destination safely would need a “road map” and this is precisely what the Word of God does in the life of a believer. The Word of God guides and leads a person into blessedness.
In our Gospel text for today, a woman in the crowd got fascinated with the ministry of Jesus and exclaimed, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” In response Jesus said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!” (Luke 11:27-28). In other words, the path to blessedness is hearing and obeying the Word of God.
Mary, the woman from whose womb Jesus came forth, is considered blessed precisely because she heard the Word of God and obeyed it (cf. Luke 1:38). She revealed the secret to her blessedness when at the wedding at Cana she said to the servants, “Do whatever he (i.e. Jesus, the Word) tells you” (John 2:5).
A prayerful person is not the one who spends hours talking to God but the one who spends hours listening to God and doing whatever He asks of him/her. Before I grumble and complain that God is not answering my prayers, I must first pause and ask myself the question – Am I putting the Word of God into practice in my life? Jesus gives a blessed assurance when he says, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7).
We can either choose to take the path that leads to blessedness or walk away on the path that brings no blessing. The choice is ours but I pray that we would make the right choice today and opt for the path that has a blessing attached to it.
Prayer: Eternal Father, your Word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path. As I place my faith in your Word, lead me to the state of blessedness. For the sake of your Son Jesus, the Word-made-flesh, I pray. Amen.
Andrews Obeng, svd
DIVINE WORD MISSIONARIES
BIBLICAL PASTORAL MINISTRY
(Ghana Province)
“May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word and the Spirit of grace. And may the heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all people” (St. Arnold Janssen).