A. Opening Song [if done with others]
B. Opening Prayer: Come Holy Spirit
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth you Spirit and they shall be created. And you shall renew the face of the earth.
O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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| Image from The Passion of the Christ via google.com |
From the Holy Gospel according to
Luke, Chapter 9, verses 22 to 25
"Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." - Luke 9:23
"Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." - Luke 9:23
D. Period of Silence: Personal integration of the reading
E. Reflection on the Reading: What is God’s message for you today?
Today's Sharing:
St Paul writes, "it is not I who lives, but Christ lives in me" [see Galatians 2:20 for the complete passage]. When one accepts Christ, he or she surrenders his or her own being, his or her own identity, he or she gives up everything and allows Christ to rule his or her life already. Complete surrender to the Lord is required in order to become a true Christian.
Logically, one who surrenders his or her being to the Lord will have to carry "a" cross for the "old self" - one's own identity - will always be warring against the "new self" - Christ who comes to live in him or her. The old self will always be asserting his or her own understanding of life, his or her own needs from the basic to the most complex ones, his or her own direction and goals. But the new self only seeks to know more about the Lord, to serve the Lord in others rather than satisfy his or her own needs, and to focus his or her direction to God's kingdom and achieve the sole goal of eternal life with the Father.
Ultimately, the Christian will have to face the reality of undergoing his or her own passion, crucifixion and death - not necessarily in the same manner as the Lord's. There are so many of them in our lives: being jobless, lack of income, broken families, criminality in the society, corruption in government, misunderstanding in parish community, etc. This is how the Lord Jesus Christ lived and died but it was also how He achieved His resurrection. Unless one follows the Lord's way, the Way of the Cross, he or she will never experience the resurrection. No pain, no gain. No Easter Sunday without Good Friday.
Christ Himself gave up so much just to show us how God loved us. He surrendered His divinity and entered into our humanity, becoming one like us, even as a slave who have to die upon the cross to lift up humanity from a sinful state to a grace-filled condition. But by so doing, He was able to glorify the Father and He was given Lordship above everything [see Philippians 2: 6-11]. In the same manner, if we faithfully deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Him, we shall also receive our inheritance as children of God [see James 1:18; Galatians 4:7].
F. Application of the Message
- Pray to understand how and to have the courage to "deny yourself" given the present situation of your life.
- What are the comforts and conveniences that you enjoy in your life which you are willing to abstain from so that you could "carry your cross"?
- What are you willing to share materially today so that you could concretely manifest your readiness to follow the Lord's example of true friendship, that is, giving up His life for the sake of humanity to the point of dying on the cross?
G. Praying the Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
H. Closing Prayer: Here you say your personal thanksgiving to the Father for today’s message
i. Closing Song [if done with others]
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