Good morning, Good People,
May the Lord give you peace, health, and happiness in the Holy Spirit. It is 16th August 2025. We reflect on Joshua 24:14-29 and Matthew 19:13-15.
“Have we made up our minds whom we are following?”
In 1870, Fr. Henri Planchat served the poor of Paris with childlike love. Captured during the war, he was offered freedom if he renounced his priesthood. Smiling, he replied, “I have already chosen whom I serve.” At dawn, he blessed his guards before death — proving that once you choose God, you never need to choose again.
His Holiness Pope Leo XIV reminded the faithful a few days ago: “Faith does not spare us from the possibility of sin, but it always offers us a way out of it: that of mercy. God never abandons the table of love, even when He knows He will be left alone.” (General Audience, 13 August 2025)
Our actions reveal to the world the choices we have made for the Lord, for Love, and for Life. We are constantly guided by the flames of faith in the darkest moments of our journey. Our happiness depends on the choices we make — or have already made — in our lives.
In the first reading, Joshua asked the people to make a choice: “Choose this day whom you will serve.” (Joshua 24:15). It is an urgent and immediate call to declare that we serve God alone with one mind and one heart. Joshua made a bold and public choice before all: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15). What about us and our families?
Loving God is not a passing movement of the heart, but a decision made moment by moment. Jesus welcomed the little children and encouraged us to let them be authentic and loving in choosing God — not by fear or guilt, but by our integrity and example.
We all tend to postpone decisions, waiting for a convenient or comfortable moment. But the Spirit calls us now. May we ask the Holy Spirit to help us decide each day to place God as the priority of our lives.
Have a peaceful day. God bless you.