May the Lord give you grace and peace in the Holy Spirit.
It is 8th November 2021.
We reflect on Wisdom 1:1-7 and the Gospel of Luke 17:1-6.
We remember all departed Vicariate Clergy and Religious today. Let us whisper a prayer for them.
As the need for God is decreasing day by day during the pandemic, the temptation is on the rise every moment of the day. Our actions and words can spark a scandal or be a moment of sacredness.
Temptation means scandal, a trap or a stumbling block that causes one to trip and fall. The Psalmist cries out, “Keep me from the trap which they have laid for me, and from the snares of evildoers!” (Psalm 141:9) and St. John strengthens us telling by loving we either reduce or bypass scandal. “Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling” (1 John 2:10).
The book of Wisdom encourages us to “seek the Lord with sincerity of heart.” (Wis.1:1). Creating a godless environment, we are much exposed by the fingers of evil. We like it or not, temptations are going to come. “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to him by whom they come.” (Lk.17:1).
To reduce scandal, we all need to engage in good activities than motivational and faith-filled talks. The dichotomy of our living outside the sanctuary is the existing scandal in our life we all need to get rid of it. We compromise our personal prayer with our hectic schedules, appointments, meetings, and methods of making little more money, and so, we tend to fall into temptations of thinking of ourselves only not an iota of the welfare of others.
“God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13). May our life be simple, honest, and transparent always. May God bless you.