Presence

“You show me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.” (Psalm 16). Lord, help me to live in Your presence today.

Freedom

Lord, too often I think I am the one in control of my life.
Help me to see that I am powerless over so much.
I ask for the grace to be able to hand over my life to You
and experience the joy of that freedom.

Consciousness

Grant, O Lord, that I may be conscious
and grateful for all the good things you have given to me.
May I share my blessings with others always.

The Word of God

¹⁰And the crowds asked him, “What, then, should we do?” ¹¹In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.” ¹²Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” ¹³He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” ¹⁴Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

¹⁵As the people were filled with expectation and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,^{, 16}John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸So with many other exhortations he proclaimed the good news to the people.

Inspiration

As they listened to John the Baptist’s call for repentance his hearers rightly asked what change they needed to make in their lives. In his reply the law of charity came first, as he urged them to share with the poor and to deal honestly with all. Lord, may we show our love by our care for and treatment of others.

John the Baptist in his humility acknowledges that he is not worthy even to untie our Lord’s sandals. We are all called to grow in humility and to acknowledge our own littleness and our complete dependence on our God. We ask God to reveal this more and more to us.

Conversation

The gift of speech is a wonderful gift.
May I use this gift with kindness.
May I be slow to utter harsh words,
hurtful words, and words spoken in anger.

Conclusion

Filled with the loving presence of God,
I ask Him to bless me and guide my steps
as I go to do His work in my daily life.

Amen