Faith Daily | 15 October 2022

PRAYER of the DAY - APBA p591

Almighty God,

in your wisdom you have so ordered our earthly life

that we must walk by faith and not by sight:

give us such trust in your fatherly care

that in the face of all perplexities

we may give proof of our faith by the courage of our lives;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

GOSPEL for the Day: Luke 12: 8-12

“And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you will answer or what you are to say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.”

GOSPEL REFLECTION: Alison Dorman

Today we remember Teresa of Avila, a very wise woman from the 16th century. In the prologue of her book ‘The Way of Perfection’ she said, "I shall speak of nothing of which I have no experience, either in my own life or in the observation of others, or which the Lord has not taught me in prayer”.

In today’s passage from Luke, we read 'do not worry about how or what you will answer or what you are to say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.”

So often, I have found myself in the position of having to respond to someone on the spot, and I think, ‘How do I answer that? or What do I say?’ Just as often if I stop for one second and look inside myself for the guidance, I will utter words that I could not have thought of myself. I am sure we have all experienced that moment. That is not to say that I always have a ‘wise’ answer or statement, but I always know when I have taken that moment to ask, that I will be better equipped to engage in the conversation. Some may call it intuition, (I do sometimes), and some may call it the presence of the Holy Spirit (which is what it really is). I am sure that the more we practise, the easier it becomes. I immediately know when I have said something less than loving by the reaction or response of the person I am in conversation with. I know that I will be forgiven (by God) for being less than Christlike.

It is not that there is any unforgivable sin, but we become obstinate and refuse to rely on the Holy Spirit in times of need because we think we know better ourselves. Let us pray for the Grace to remain open to the words of the Spirit at all times by practising the presence of God and trusting in our relationship knowing that the Power behind us is greater than any task ahead.

FINAL PRAYER The Prayer of Teresa of Avila.

Christ has no body but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which He looks Compassion on this world, Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good, Yours are the hands, with which He blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, Yours are the eyes, you are His body. Christ has no body now but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

Amen.