Sue O’Donnell. 03.01.21
“Wisdom has...laid her table...who is simple? Let him (her) come this way.” (Proverbs 9 v 1, 2, 4 TNJB)
Sunday, the blessed day of Jesus’ resurrection,
The blessed hope of our connection with this our conservation,
A hope of holiness as gained in the Eucharist.
The Bread that we eat because it is Jesus,
Who died at the †, but rose again for us,
As the power of holy love, is stronger by far than death,
It is this holy Bread on which we are fed,
That the Trinity be glorified by us living eternally.
The Bread given is Bread from heaven.
A chalice is offered us containing not just wine,
But its substance transubstantiated into Jesus,
His blood as shed at the † for our forgiveness.
“ ‘Come and eat My bread, drink the wine which I have drawn’!” (Proverbs 9 v 5 TNJB)
The thought for today as we pray this Eucharistic celebration,
Is for the dedication of all mankind,
That, in this New Year, they seek and find the Saviour near.
God is with us in Christ Jesus, by the Holy Spirit,
As we stand at the gateway of this New Year.
We need no longer live in fear for we have a Saviour,
A Saviour who is recognisable as a human Brother,
But One who as God’s Son, born to the Virgin Mary,
Changes the history of our humanity incredibly.
Lost hopes will be restored by the presence of Christ Jesus.
Forgiveness will displace our doubt and fear of punishment.
“ ‘ Leave foolishness behind and you will live, go forwards in the way of perception’.” (Proverbs 9 v 6 TNJB)
Apprehension as to truth no longer need persist,
For we have the gift of a New Life in Christ Jesus, God of Truth.
We eat and drink in holy communion to bless our union.
The gateway to an eternal future stands wide open.
All our tomorrows are covered by the blood of Jesus shed
That our sins forgiven, forgotten we become Spirit led.
The warmth of holy love surrounds us
In the Child God gifts us in maiden Mary.
No longer are hopes diminished nor put to flight.
Heaven is within sight because we belong to Jesus,
He lives in us and we live in Him.
“Sing a new song to Yaweh! Sing to Yaweh, all the earth! Sing to Yaweh, bless His name! Proclaim His salvation day after day, declare His glory among the nations, His marvels to every people.” (Psalm 96 v 1, 2, 3 TNJB)
Time Is ours to give God the honour and all the glory
As the Holy Spirit now attracts and impacts upon us.
Jesus’ prayerful presence in the world is up to us.
We celebrate the honour of the † belonging to Jesus,
Meaning life is enriched by veneration and adoration,
Prayerfully and practically as we spread the gospel.
This is the good news of all the love of Christ Jesus
Wins for us as established by the Spirit of holiness,
All to the glory of God, our heavenly Father.
In the mystery of the Nativity and the Holy Eucharist,
We are supremely blessed by the presence of our Brother,
He who is our Saviour, joy to the world!
“Come, let us cry out with joy to Yaweh, acclaim the rock of our salvation. Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving, acclaim Him with music.” (Psalm 95 v 1, 2 NKJV)
“Come, let us bow low and do reverence; kneel before Yaweh who made us! For He is God and we are the people of His sheepfold, the flock of His hand. (Psalm 95 v 6, 7 NKJV)
Lord, we enter the New year in the season of Christmas, a time of such joy as the Christ Child is born for our salvation. We have a sure and certain hope of redemption when we accept Him as Saviour.
This then is a time of hope. The first thing I read this morning were our Lord’s words of hope given to Sarah Young. “My finished work on the cross secured this heavenly hope for you, and it is absolutely assured.” (Jesus Today. Calendar entry for January 3rd)
What hope we experience through receiving the fullness of Jesus’ real presence with us in the Holy Eucharist. “Moreover, knowing that your story finishes well can fill your present journey with joy.” (Calendar entry cont)
Oh how marvellous this is, what a gift following on from Christmas. May we enter this New Year fully strengthened in hope and our faith affirmed by joy because the Lord Jesus is truly with us.
“The more you put your hope in Me, the more My Love Light shines upon you – brightening your day.” (Calendar entry cont) May we eat, drink and rejoice in Jesus, Your most precious gift to us, Father God.
“Remember that I am with you continually, and I Myself am your Hope!” (Calendar entry concl) We need the continuously uplifting encouragement of knowing the Lord Jesus is with us by choice, our
choice.
“Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take...Fear the LORD and turn away from evil...Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding.” (Proverbs 3 v 6, 7, 13 NLT)
May our partaking of the body and blood of our Saviour Brother develop for us the charisms of the Holy Spirit, especially that of wisdom and understanding, so we know how to serve well.
The other charisms, especially the gift of ministry, of intercession and of teaching the Gospel, all of these are made available to us if we but ask to receive whatever we need to work in Jesus’ name.
“Blessed be Jesus in the most holy Sacrament of the altar,” (The Divine Praises) whereby we can offer all our efforts at serving, all joy and any suffering, to become united with the Divine Heart of our Lord and Master.
Jesus is our strength of faith, the hope we have, the peace we find, the joy we share. Thank you so much dearest Father, for the invaluable gift of Your beloved Son at Christmas and in each and every Eucharist.
It is the Lord Jesus who shows us how great Your love is for us, so much so that we grow to know You not only offer love to us as a free gift, but You are that gift, for You are love.
We come to the banqueting table set out on the altar, and we feast on all that is holy and therefore delightful, re-affirming the birth and death of Christ Jesus, “Blessed be His most Precious Blood” (The Divine Praises) poured out at the † for us.
The cradle and the † are inseparable. Jesus lives in us to make us holy. Thank You that this desire for holiness increases in each celebration of the holy Eucharist, the Holy Spirit busily at work.
May our desire to become more like the Lord Jesus, help us to balance our life between spending sufficient time in prayer, and contemplating how the sacred Scriptures apply to our life - that gain in wisdom and
understanding – and our activity.
Our interaction with anybody has to be based on love, if we are to help spread hope, the realistic hope of belonging to the only One who can save us from the hell of final separation from You at death, dearest
Father.
We need please, to lead a life rooted in prayer so held safely secure, that we can spread the gospel message of hope, of peace and how to live with joy, by our belief in Jesus.
We need to pray the Holy Eucharist, so that as our Saviour comes to live within us, we can truly be His image, work with a clear likeness and increase the presence of love in our world.
Christmas is about love. May this time of entry to the New Year be also about love offered, in whatever way our skills and talents equip us for. Let not contemplation nor activity outshine each other, but be in correct
balance.
Thank You that prayer and holy communion root us in love’s holy power of outreach with all with whom we interact. May we always remain alert and responsive to the Holy Spirit’s teaching, guidance and inspiration.
Perhaps it would be of benefit if, at the end of each day, in the silence of prayer, we asked ourselves whether or not we have extended love into our world, both through our words and our actions. Have we responded to every prompt or probe of the Holy Spirit. For without having achieved this, we have wasted an opportunity.
From the fullness of the Lord’s presence - He is our living hope – all believers have received. How wonderful it is to experience that we receive even more by regularly receiving directly of our Saviour Brother as in holy communion.
This is the grace which enables us to live out our vocation doing this in Jesus’ name and hopefully doing it well. Thank You for blessing us with every spiritual blessing because we are united with Christ.
Our world is in special need at the moment with the life threatening Corona 19 Pandemic claiming many lives and maiming others. Let us pray for the gift, the charism of healing for all the trained medics.
For the rest of us, what can we give? We can give that which we have received, the love of our Saviour, the hope He offers that death is not the end, but a transition to somewhere beautiful beyond imagining.
Life is not lost when we have the love of Christ Jesus, life is changed, changed very much for the better, the richer, the fuller by the life enhancing blessing of the Holy Spirit of love.
May the graced gift of the Saviour and the Sanctifier equip us, enable us to live life to produce the fruit of the kingdom, especially love, peace and patience, for joy evolves from these and we remain in the Christmas
season of the joy which arises from hope.
The Word was made flesh and still lives among us. Thank You for the wonder of the incarnation, from which we receive the fullness of the life of love the Lord Jesus offers us, especially in the Holy Eucharist.
Amazingly, we are enabled to look at trials and tribulations differently when Christ Jesus lives in us. We see how endurance develops and this brings strength of character, which in its turn, becomes our confident hope in salvation.
All of this is because of the gift of our Saviour, the Lord of our holiness ever at work by His Spirit, Your Spirit, Eternal Father. We are blessed by an amazing grace!
And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly You love us, Father, ‘Abba’, because You have given us through the Lord Jesus, Your Holy Spirit.
May this Spirit be very active now as we enter the New Year. May the Spirit enable us to find the hope that only the Lord Jesus can give, that our life be filled by the incredible power of holy love.
Our Holy Eucharist offers us a share in the life of the Lord Jesus, the Bread from Heaven, the Light of the World, the Resurrection and the Life You wish for us, Father God.
We are recipients of Your grace, that unmerited, free, ever loving, life giving favour, a lovelight that sins’ darkness cannot extinguish. The true Light of Christ Jesus is born to us that we are reborn with a holy birth.
Herein is our hope, our peace and our joy for this New Year. You will never disappoint us. May we not fail You, Father, Lord Jesus, and Lord of the Spirit, for we have been shown unfailing love and faithfulness, mercy and compassion.
This is the glory of the Trinity, a glory we are to reflect in daily life because when we possess the Lord Jesus and He possesses us, “We have all received one gracious blessing after another.” (John 1 v 16 NLT)
Thank You for this most marvellous, truly wondrous, bountiful and beautiful grace of being able to claim that Christ Jesus lives in us by belief, all thanks to the Holy Spirit’s impact and Your will for us, Father God.
May this New Year evolve through hope into a time of increased prayer and active Christian service, that many more come to experience the Bread that You will give, the One who gifts us a full life now and eternally. Amen.
Images by Artist Christine Garwood
http://www.christinegarwoodartist.co.uk/
Season
Key Themes
EUCHARIST
NEW YEAR
