We have come to the last day of our novena in preparation for all saints day, and I feel like we have barely scratched the surface regarding the material for reflection in the quote from St Irenaeus listed above. Our God wants so much for us to live our lives fully, to know how much he loves us in that his only son came that we may have life now as well as life extending through eternity. In the Gospel of St John we read:
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
I have come that they may have life,
and have it to the full.
As I write this today, what is on my mind and heart are the many things that try to steal this life from us: Personal tragedies and discouragement, the power of addiction which as I have come to understand it is one of the closest things there is to pure evil, the threats to life on both ends of the spectrum in abortion and euthanasia, the violence in our cities and around the world, and the scourge of poverty to only name a few.
In spite of these factors, and perhaps because of them, we must fight all the harder to bring the Good News and the life of God to everyone we meet. Knowing that the God who brought life to the universe with simply a word and the God who loved us enough to send His son to die for us is the power behind us, we should not be discouraged. For if God is for us, who can be against us?
Dear Lord,
Help us see that now more than ever we need your life within us and among us. Give us the strength and the confidence we need to boldly proclaim the life you came to give us and to love one another deeply, both those we consider our friends and those who are strangers to us, knowing that we all need your saving grace.
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