“For God, as I have said, does not work in those who refuse to place all their trust and expectation in him alone.”
READ: JOHN 8:21–30
Again he said to them: “I am going away; you will look for me and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” The Jews said to one another, “Will he kill himself? Is that what he means by saying, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come?’ ” Jesus went on: “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I have told you already: You will die in your sins. Yes, if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus answered: “What I have told you from the outset. About you I have much to say and much to condemn; but the one who sent me is truthful, and what I have learnt from him I declare to the world.” They failed to understand that he was talking to them about the Father. So Jesus said: “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He and that I do nothing of myself: what the Father has taught me is what I preach; he who sent me is with me, and has not left me to myself, for I always do what pleases him.” As he was saying this, many came to believe in him.
YOUR THREE-STEP GUIDE TO DAILY MENTAL PRAYER
REFLECT
Jesus: I and my Father are one. When I called you to be my disciple, I called you to live in communion with me, just as I do with my Father. And just as my Father “is with me, and has not left me to myself,” I am always with you, and I will never abandon you. In your heart, you know this, but even so, you often let yourself be carried away by worries and fears. When I let a cloud block out the sun, does the sun disappear? The sun is always there, and just so, I am always watching over you. Every worry and fear that comes across the sky of your soul is a chance for you to exercise your faith and trust in me. That is what pleases me, and that is what sets my grace free to transform you and strengthen you and release your full potential for living as you ought to live. Seek always to do what pleases me, as I always sought to do what was pleasing to my Father, and you will discover anew my presence and grace, over and over again.
RESPOND
I, too, am sometimes hard-hearted, like the Pharisees and the scribes, who loved their own plans so much that they couldn’t even see Your plan. Cure me, Lord. Purify my heart. Show me my prejudices and selfish tendencies. Shine the light of Your love into all the shadows of my soul. I want to be completely Yours. I want to become Your faithful disciple, a soldier You can count on.
How simple Your program of life is! You seek always and everywhere to do what is pleasing to the Father. Teach me to live like that. Free me from my obsession with pleasing myself. You didn’t design me to find fulfillment in navel-gazing; You created me to flourish through self-forgetting love. With the love of Your heart, Lord, inflame my heart.
REST
Are You really always with me? Why do You let me feel alone? Why do You let so many clouds block out the sun? You want me to grow up, to mature. You want me to love You for You and not for the light and gifts that You give to me. You want me to exercise the precious virtues of faith, hope, and love, which have to be based on trust. Teach me to leave behind my cold calculations and abandon myself to Your goodness.
RESOLVE
How can I carry this encounter with me into the day? (Write / Journal)
CLOSING PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Most Blessed and Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thank You for Your love and Your grace in allowing me this time of prayer with You.
The world, the flesh, and the devil will all propose things I should focus on and run after today. I beg You to fill me with Your Holy Spirit and help me instead to know and embrace Your will. Help me to see what You desire of me each moment of this day. Give me the wisdom, strength, and fortitude I need to avoid distractions, discern Your will, and focus on and carry out that which Wisdom reveals. Help me to work and live at a pace of peace and prayerfulness, always attentive to You, able to hear Your voice and to say no to anything that hinders my journey to You and a complete yes to every Holy prompting from You.
Help me to humbly and purposefully live, light, and lead others to the path of union with You and to tell everyone about this way of life. Amen.
About the Author
Fr. John Bartunek was ordained in 2003. He has taught moral theology at various ecclesiastical institutions at the graduate and undergraduate levels, and has authored many books, including the Gospel companion, The Better Part, and Inside the Passion, the only authorized behind-the-scenes look at the film, for which he provided on-set spiritual support. His online retreat guides are available in multiple formats at RCSpirituality.org. Fr. John currently resides in Atlanta, where he is serving as territorial vicar for the Legionaries of Christ.
