DAILY HOMILIES #Paul

The deeper your confidence in the power and effectiveness of even a single line of prayer, the more you see the result in your life. Make sure you reflect on every word you utter during prayer, know that whatever you say is heard by God; know that prayer works, prayer changes things.

Happiness on earth may be limited but the happiness above is totally unlimited. If we do not experience happiness as we so desire, let us not give up on God or attempt to seek happiness in sin. The devil cannot give what he does not have; it may seem as if we are enjoying for a while but soon it dawns on us that we have been deceived. Child of God, sorrow may last in the night but joy comes in the morning. Never Give up on God!

The Athenians did not accept Paul because they couldn’t face the truth. They acknowledged their ignorance by making an Altar with the inscription: “To an unknown god,” but when Paul tried to clear their ignorance, they resisted him. Truly, there are some people who know they are ignorant yet they remain satisfied in their ignorance

The Christian life is not easy but there is always a way out; singing and praying are two things we can do anytime and our situation will definitely change for the better. Do not be sorrowful. The Steadfast Love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end, they are new every morning, great is your faithfulness O, Lord.

If you have God the Father and God the Son living inside you, will anything be difficult for you? Jesus said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I do, and greater works than these will he do because I go to the Father.” (John 14:12).

God can use anybody. However, like a pencil that must be sharpened in order to write well, we must learn to humble ourselves to become useful instruments in God’s vineyard. Let not your pride become a stumbling block for those who seek to draw close to God.

As far as you repent today, your past does not matter anymore. Once you drop the old ways, do not go back again. Invite Jesus into your heart and believe in his presence with you always, believe you have the power to overcome sin, the power even to raise back to life those aspects that were dead as a result of bad habits.

Pretense (unholy diplomacy) is a virus that we all need to delete from our lives. It is also important to point out the fact that Paul did not go about talking about Peter behind his back but addressed Peter to his face. If you lack the courage to tell people their faults to their face, better keep quiet and pray for them. Do not be a coward.

Today we celebrate the ultimate victory of the Apostles for their efforts to keep the faith despite their struggles. Herod arrested Peter intending to bring him to trial so as to publicly make fun of him but that very night he was set free by the Angel of God. Even if he would eventually die for the sake of the Gospel, this very incident is proof that when we suffer for the sake of righteousness, we are never alone.

Barnabas worked with Paul in the city of Antioch and through them, humans were first called Christians. In a world of individualism where even ministers find it difficult to work together and each person seeks glory for himself even at the expense of the other, the life of Barnabas becomes encouragement in the right direction.

Wherever it occurs, disunity prevents people from facing a common enemy. Think about this, if only the Pharisees were united in thought and doctrine with the Sadducees, perhaps they would have been able to put an end to the missionary enterprise of Paul but they couldn’t stop him. In our Gospel passage, Jesus is praying for unity among his followers. Even in the prayer, Jesus highlights the scandal of disunity when he says “. . . MAY THEY ALL BE ONE . . . SO THAT THE WORLD MAY BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE SENT ME.”

Right there in prison, rather than fall into despair, they burst into singing. They prayed, they sang and the Holy Spirit came down. God who did not prevent them from being beaten and thrown in prison became moved when he heard them pray and sing. He not only freed them from prison, but he also brought about the conversion of the chief jailer.