total abandonment
“Abram went as the Lord directed him.” —Genesis 12:4
When Abram was seventy-five years old, the Lord told him to take his family and all his possessions, leave his homeland, and go to a place which would later be shown him (Gn 12:1, 4-5). Abram obeyed. What would you do if you were given a similar command?
The Lord commanded St. Joseph in a dream: “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and flee to Egypt” (Mt 2:13). “Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother and left that night for Egypt” (Mt 2:14). Would you obey as Joseph obeyed?
The Lord told the Blessed Virgin Mary, a teenage girl, to give up her future plans and conceive God by the power of the Holy Spirit (Lk 1:31ff). Can the Lord do anything He wants with your future?
Because of your obedient love for the Lord, are you willing to move, move immediately, and move everything? When we accept Jesus as Lord of our lives, we abandon ourselves to Him. We invite Him to do anything He wants with us at any time. We “live no longer” for ourselves “but for Him” (2 Cor 5:15). Under His lordship, we have lost our lives (see Lk 9:24). We can say with St. Paul: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ Who lives in me” (Gal 2:20, RSV-CE).
Prayer: Jesus, You gave Your life for me. I give my life for You.
Promise: “If you want to avoid judgment, stop passing judgment.” —Mt 7:1
Praise: Fr. Juan, suffering from terminal cancer, witnessed to his faith in Jesus by proclaiming: “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future.”
Reference: (Check out www.presentationministries.com for a list of all the retreats being offered this summer as part of the Forty Day Discipleship Program.)
Rescript: "In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat for the publication One Bread, One Body covering the time period from June 1, 2023, through July 31, 2023. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio December 14, 2022"
The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.