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Wednesday, January 24, 2024

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St. Francis de Sales


2 Samuel 7:4-17
Psalm 89:4-5, 27-30
Mark 4:1-20

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on the other side of selfishness

“Nathan reported all these words and this entire vision to David.” —2 Samuel 7:17

David, like all of us, was very selfish. We’re that way from the moment of conception. We are naturally selfish. One day, a great blessing occurred in David’s life: he had an unselfish thought. He thought of building a house for the Lord (2 Sm 7:2). Although David was not chosen by the Lord to do this, the Lord took this moment of unselfishness to reveal to David an astounding prophecy. Through the prophet Nathan, the Lord told David that his house, kingdom, and throne would stand firm forever (2 Sm 7:16).

Sometimes, by the grace of God and in our new life through Baptism, we too have unselfish thoughts. Like David, we will also receive amazing revelations from God when we cross over to the other side of selfishness. In that land of unselfishness —   once so strange to us — we are no longer under the thick cloud of selfishness (see Is 60:2). On the other side of selfishness, the Lord shines and over us appears His glory (Is 60:2).

Come to Jesus; repent; deny yourself; cross over to the other side.

Prayer:  Father, the life I live now is not my own. It is a life of faith in Jesus (Gal 2:20).

Promise:  “Those sown on good soil are the ones who listen to the word, take it to heart, and yield at thirty- and sixty- and a hundredfold.” —Mk 4:20

Praise:  St. Francis de Sales wrote apologetic books to defend against heresies and spiritual books to raise the faith of lay people. God so anointed his writing that he has been honored as the patron saint of journalists.

Reference:   (For a related teaching on Seek Prophecy, view, order or download our leaflet or listen to, download or order our CD 14A-1, CD 14A-3, and CD 14B-1 or DVD 14A and DVD 14B on our website.)

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