South Sudan's Challenge

South Sudan's Challenge
Healing & Reconciliation

Thursday, January 24, 2019

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

Short Reflection for the 3rd Sunday of the Ordinary Time (C)

Readings: Nehemiah 8: 2-5. 5-6. 8-10; 1 Corinthians 12: 12-30; Luke 1: 1-4. 4: 18-21

Selected Passage:   "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me   to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives   and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord." (Luke 4: 18-19)

Reflection:  Jesus took this passage from Isaiah as the platform to define his ministry.  It remains a valid platform for our ministry today: Good Tidings to the poor; liberty to captives; new sight to the blind; freedom to the oppressed; and jubilee year for his people. Yesterday, today and tomorrow, these remain the marks and signs that the reign of God is, indeed, close at hand! www.badaliyya.blogspot.com

For my ordination to the priesthood in 1974, I took the passage above to become the keynote of my ministry.  I have always prayed that I, too, can say with Jesus before the people that what they have seen, touched and heard in my words and deeds become the fulfillments of God’s promise.

DHIKR PRAYER SIMPLE METHOD...
Dhikr is an Arabic word for remembrance. In the “tariqa” (the way) movement, Dhikr developed into a form of prayer… It is a prayer of the heart… following three simple steps:

1.Write in one’s heart a certain passage of the Holy Writ…
2.Make the same passage ever present in one’s lips. 
3.Then wait for God’s disclosure on the meaning of the passage…that interprets one’s life NOW…!

It takes a week of remembering (dhikr)…or even more days to relish the beauty of this method…

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