God is Everywhere: Spend 5 with Jesus for Monday, September 25, 2023

God is everywhere. The first reading is a very good example of how God can use anyone for fulfillment, for faith, for good things. King Cyrus, in the first reading, is allowing the Israelites, who have been exiled to Babylon, to return to Jerusalem. And in so doing, he is also giving them the means necessary to rebuild the temple.

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God is Everywhere

Transcript

Hello and welcome to Spend Five with Jesus for this Monday, September 25, 2023. I am the friar. It is wonderful to have you with us today.

The first reading is a very good example of how God can use anyone for fulfillment, for faith, for good things. King Cyrus, in the first reading, is allowing the Israelites, who have been exiled to Babylon, to return to Jerusalem. And in so doing, he is also giving them the means necessary to rebuild the temple.

Now Cyrus is not Jewish. Cyrus is not a member of the people of God. It is not that God rose up Cyrus because he was Jewish. But God used Cyrus and changed his heart to be a person of goodwill for the sake of the Jewish people.

In our lives, it reminds us that we need to look around us and to find those instances where God is active and alive in everyone. We need to see where it is that God is doing great things. What are the blessings that God is giving in terms of our life and our world? How is God using you today? Maybe even (using you) in ways you are not currently aware of. What is it that you need to be attentive to? Where is it that God is calling you to be more a vehicle of His grace and His goodness?

When God uses us, it’s not in a utilitarian sense, but in a salvation sense, a faith sense. It’s for the sake of our relationship with Jesus. That is why it is important for us to take advantage of those opportunities where we can see the presence of God active and alive in our midst.

Spend some time in prayer today. Ask God to open your heart so that it will be ready to receive the Lord when He comes. Ask the Lord Jesus to fill your hearts with generosity so that when you see others in need, you will be inspired to reach out to help them. Ask God to help you to be grateful for those blessings that are a part of your life.

Gratitude is not only good for the spirit of prayer, we know it makes a difference in how we feel and in our mental health. Take a moment today to be grateful for those people you love and whom you wish to pray for. Take a moment today to thank God for the fact that you are loved beyond your wildest dreams, beyond all kinds of imagining, beyond all understanding, that you are a beloved son or daughter of God, and God desires that everyone be saved.

Let us ask the Lord for one last thing today. Let us ask the Lord to help us to see how it is that we are made in God’s image and likeness, the ways in which we are called to recognize those tremendous and wonderful things that God does for us in simply making us us. In all things acknowledge the presence and person of God today so that you may grow in faith and holiness.

On the friar, you can listen to our homilies (based on the readings of the day) and reflections. You can also ask us to pray for you or to pray for others. You can subscribe to our website to be informed whenever we publish an update.