God wills for all His children on earth to be victorious and to inherit His gift of eternal life. In the following Scripture from the final book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, we learn of God’s plan to restore all things to their former glory.

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars–they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” Revelation 21:3-8

As we commence a New Year let’s reflect on our mission as Disciples of Christ.

Long before Jesus came into the world, God announced His plan of salvation in the Book of Genesis, as He told Satan of Satan’s certain demise and of His Son’s triumph over evil.

God said to Satan, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall crush your head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” Genesis 3:15

Genesis 3:15 speaks of a woman who will oppose the devil. This woman is the Virgin Mary, chosen by God, to bring Our Holy Saviour Jesus Christ into the world. This passage also refers to Jesus “the seed of the woman” and to the ongoing conflict that will exist between all those that will form the Body of Christ and those who will be the children of the devil. On the Cross, Jesus declares triumph over evil as He dies to pay the price of our sins and rises again in the Resurrection.  Jesus endures the torment of brutal torture and crucifixion, fulfilling the Scripture by being “bruised on the heel” and crushing Satan’s head.

As we begin a New Year, let’s give God our full consent to His plan to save and restore souls to perfection.   When the Virgin Mary learned of God’s plan to incarnate, she did not hesitate to give Him her full consent. She said “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Luke 1:38

If we are to truly become the Body of Christ then we like the Virgin Mary must give God our trust and we must consent to the plan He has for us. When we give God this unconditional ‘YES’ we consent to opposing the devil in his many evil incarnations and temptations. We cannot be blind to the evil in the world, nor should we be resigned to ignoring injustice or discounting the power of evil to destroy. We must do what the Virgin Mary has instructed us to do in the Scriptures: “His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he (Jesus) tells you.” John 2:5

Jesus taught us to pray, to trust in Him, to have faith, to love one another and to love even our enemies. If we are to be His Disciples and participate in God’s plan of salvation we must become one with God. Our personal relationship, our intimacy with Jesus and our trust in Him is critical to our ability to wage an effective and decisive battle with Satan that will result in victory.

We are so privileged to have a God who wills to live in an intimate and spiritual communion with us. Jesus is the Bridegroom of our souls and we are His Bride, His people, chosen by Him to do battle against all the forces of darkness in the world. To prepare for this battle we must repent of our sins and give the Lord our consent to strive to do His holy will in all things as we listen carefully to the guidance of His Holy Spirit living within us. Let’s allow the Virgin Mary to be a role model of discipleship for us and like her let us say to God: “I am the Lord’s servant, let it be done to me according to your word.” Luke 1:3

Let us be fearless in this New Year to tackle every battle as God’s Spiritual Warriors believing in God’s unconditional love. Let’s trust in Jesus, for we do not do battle alone. We wage a battle in communion with God. Jesus strengthens us through the power of His Body and Blood and nourishes us through the Holy Eucharist and through the power of His Holy Spirit. If God is with us, living in us, then what have we to fear?

“…If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died–more than that, who was raised to life–is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” Romans 8:31-34

Jesus intercedes for us by paying the price of our sins. I also believe that the Virgin Mary, the woman spoken of in Genesis 3:15, announced by God as opposing Satan continues to intercede for us from heaven with all the Angels and Saints and that we are blessed to call upon her to pray for us and help us to consent to God’s will with all our hearts and all our minds, with all our strength and all our souls, just as she did.

We are so privileged to have faith, but if we say we have faith and then do not act on that faith, is that truly faith?

“But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.” James 2:18

I pray that in the New Year we will give God our unconditional ‘YES’.

May Your Holy Will Lord be done in our daily lives and in the world. May we give You glory and help You to extinguish the darkness in the world, by the light of Your Gospel of peace and love.  May our choices prove that we are truly Your Disciples.

Let us pray…

I pray Holy Lord that all souls will come to know how much You love us. I pray that we will stand together as a Christian family praying for the salvation of all souls, united in solidarity at the foot of Your Holy Cross everyday at 3pm, the time You died for us, united with Your Holy Mother and our Spiritual Mother too.  May Your love Holy Lord ignite the world to repent and to love and forgive as You have loved and forgiven us! We need You Holy Jesus and we love You so very much! We thank you Holy Mother of God and our Spiritual Mother too for praying for us and being such a powerful role model for us, helping us to live a more intimate communion with your Son Jesus, Our God and Saviour.

Jesus, You are my heart’s desire!  I trust in YOU!

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