Saint Teresa of Ávila, Virgin, Doctor 



Ephesians 1:1-10 ·

Psalm 97(98):1-6

Luke 11:47-54


BLESSED BE GOD OUR FATHER 


Have you ever received news so wonderful and inspiring that you felt compelled to share it? A message so moving that it seemed impossible to keep to yourself? That may be one way to understand today’s first reading. Scholars believe this passage from Ephesians may have been an early church hymn—a joyful expression of praise and thanksgiving to God for the blessings God offers.


We can imagine the first Christian communities gathering each week and reflecting on the hymn’s opening words: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” What inspired this praise? The hymn declares that God “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens.” Our ancestors in faith understood that God’s blessings are abundant and ongoing, rather than occasional or limited. The hymn continues with the proclamation that God “chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him.”


Before anything existed, before time began, God envisioned and delighted in every person who would ever live, and chose to love us. Because God has always loved us, God calls us to holiness—to reflect God’s goodness, mercy, and love.


It is easy to understand why those first Christians kept singing. Through God’s abundant blessings, we are not defined by our failings and imperfections, but by a divine love that seeks to make us whole. This hymn reminds us that we are adopted children of God, sisters and brothers who live in, from, and with God. We can trust that we are not forgotten or forsaken, and that forgiveness and redemption remain available to us.


We can almost hear those first Christians singing now. Might we join them?


PRAYER 


Dear Lord, I thank You for this day.

I thank You for my being able to wake once again, to see and to hear this morning.

I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God.

You have done so much for me and You continue to bless me.

Please forgive me every day for anything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to you, and I ask now for Your forgiveness.

Please keep me safe from all danger and harm.

Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude.


Keep me strong that I may help the weak.

Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others.

I pray for those that are lost and can't find their way.

I pray for those that are misjudged and misunderstood.

I pray for those who don't know You intimately.

I pray for those that don't believe.

And I'm grateful that you are in my heart.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen

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