Daily Gospel Reflection for January 24, 2024

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

"It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep." Mark 4:5

Truth, trust, and unwavering faith are things that require depth. In our walk with Jesus, we crave those moments when we “feel” him. We love those warm, sweet “He’s got me in His arms” moments, but true discipleship is so much bigger, deeper, and more meaningful. Those cuddly feelings don’t last forever, and if they are all we’re in this for, we will wither and be scorched by the trials of life. We have to dig deeper.

My first year as an elementary school teacher, I had a mentor who told me that some lessons were meant to be a mile wide and an inch deep but the important lessons, the ones the kids would need for a lifetime, needed to be a mile deep and an inch wide. Those are the lessons that carry us through the trials, temptations, and noises of the world. Love, surrender, humility. These are the things that need to take root deeply in our daily prayer and our daily living. Allowing these things to take deep root requires daily focus. When we find ourselves fretting about the past or stewing about the future, we aren’t allowing the Father to root us firmly in the space where we are and where He is--the present.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Francis de Sales, who truly lived a life of wisdom and prayer. Let’s ponder some of this great saint's wise words. “Let us think only of spending the present day well. Then, when tomorrow shall have come, it will be called today and then, we will think about it.

Ponder:

What things cause you to dwell in the past or drift to the future? Make a list of those things and then slowly, prayerfully sit with the words of St. Francis, asking God to help you let go of those things and help you root deeply in the present.

Pray:

Dear Father, we ask You to draw us tightly to You so we become content in Your presence. Help us see Your invitations to follow You more closely and love You more deeply. Help us grow in trust and humility so we can be deeply rooted in You and be protected from those things that can wither and scorch.

Click to tweet:
“Let us think only of spending the present day well. Then, when tomorrow shall have come, it will be called today and then, we will think about it." #DailyGospel

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