Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, I welcome You this morning as the Inhabitant of the Heart, the divine Guest who comes to make His home within me. I acknowledge that without You I am nothing and have nothing, but with You I possess the entire fullness of the Divinity. Let my soul be a worthy dwelling for Your presence, cleansed of all disordinate affections and the clutter of worldly ambition.
I ask You to live Your life in me today, performing Your works through my hands and speaking Your truth through my lips. Let my actions be moved by Your Spirit so that I may act with the same humility and charity that defined Your earthly ministry. May our union be so complete that I lose awareness of my own ego and become entirely absorbed in the operation of Your love.
Amen.
Matthew 19:23-30
23Then Jesus said to his disciples: Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. 25And when they had heard this, the disciples wondered very much, saying: Who then can be saved? 26And Jesus beholding, said to them: With men this is impossible: but with God all things are possible. 27Then Peter answering, said to him: Behold we have left all things, and have followed thee: what therefore shall we have? 28And Jesus said to them: Amen, I say to you, that you, who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the seat of his majesty, you also shall sit on twelve seats judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29And every one that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting. 30And many that are first, shall be last: and the last shall be first.
St. Thomas Aquinas
St. Thomas Aquinas emphasizes on Christ as our Divine Guest. The Gospel reminds us that it is hard for a rich man to enter, because he has no room for a “Guest“. This is the clinical “Participation in the Divine Nature”; the soul becomes a Kingdom of Delights. The spiritual paper cuts of “dust and disarray” in our souls make the Guest “uncomfortable“. St. Thomas Aquinas evaluates: The King of kings comes to our home. We must adorn the soul through “meditation and devotion”. If with God all things are possible, it is because the Mighty Champion is inside us.
The Holy Spirit indwells the believer as a “Champion” and “divine Guest,” providing the power to resist the internal shadows of the mind. With this Champion present, the soul is never alone in its spiritual combat, for the Spirit lives His life in you. This indwelling presence dispels darkness and grants the strength to persevere against every temptation.
“Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen.”
— St. Thomas Aquinas
Mary and the Magisterium
We are called to be temples where God the Spirit lives within us. Mary was the first to experience this Divine Indwelling, making her heart a dwelling place for the King of Kings.
- Is my "Divine Guest" currently living in "dust and disarray"?
- Do I "refer everything to His glory" as I would for an honored guest?
Closing Prayer
Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest, and in my heart take up Your rest.
Amen.
