Daily Scripture Reflection & Prayer: June 7, 2024

Date: Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Scripture Text:  Eph 3:8-12, 14-19

Brothers and sisters:

To me, the very least of all the holy ones, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for all what is the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past in God who created all things, so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the principalities and authorities in the heavens. This was according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness of speech and confidence of access through faith in him.

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Breaking the text open – background and summary:

The second reading for today, taken from the Letter to the Ephesians, begins with a statement of mission. While it is Paul’s mission as apostle to the Gentiles that is being highlighted, readers throughout the ages may take this as their own mission statement because all of us, as baptized followers of Christ, are called to participate in this ongoing mission of bringing others to Christ and Christ to others.

The subsequent prayer to the Most Holy Trinity, one of the most powerful in scriptures, leads us to awe and praise for our LORD, Father, Son, and Spirit, and teaches us of the Trinity’s plan for our salvation in Christ that will bring us to life in “the fullness of God.”

Meditating on the text with personal questions:

Do I open myself to my LORD? Do I allow the Spirit to strengthen me? Do I open myself to Christ to dwell within me?

Praying:

LORD, Almighty Father, I humbly come before You, recognizing with grateful awe your power and glory over all. Send your Spirit to strengthen me and to tenderize me so that I might welcome Christ to dwell in my heart through faith. Grant that through faith, buoyed by hope in You , and fueled by love from You for You, that I may comprehend the breadth and length and height and depth of powerful love as expressed in Christ, your beloved Son, the very WORD of God, my Savior. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.