Weekly Spiritual
Jesus by my side
Everything changes all around me
The leaves are falling, and the wind has picked up.
The clock has been changed, as the days get shorter and the nights longer.
Children grow up and leave; and all get older each day.
Teeming neighborhoods become abandoned,
as great cities become ghost towns.
Healthy bodies become afflicted with illness.
Comfort loses the struggle to unease,
Secured portals become doubtful!
Uncertainty and fear overcome the mind,
and hearts tremble at the impermanence of things.
But Jesus is by my side.
He walks with me through the storm.
The only rock upon which I stand,
My shoulders are higher above the waters.
My body may ache in pain, but He is by me,
Holding my hands so securely!
He gazes on me with tenderness,
For life without him is fearful and hopeless.
Day and night m heart muses, because he delights in me!
All is good for God makes ALL!
ALL changes but God alone stands.
Jesus calms my fears, and steadies my steps.
Faith in him is my stronghold,
For his promises never fail.
Ever faithful, Love Divine,
Oh Divine Master, King of my heart,
reign in me, and take me all
so I have you – and only YOU
as everything changes and returns to you
who are our Lord and God.
Be praised forever and ever. Amen
Who would ever think that the glorious temple of Jerusalem would crumble and be brought to nothing? A temple plated in gold, whose glory was the pride of all Jews at home and abroad; a symbol of Israel’s uniqueness in the world. Yet, like everything else in the world, the temple was destroyed in AD 70. Jesus saw this destruction coming, and warned his disciples that it would soon come (Luke 21: 5-6). The destruction of the temple was such a great shock to the minds of the Israelites. On that same fact of history, Jesus tells us, his disciples, that there will be upheavals, and deep and terrifying changes and disheartening events. He says things as they are, without pretending to coat reality with sugar! But in all that may happen, his assurance is unparalleled: “nothing will happen even to a single hair on your head, as long as you know I am with you” (Luke 21:18).
You are never alone on your journey of life; you are never alone in your troubled situations for Jesus is with you. His presence is the stabilizer. All may change, decay and die, but even death is not to be feared, for Jesus is beyond death. Let Jesus be the Lord and Master of your life and all will make sense in your life. Amen
~Fr Cornelius Okeke