The poor always hope that today will be better than yesterday,
And tomorrow better yet than today.
We are all poor one way or another,
Praying for the fulfillment for what is lacking in life.
There has never been as much affluence
In man’s history as today.
Yet, there has never been as much poverty than now.
Even those endowed with great material possessions
Are aching with poverty in their souls.
Freedom is cherished by all.
Many have sacrificed their lives to fight for it.
Yet, many remain enslaved.
Physically, those who have less by those who have more.
Mentally, those who are slaves to their passions and addictions.
Spiritually, those who have sold their souls to the devil,
The devil of fortune, power and fame.
Science has enabled blind people to see.
Yet, never have so many people been so blind.
Blinded by their biases and prejudices,
They do not see others who think or believe differently.
Blinded by their pride and apathy,
They do not see those in need and in want.
Blinded by their hedonistic seeking for pleasure,
They do not see those in pain and misery.
I pray for vision and inspiration that I be the harbinger of glad tidings to others.
I pray for courage and strength that I be a liberating presence in the lives of others.
I pray for caring and compassion that I be a light in other people’s lives.
Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
~ Psalm 72
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,
and news of him spread throughout the whole region.
He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.
He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.”
Luke 4:14-19