40 Days to Love

Day 40

The book of Acts of the Apostles is like a bridge between the life and teachings of Jesus narrated in the Gospels and the life of the first Christians, after His death and resurrection. It shows us how the Holy Spirit continues to teach and direct his people through the writings, labors and actions of His apostles, those whom he has chosen as his witnesses and called to continue his mission. The author begins locating us in Bethany, where Jesus is raised to heaven, but not before giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. Acts 1: 3 says "He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days* and speaking about the kingdom of God." Today God would like to invite you to be a witness and participant of His Love, open yourself up to recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit and let His breath drive you and transform you to take action as germ and seed of the Kingdom, continuing the mission of Jesus with your life. The ascension of Jesus marks the beginning of the activity of the Holy Spirit among the emerging church, which He summons to guide and lead fully as the new people of God. This is revealed to us in the work and speeches of Peter and Paul, two particularly different men who are not perfect but who allow themselves to be transformed by the teachings of Jesus and driven by the Spirit from their reality, they fight without fear to announce and bring salvation to all corners of the earth. Today as a chosen apostle you are also being called to be transformed in Love, to continue the mission of Jesus with authenticity and from a relationship of intimacy to transmit to others with joy the message of salvation of a God full of Love, who does not discriminate, has no borders, no limits, who confronts evil, defeats death, has the power to transform our weakness into strength, who puts Himself at the service of those in need, who does not stop fighting for His people, a God for whom all it's possible, He who wants and seeks to share his Kingdom and that only awaits your "Yes". May the Lord open our hearts to His eternal Love 🙏💕🕊️

Day 39

The Gospel of Luke presents Jesus as filled with the Holy Spirit and tells us how He was led by Him in the desert after returning from the Jordan river. In Luke 4:2 says he was led "for forty days,* to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry.." Today God is inviting you to delve into a more intimate relationship with Him. The word Jordan comes from Hebrew and means "to descend." The river was recognized by the Israelites as a great channel of blessing from God, marking for them a new beginning, the end of their pilgrimage through the desert, after leaving slavery in Egypt, and the encounter and conquest of the Promised Land. It could be said that it is no coincidence that the public life of Jesus begins descending from the place recognized as the blessing of God, which leads Him to recognize Himself as Beloved and thus, in the desert manifest His divinity and humanity from trust, adopting a vigilant attitude before actions that may take His eyes off and affect His relationship with God. Today God wants to encourage you to follow the footsteps of Jesus entrusting you to the action of the Holy Spirit in the midst of uncertainties, doubts, achievements and victories, knowing and recognizing yourself as "Beloved Son/daughter" in order to experience His promises first-hand, opening up to feel and be transformed by His Grace in your daily life. May the Lord open our hearts to His Eternal Love 🙏💕🕊️.

Day 38

The Gospel of Mark is one of the earliest accounts of the life of Jesus. It begins with a statement, acknowledging Jesus as the Son of God, and presents His story in a dramatic way. In the first scene, it showcases God opening the heavens, the Spirit of God descending onto Jesus in the form of a dove at baptism and the voice of God recognizing Him as a Beloved Son. After this revelation, it tells us how the Holy Spirit pushes Jesus into the desert and in a second act it is no longer God who recognizes His Son but rather the forces of evil that begin to point to Jesus and name Him as the Son of God. Mark 1:13 tells us "and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him." Today God is inviting you to remain vigilant and see beyond temptations. This act of Jesus of remaining in the desert moved by the Holy Spirit allows us to glimpse at relationship of Jesus in His search for the Father, seeking to quiet the heart to know Him more intimately, fully recognizing Himself as the Beloved Son of God. And it is from this knowledge that He is able to confront the temptations of the evil one. The Jesus that the Gospel of Mark makes know to us is not only a spectator of the Word of God but He takes the time to meditate on it and fulfills it from the condition of Son. Today God invites you to imitate this action of Jesus, to see beyond the obstacles and temptations, recognizing yourself as a beloved son or daughter and that from this Love, driven by the Holy Spirit, we may decide to compromise ourselves to be witnesses and protagonists of the Kingdom. May the Lord open our hearts to His Eternal Love 🙏💕🕊️.

Day 37

The Gospel of Matthew centers on Jewish traditions highlighting the divinity Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us who brings the Kingdom of God to earth. It portraits Jesus as a new Moses, who is the Son of God at birth by belonging to the lineage of David, and fully fulfills the messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. As Moses, Jesus left Egypt, crossed through the waters of Baptism and entered the desert for 40 days. Matthew 4:2 tells us "And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he at last felt hungry." Today God would like you to enter to the desert with Him to that place of solitude but also that place of search and encounter. Today He wants you to silence your inner noises to meet with His Word. The ancient name of fasting comes from the verb "stare" which means to be vigilant. We could say that this fasting of Jesus in the desert, more than a simple abstinence from food, is a method of self-control that allows Him to open up to a closer relationship with the Father, through prayer. We can interpret this hunger of Jesus as a hunger to fulfill the Will of God since He is perceived as vigilant, strong, full of confidence and wisdom, when He is tempted by evil after days without food, as His sustenance came from God Himself and His Word. Today God is inviting you to follow the footsteps of Jesus into silence, giving you the chance to get to know Him better through the Scriptures, and thus from His Love acquire the necessary tools to recognize what can distance us from Him and fight for the establishment of the Kingdom of God among us. May the Lord open our hearts to His Eternal Love 🙏💕🕊️

Day 36

The Gospel of Luke shows Jesus as the king who comes into the world to give perfect fulfillment to God's law and offer salvation to everyone, without exception. He begins by telling us the story of John the Baptist and his mission to prepare the way of Jesus with the grace of the Holy Spirit, introduces us to Joseph, from the house of David, as the husband of Mary, a humble woman who, before the announcement of an angel gives a "generous Yes" that opens the doors to Love. And thus he introduces us to the story of Jesus from his childhood. In Luke 2:22 we find that "When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord," Today God wants to remind you of the importance of presenting yourself and offering yourself to Him as an act of donation, delivery and fidelity. Luke reveals God as the Messiah from the obedience of Joseph and Mary to the law of God beginning with the purification of the woman after giving birth and continuing with the rite of presentation of the male firstborn child. Thus, he introduces us to the fidelity of the holy family to God, making us recognize their simplicity and humility within the offering of two lovebirds as a sacrifice and a symbol of scarce resources. Reveling Jesus as a man who is united to God in every sense and from his childhood learns through his family to present Himself to God and to others. Today God is calling you by the hand of holy family to present yourself before God as you are so that through His Love and Grace, we may learn to respond to his calling following in Jesus footsteps. May the Lord open our hearts to His Eternal Love 🙏💕🕊️