{"id":25412,"date":"2021-08-23T07:52:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-23T12:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/?p=25412"},"modified":"2021-08-25T08:08:22","modified_gmt":"2021-08-25T13:08:22","slug":"we-can-still-rejoice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/copy\/we-can-still-rejoice\/","title":{"rendered":"We can still Rejoice!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a Moment to Ponder<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

These verses from Mary\u2019s song of praise \u2013 the Magnificat, are said each evening at Evening Prayer and form part of the readings for the observance of the Feast of St. Mary the Virgin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we contemplate our times, it can be difficult to say that we are rejoicing, because there is so much hardship, natural disasters, and illness around us and directly impacting us. When things were going well, we may have said we were too blessed to be stressed. But for many, we have reached a breaking point, with too many concerns besetting us at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as we contemplate Mary\u2019s words, the context in which she spoke was not that great \u2013 in truth, it was a difficult time of hardship under Roman oppression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, in all the difficulty, Mary received God\u2019s message that a Saviour would be born to save humanity. God was coming to dwell with us. God was inviting her to participate in human salvation by becoming a vessel to bear the Holy Child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her spirit rejoiced, because despite the difficulties that surrounded her \u2013 she knew that there was cause for hope \u2013 God was about to restore the downtrodden, to right the wrongs of the world, to take charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For us who have become disheartened by all that we face in life, Mary\u2019s words are still available to lift our spirits, as she reminds us that the current difficulties do not have the last word \u2013 God does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God is present in our midst, and therefore we have a hope that no pandemic, no illness, no storm or disaster can shake. We must now live into the reality of what God has prepared for us and be prepared for God to use us as His vessels to bear Christ and the Good News to others. Amen<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take Action<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Call a friend or a member who is unable to leave home and share an uplifting word of scripture, and pray with them.
Remember to pray for our brothers and sisters who are journeying through troubled times<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Moment in Prayer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

O God, you have taken to yourself the blessed Virgin Mary, mother of your incarnate Son: Grant that we, who have been redeemed by His blood, may share with her the glory of your eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grant us, O Lord our God, ever to find in you a very present help in trouble. When we are in the darkness of doubt or perplexity, shed your light upon our way. When we are burdened with the affairs of our daily life, lift us to the calm of your presence. When we are battling with temptation and the flesh is weak, by the might of your Spirit make us strong to overcome. We ask these things through Him in whom we are more than conquerors, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contributed by Rev Natalie Blake<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“My soul magnifies the Lord,and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. Take a Moment to Ponder These verses…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":610,"featured_media":25413,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible-moment","ctfw-has-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/copy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/copy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/copy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/copy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/610"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/copy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25412"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/copy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25412\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25414,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/copy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25412\/revisions\/25414"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/copy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/copy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/copy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/copy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}