Wednesday in the 1st week of Ordinary Time

I am the way, the truth, and the life,
— no one can come to the Father except through me.
In the beginning before time began, he created me, and through all eternity I shall not cease to be.
— No one can come to the Father except through me.
From the treatise Against Heresies by Saint Irenaeus, bishop
Knowledge of the Father consists in the self-revelation of the Son
No one can know the Father apart from God’s Word, that is, unless the Son reveals him, and no one can know the Son unless the Father so wills. Now the Son fulfils the Father’s good pleasure: the Father sends, the Son is sent, and he comes. The Father is beyond our sight and comprehension; but he is known by his Word, who tells us of him who surpasses all telling. In turn, the Father alone has knowledge of his Word. And the Lord has revealed both truths. Therefore, the Son reveals the knowledge of the Father by his revelation of himself. Knowledge of the Father consists in the self-revelation of the Son, for all is revealed through the Word.
The Father’s purpose in revealing the Son was to make himself known to us all and so to welcome into eternal rest those who believe in him, establishing them in justice, preserving them from death. To believe in him means to do his will.
Through creation itself the Word reveals God the Creator. Through the world he reveals the Lord who made the world. Through all that is fashioned he reveals the craftsman who fashioned it all. Through the Son the Word reveals the Father who begot him as Son. All speak of these things in the same language, but they do not believe them in the same way. Through the law and the prophets the Word revealed himself and his Father in the same way, and though all the people equally heard the message not all equally believed it. Through the Word, made visible and palpable, the Father was revealed, though not all equally believed in him. But all saw the Father in the Son, for the Father of the Son cannot be seen, but the Son of the Father can be seen.
The Son performs everything as a ministry to the Father, from beginning to end, and without the Son no one can know God. The way to know the Father is the Son. Knowledge of the Son is in the Father, and is revealed through the Son. For this reason the Lord said: No one knows the Son except the Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son has revealed him. The word “revealed” refers not only to the future — as though the Word began to reveal the Father only when he was born of Mary; it refers equally to all time. From the beginning the Son is present to creation, reveals the Father to all, to those the Father chooses, when the Father chooses, and as the Father chooses. So, there is in all and through all one God the Father, one Word and Son, and one Spirit, and one salvation for all who believe in him.
Responsory:
I am the way, the truth, and the life,
— no one can come to the Father except through me.
In the beginning before time began, he created me, and through all eternity I shall not cease to be.
— No one can come to the Father except through me.
Additional Reading:
Sirach 24:1-22: Wisdom in creation and in the history of Israel
The Cristeros Rule of Life
As Cristeros, we dedicate ourselves to a a life of true devotion to Jesus through Mary, particularly in the form of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pray for Us.
We begin our days with a Morning Offering dedicating our day:
O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day, in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the remission of my sins, for the intentions of my family and friends, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen.
At a high or low point during the day, we pray to the Holy Spirit, handing over our accomplishments or sufferings:
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of thy faithful, and enkindle in us the fire of thy love, send forth thy spirit and we shall be created, and though shall renew the face of the earth. Amen.
At some point each day, on our own or with our family or friends, we pray to our Mother Mary in the form of Guadalupe, giving all that we have and are to Jesus through Mary by reciting one of the following:
- A daily Rosary, focusing on the Fruits of the Mystery.
- The Hail Holy Queen
Every night before we go to sleep, by ourselves or with our wife, we pray a nightly examine using the ACTS formula:
- Adoration: We adore you and Christ and we bless You, because by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.
- Contrition: Ask God for forgiveness for all the times you have sinned or fallen short that day,
- Thanksgiving: Thank God for all the gifts he has given you that day, including the grace for those moments you have acted virtuously and towards the Good.
- Supplication: We ask God for his blessings that night and the next day, either with particular requests or in general, and end with a prayer dedicating ourselves to Him through Our Lady of Guadalupe: All that we have and all that we are, we give to your hands Jesus, through the heart of Mary, your blessed mother. Amen.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pray for Us.
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