This is my prayer:
that your love may increase ever more and more
in knowledge and every kind of perception,
to discern what is of value,
so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness
that comes through Jesus Christ
for the glory and praise of God. (Phil 1:9-11)
In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he tells them how he hopes they will grow in the faith by learning to discern what is of value. He wants them to increase in the faith day by day, never turning back.
The Gospel today alludes to John the Baptist, that voice crying out in the wilderness.
John, too, spoke about increase. He told his disciples once that He [Jesus] must increase while John must decrease.
The more we draw the Lord into our lives, the more of the Lord shows in our lives and less of ourselves.
That is a good thing.
It is a very good thing.
The world is filled with example after example of what can go wrong when people are “in it” for themselves. They increase their fame, power, prestige, whatever, and all sorts of others get hurt and/or fall by the wayside.
When Jesus increases in us, however, more and more people get served.
I, too, pray that your love may increase more and more each day!
FAITH ACTION: Sometimes, more is better. Spend a bit more time in prayer today than you usually do. If you are in the vicinity of St. Thomas More, try coming to Taize prayer tonight at 6:00 p.m.