My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, 

I hope we have grasped the opportunity to engage in some additional Spiritual Discipline during this year, especially the opportunity for extra times of worship. The theme of worship runs through the lessons beginning with the Ten Commandments given to Israel that define Israel’s relationship with God. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.” Like Israel, we too are invited into a relationship with God who through Jesus Christ has rescued us from sin and death and has given us a new commandment that we love one another as he has loved us. 

This “new commandment” is a summary of the Ten Commandments, for in the words of the Catechism we learn two things, our duty to God and our neighbours: to believe and trust God and to love him with our whole heart, and to love our neighbours as ourselves and to do them no harm. 

The first four commandments therefore define what it means to worship God, to be in a loving relationship with God, to put nothing in place of God and to set aside time for prayer and the study of God’s word.  Richard Foster reminds us that “we worship the Lord not only because of who he is but also because of what he has done.  We praise God for who he is and thank him for what he has done.” 

The other commandments demonstrate our duty to ourselves and our relationship with our neighbour, beautifully summarized in the words of Jesus (citing Leviticus 19:18) you must “love your neighbour as yourself”.  The commandments help us to “see more clearly our sin and our need for redemption.” 

As we come to the close of 2024, it is my prayer that we may see our need to draw closer to God and his Son Jesus through our worship and other spiritual disciplines and demonstrate our love of neighbour by our acts of kindness and service. 

Have a blessed week. 

Yours in Christ, 

Patrick+