Thank you again to all who have been
keeping my Mother and our family in your prayers. This past week, she had a stent put in which
has offered some relief. We are still
concerned about a number of things, but we are very grateful for her progress
so far. My Mother and all of us know the
support of prayers. [This week, I am happy to report, she was discharged from the hospital to a rehab facility, Mother Angeline McCrory Manor. We are very pleased with this step forward and are hopeful that soon she will find her way home again.]
Last weekend, I offered some
comments [in my homily] concerning a practical way of living in response to the Gospel in the
world as it is today. I think they bear
repeating.
The Scriptures show
us some practical steps to take:
- Don’t begrudge God your time for worship – the Sabbath rest and the Holy Days
that are set aside for Him. That
means, not complaining about having to be at Mass every Sunday, and not
looking at your watch at Mass to budget the time you give to God. Even when it takes longer than expected,
I’ll bet you give more time to sitting in traffic or waiting in line for
some earthly things than you do to God….
- Pay attention to what your choices do to
the needy – are you
using things more luxurious than needed when others at your doorstep are
without? Can you choose to take a
step down from your own comfort (your equivalent of “ivory couches”) to
make something available for another in need? Who gets your time, besides you?
- Can you pay attention to how those who do
not have God in their lives show passion for the things they value – and
try to follow their example by showing the same kind of passion for God?
What if you were cheer on a preacher on a Sunday the way sports
enthusiasts cheer on their team?
Some congregations shout out “Amens!”
to show they are getting the Spirit.
Can you find your own equivalent?
Praise, you servants of the
LORD, praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD both now and forever.
Blessed be the name of the LORD both now and forever.
I would also like to suggest some thoughts that come from the interview with Pope Francis that the press has been distorting so often. The Pope is not changing any teachings of the Church. Rather, he is calling all of us to renew our commitment to the Source of those teachings – namely, Jesus Christ. We are invited to realize that the Lord is merciful and that He looks upon us with eyes of Mercy. When He looks at us, He loves us as we are. He invites us to put His teachings into practice and to become witnesses.
We know that the Church has
teachings that stretch all of us. We are
destined for Eternity. If we have our
sights set only on what this world has to offer, we will not get very far. But first things are first: God’s Love is
primary. He first loved us. By grace, He forgives us and brings us closer
to Him than we were before we responded to His look at us. And others will join us when we show that
love in our relationship with them.
The many other truths that flow from
the Gospel take some time to understand.
If we start with the many details, we can get lost in them. If we start with Jesus and His Love and His
Mercy, and His invitation to Life with Him, then we can get lost in Him
instead, and want to live what He teaches.
So, let’s begin! We have Eternity
ahead of us.
Year of Faith October
11, 2012 – November 24, 2013
We continue our journey through the Year
of Faith. As one way of observing
this year, each week a small section of the Catechism
of the Catholic Church is read before the start of Mass.
CHAPTER THREE MAN’S RESPONSE TO GOD
Faith and understanding
156 What moves us to believe is not the fact that revealed truths appear as true and intelligible in the light of our natural reason: we believe “because of the authority of God himself who reveals them, who can neither deceive nor be deceived.” (Dei Filius 3: Denzinger-Schonmetzer 3008.) So “that the submission of our faith might nevertheless be in accordance with reason, God willed that external proofs of his Revelation should be joined to the internal helps of the Holy Spirit.” (Dei Filius 3: Denzinger-Schonmetzer 3009.) Thus the miracles of Christ and the saints, prophecies, the Church’s growth and holiness, and her fruitfulness and stability “are the most certain signs of divine Revelation, adapted to the intelligence of all”; they are “motives of credibility” (motiva credibilitatis), which show that the assent of faith is “by no means a blind impulse of the mind.” (Dei Filius 3: Denzinger-Schonmetzer 3008-10; cf. Mark 16:20; Hebrews 2:4.)
157 Faith is certain. It is more certain than all human knowledge because it is founded on the very word of God who cannot lie. To be sure, revealed truths can seem obscure to human reason and experience, but “the certainty that the divine light gives is greater than that which the light of natural reason gives.” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica II-II, 171, 5, obj. 3.) “Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt.” (John Henry Cardinal Newman, Apologia pro vita sua.)
Comment: Faith is
addressed to the Truth that God reveals.
For this reason, we can be more certain about Faith than we can about
anything else made known to us. God is
Truth. We can be sure of God. He is trustworthy. Do you believe in God? Do you trust in God
and in what He has made known to you through Faith?
Focolare Word of Life for September 2013:
Focolare Word of Life for October 2013:
"Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one
who loves another has fulfilled the law." (Rom.
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