Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time A
True happiness - the happiness of Christ (Matthew 5:1-12)
My dear friends, every one desires to be happy - this is so obvious that it scarcely needs to be said. The Constitution of the United States proclaims that one of the things that are self-evident is that all men have the right to pursue happiness. This right comes from God, and is, it says, inalienable. That is quite true. And what would we think of a person who did not want to seek happiness? That person would be very strange indeed, and would need psychiatric help. But we can seek in a very mistaken manner. Some things people think will bring happiness actually do them harm. A great number of people assume that our fullest happiness will come from the enjoyment of this world’s goods. Various great religious leaders have arisen in the course of mankind’s history to correct this attitude, but they themselves have not arrived at the full truth of the matter. It is God who has revealed in Christ what is God’s plan for our happiness. Happiness comes from loving God with all our mind, heart, soul, and strength, and expressing this love by obeying his will in all things. Now all this is made concrete in our Lord Jesus Christ who is God become man. So our fullest happiness here on earth and hereafter in heaven lies in knowing and loving the person of Jesus with all our power, and in living his teaching.
In today’s Gospel our Lord spells out what this means in even more specific terms. It is not material wealth, prevailing over others and dominating them, and many other things which man in the course of his history has presumed will bring him happiness. Rather, our Lord says, how happy are the poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Happy are the gentle. Happy are those who mourn. Happy are those who hunger and thirst for justice. Happy are the merciful, the pure of heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted in the cause of right and because of their fidelity to Christ. All these things qualities, desires and possessions of the heart are what will bring true happiness here and hereafter.
And indeed, these beatitudes, these directions coming from our Lord about true happiness actually present us with a picture of him. If we want to know how to interpret them, we should take each of these beatitudes and think of Jesus as the one who embodies them. They reflect the mind of Christ, and St Paul says in one of his Letters, let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus. More than this, our Lord said that he who sees him sees the Father, so the beatitudes reflect also the mind of the Father. The Father is poor in spirit, gentle, merciful. They describe the spirit of God, the triune God. We are God’s children, and our happiness will come from being in union with him and in being like him.
Now the danger for most of us is not in rejecting this outright and in seeking our happiness in a way that is simply contrary to the beatitudes as our Lord directs and describes. It is rather in not choosing to be wholehearted in our choice for him and for what he has revealed. We tend to seek our happiness in both God and the world, both in Christ and in what Christ says will not bring happiness. We tend not to be thoroughgoing in our choice for Christ, and in his way to happiness. What we must do is resolve to seek our happiness in God alone. Does this mean not enjoying (within due limits) the blessings that God has given us in this world and in this life, such as normal material security and benefits, normal good health, friends, family, normal status and good reputation, and so forth? No, but it does mean seeking God and his holy will in, precisely in, all of these things. It means putting God and his will before all other pleasures and sources of happiness. It means living according to the mind of Christ and being attached to that, rather than to the things of this world which we use in the way our Lord would.
Let us resolve to put Christ first in our
life,
and to seek first the kingdom of God, making that our happiness.
(E.J.Tyler)
Further Reading: The Catechism of the Catholic Church, no.1716-1728
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Ask your Mother Mary, ask Saint Joseph and your
Guardian
Angel to speak to the Lord and tell him the things you can’t manage to
put into words because you are so dull.
(The Forge,
no.272)
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Monday of the Fourth Week of Ordinary Time I
(January 31) St John Bosco, priest (1815-1888). St John Bosco founded the Salesian Society, named in honour of St Francis de Sales, and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. His lifework was the welfare of young boys and girls, hence his title “Apostle of Youth.” He had no formal system or theory of education. His methods centred on persuasion, authentic religiosity, and love for young people. He was an enlightened educator and innovator.
Grace in human weakness (Hebrews 11:32-40)
There is a remark in today’s passage from the Letter to the Hebrews which ought give us pause. The inspired author is referring to the great men of faith whose deeds are mentioned in Scripture - the Old Testament. It was their faith that enabled them to do what they did. But the author says that “they were weak people who were given strength to be brave” in all their difficulties. That is a key point in the matter of holiness that ought give each of us a lot of hope.
If we have any sense of the reality about ourselves we will realise that we are weak. We are weak in so many ways. And yet God calls us to be what those mentioned by the inspired author were, namely “heroes of faith”. We are called to be saints, the Church teaches us, not workers of notable and famous deeds - though of course those who are called to do such deeds are also called to be saints. No, our course of life, our work, will be ordinary and relatively unnoticed. Our work in life will normally be made up of countless little things that nobody will ever take much notice of. It will seem as if we sink like a stone, when our time comes to depart this life. Nevertheless we are called to do the ordinary work that God in his providence sets before us each day, a work made up of countless daily duties. We are called to do this ordinary work with as much love and excellence and obedience to God as is possible for us. It will require that we be hidden, unnoticed “heroes of faith”.
But we are weak. The passage tells us that we will
be
given the strength to live a holy life, a life of faith. We must take
the
means God gives us - prayer, sacraments, spiritual direction, and
always
starting again.
(E.J.Tyler)
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Fill yourself with confidence. The Mother we have is
the
Mother of God, the Most Blessed Virgin, the Queen of Heaven and Earth.
(The Forge, no.273)
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Ordinary Time I
The fight against sin (Hebrews 12:1-4)
One of the very famous books of Catholic spirituality is the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius Loyola. The fundamental point from which the Exercises begin, the foundational meditation sets forth why we are created. We are created to love God above all things. And so we must be detached from all that may come between us and God. Our whole attachment of mind and heart ought be to God, leading us to actively cast off anything that turns our hearts away from God.
And this is what our passage today from the Letter to the Hebrews (12:1-4) stresses. “With so many witnesses in a great cloud on every side of us, we too then, should throw off everything that hinders us, especially the sin that clings so easily, and keep running steadily in the race we have started.” Let us notice a detail: "we should throw off everything that hinders us - especially sin". So there is especially sin, such as the deliberate venial sins of every day that hang on and on, and that all too often we do not really fight. But while we "especially" throw off sin, there are other hindrances as well, such as various attachments (such as love of our comfort) which may not be deliberate sins, but nevertheless hinder us in the race we have started at our baptism.
It is a race, a fight, “to the point of death”
(12:4).
We are called to attain sanctity, a union with Jesus that is total. To
reach this, we shall have a fight on our hands. The great danger is
that
we shall constantly try to avoid the fight against sin, and settle down
to a peaceful coexistence with it. “Let us not lose sight of Jesus, who
leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection”. Let the living
Jesus
live by faith in our hearts, and lead us through the fight to life
eternal
with him.
(E.J.Tyler)
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Jesus was born in a cave in Bethlehem because,
Sacred
Scripture tells us, “there was no room for them in the inn.” I am not
departing
from theological truths when I say that Jesus is still looking for
shelter
in your hearts.
(The Forge, no.274)
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The Presentation of the Lord (February 2)
This feast was first observed in the Eastern Church
as
“The Encounter”. In the sixth century it began to be observed in the
West:
in Rome with a more penitential character, and in Gaul with solemn
blessings
and processions of candles, popularly known as “Candlemas”. The
presentation
of the Lord concludes the celebration of the Nativity, and with the
offerings
of the Virgin Mother and the prophecy of Simeon, the events now point
towards
Easter.
The action of the Holy Spirit (Luke 2: 22-40)
Let us consider in our mind’s eye the figures gathered around the infant Messiah on the occasion of his presentation in the Temple. The focus of the event as described in Luke would seem to be Simeon and Anna. To begin with, consider Simeon. “He was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to Israel’s comforting, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had set eyes on the Christ of the Lord. Prompted by the Spirit, he came to the Temple”. Notice how in each of these three sentences describing Simeon, the action of the Holy Spirit is expressly mentioned. Simeon is a man whose life was guided by the Holy Spirit - like many other good and holy children of the Old Testament. He was in this particular respect a forerunner of the New Dispensation, when the Holy Spirit would be poured out on all. Just as the Holy Spirit led him to long for the Messiah, and indeed guided him into the presence of the Messiah, so the Holy Spirit is given to the many now (from the Messiah) in order to guide them to the Messiah.
And then there is Anna, the prophetess. She too, though the action of the Holy Spirit in her life is not explicitly cited in the passage, is profoundly under the Holy Spirit’s influence. She too “came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.” The Holy Spirit made of her a true temple for himself, made her holy, and led her to the Messiah. She in turn, led by the Holy Spirit, spoke of the Messiah to others.
Apart from Simeon and Anna the prophetess, there is Mary and Joseph, outstripping both Simeon and Anna as instruments and dwelling places of the Holy Spirt, especially the all-holy Virgin Mary. The entire scene reminds us that the Holy Spirit who has been given to us gathers us all around the person of Jesus, and leads us to bring others to Jesus.
Let us constantly pray to the Holy Spirit for light
and
strength that we be worthy disciples of the Master.
(E.J.Tyler)
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Our Lord is upon the Cross saying, I am suffering so
that
men, who are my brothers, may be happy, not only in Heaven, but also -
as far as possible - on earth, if they really embrace the most Holy
Will
of my heavenly Father.
(The Forge, no.275)
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Thursday of the Fourth Week of Ordinary Time I
St Blaise, bishop and martyr (4th century). He enjoyed widespread veneration in the Eastern and Western Churches due to many cures attributed to him. He was bishop of Sebaste in Armenia and was martyred under Licinius (320-324).
St Ansgar, bishop (801-865). Born in Bremen,
Germany,
Ansgar became known as the “Apostle of the North” for his great
evangelical
work in Denmark and Sweden. He was Bishop of Hamburg and then of
Bremen.
Gregory IV appointed him as his delegate to Denmark and Sweden.
Living by faith (Hebrews 12:18-19.21-24)
Some years back I remember a person who was doing a spiritual retreat complaining about one fundamental feature of a religious life. She said, speaking of a life devoted to the person of Christ, I want to love someone I can see and touch and hear and hold. What she found as her stumbling block was the necessity of living by faith and not by sight.
In today’s passage from the Letter to the Hebrews the inspired author tells us that what we “have come to is nothing known to the senses” (Heb 12:18). The author points to the great meeting between God and Moses in which so much of what was seen and heard was spectacular. But in our case the realities we are in touch with and in the midst of which we daily live while being far greater are relatively unseen. They are God and Jesus and the entire New Dispensation, which has replaced the Old. We are reminded of what our Lord said to Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”
The point, though, that we ought take from this stress on faith is that we must use and be faithful to the means of living a constant and deep life of faith, as if we can indeed see these unseen realities. It requires great fidelity to daily and constant prayer, spiritual reading, some regular study of what God has revealed as the Church teaches it to be, reliable spiritual direction, and a fervent sacramental life.
We have received from the Holy Spirit at our Baptism
a
heavenly gift, a supernatural virtue, enabling and inclining us to
believe
what God has revealed. We must act on this and with the love and hope
which
we also received, exercise the gift. Fruits of sanctity will result.
(E.J.Tyler)
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It is true that your contribution is nil and that it
is
God who does everything in your soul. However, let not this be the case
as far as your correspondence to his grace is concerned.
(The Forge, no.276)
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<>Friday of the Fourth Week of Ordinary Time ICardinal Newman once wrote that if we are faithful to the voice of our conscience, that voice will take us to the truth about God and to personal holiness. He taught that the conscience is the echo of the voice of God, and in being obedient to its dictates (even if mistaken) the hand of God will be guiding us. But following the voice of conscience is no easy matter.
King Herod as described in today’s Gospel (Mark 6:14-29) had a conscience, and that conscience made its voice clear to him. “Herod was afraid of John, knowing him to be a good and holy man, and gave him his protection” against Herodias his wife. When he heard John speak “he was greatly perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him.” If only Herod had submitted to the voice of conscience!
But he did not. He listened to other voices. He listened especially to the voice of human respect - what others thought of him. He made his extravagant promise to the daughter of Herodias (of half his kingdom) out of bravado to impress his guests. Then “thinking of his oaths and of his guests” he could not face up to going back on his loud and boastful promise. The voice of conscience was snuffed out and he was led into a terrible sin. In another part of the Gospel Christ referred to Herod as “that fox”, and during his Passion refused to speak to him.
This failure to follow the enlightened conscience,
the
conscience that submits to the truth that comes from God’s oracle, is
the
greatest source of human failure. In a lesser yet still tragic scale it
can happen to us daily - every time we commit a truly deliberate venial
sin. Let us pray for the grace to do our duty no matter how small and
no
matter what the cost.
(E.J.Tyler)
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Practise the virtue of hope and, with God as your
motive,
even w hen you find it hard, persevere at your work and try to finish
it
well, convinced that those efforts of yours are not useless in the
Lord’s
sight.
(The Forge, no.277)
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Saturday of the Fourth Week of Ordinary Time I
(February 5) St Agatha, virgin and martyr (died about 251). She was martyred in Catania (Sicily) probably during the time of Decius. Her name appears in the Roman Canon.
Times of holy rest (Mark 6:30-34)
We notice in our Gospel scene today (Mark 6:30-34) a detail that comes from our Lord himself. The apostles had been busy with the work of the Lord, “for there were so many coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat.”. They told our Lord all they had done and taught. What did our Lord say? “You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while. Our Lord did not say that they were doing too much, but he did say that they “must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while.” This provides us with a lesson.
It is very important that we do as much as we can in life for God. We were, in a sense, created to work - provided we transform our work into a worthy offering for God. But we must also rest, provided our rest too is something holy and pleasing to God. It ought be a renewal of our physical, intellectual, and above all our spiritual life, enabling us to begin again at the work God has given us to do and which will bring glory to Him.
Just as the apostles worked with our Lord, so they
rested
with our Lord. How should we rest? Like them we ought rest with our
Lord. Just as we should
work
with our Lord and for him, so we should rest with our Lord and for him.
We rest with our Lord in gentle prayer and prayerful thought, and by
pursuing
our physical, cultural and intellectual interests. But whether in work
or in wholesome rest our call to holiness must be uppermost in our
life.
Let us then remember that every day just as God awaits us in our work,
so he awaits us in our rest.
(E.J.Tyler)
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When there is the desire and also the reality of
pleasing
God continually in your daily work, which is normally made up of many
little
things, I assure you that nothing is ever lost.
(The Forge, no.278)
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Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time A
The Christian: salt and light for the world (Matthew 5:13-16)
Each member of Christ’s faithful, every baptised member of the Church, has an enormous responsibility that can so easily be missed or quietly ignored. Our Lord told parables about those who ignore their responsibilities and the judgment they face. Ultimately, in the long run, as far as each of us is concerned there will be two beings that matter: God and my self. That meeting between God and me will involve a judgment and no one will be able to come between me and God who will judge me. Our judgment, final and with no further appeal, will be on how we fulfilled our God-given responsibilities. Now each of us who has been baptised into Christ has the most important responsibility of bearing witness to Christ in the world that is immediately around us, our family, workplace, friends, parish, wherever.
It is this which our Lord refers to in today’s Gospel. We are to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Salt of the earth. In those days salt not only gave flavour to food and made it pleasing, but it preserved it from corruption. Right up to fairly modern times before refrigeration was invented whenever a long sea voyage was being undertaken, the meat would have to be salted for its period at sea. Salt preserved the meat for a time, otherwise the meat would go bad fairly quickly. The Christian who gives his life to Christ and to the pursuit of holiness through union with Christ makes the world pleasing to God and preserves it from corruption and consequent spiritual death. But if the salt loses its saltiness, it is useless and has to be thrown out to be trampled underfoot by men. How do we lose our saltiness? By neglecting to cultivate with real fervour our spiritual life. Our Lord says that we are the light of the world. Why? Because we have the true light, which is Christ. Our light must shine in the sight of men, but it will not if the light that has been given to us at our baptism has died down and is barely a flicker, perhaps has all but gone out. Even if it is shining still, perhaps it should be shining far more. It will not shine brightly if Christ is not the great light of our own lives, if he is neglected and disregarded. Our responsibility to be the light of the world will not have been fulfilled.
So then, we must be true salt, with our saltiness being of very good quality. We must be a true light that enlightens those around us, and not one that has become dim. It all gets down to being very careful with our daily spiritual life. This in turn gets down to our having a plan of life which is very well thought out and which is kept to. Let me suggest some elements of this plan of life.
We ought begin each day prayerfully. I would suggest about ten minutes at the beginning of each day in the presence of our Lord, perhaps with the Gospel in our hands. Begin with the morning offering and then be with him. We should do a little spiritual reading each day, five or ten minutes - perhaps reading the Gospel and a little of a life of a saint. I would recommend a careful praying of the Rosary, or at least part of it. I would recommend the Angelus once. We ought make an examination of conscience at the end of the day. We ought cultivate a devotion to our Lord in the Blessed Eucharist - with Sunday Mass at the centre of the week, but considering going to Mass more often than that, and brief visits to the Blessed Sacrament during the week, and spiritual communions. I would recommend frequent and regular Confession. Then make a real effort to transform one’s daily work into a real service to God, trying to sanctify it and oneself and others through it. Sanctify your daily work, filling it with the presence of God.
Lent begins this Wednesday, Ash Wednesday.
Let’s
make this Lent a time of real renewal, a new beginning in a plan of
life
for our spiritual growth. Work out your plan of life for each day along
the lines I have mentioned, and stick to it with fervour and
generosity.
We are all called to personal holiness. We shall never be the salt of
the
earth and the light of the world as we are required to be if we are not
making a persevering effort to seek holiness of life. Remember we shall
be judged on our responsibilities. Let’s make that our target for Lent
this year.
(E.J.Tyler)
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You would be right in thinking: how good the Lord
is,
who has sought me and has made known to me this holy path where I can
be
effective and where I can love all men, bringing them peace and
happiness.
This thought has then to be turned into resolutions.
(The Forge, no.279)
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Monday of the Fifth Week of Ordinary Time I
Our work (Genesis 1:1-19)
One of the mot common mistakes is to think that our work is not of much value and to think that the work of others is not of much value. We tend to think that the only value our work has is that of delivering into our hands a pay packet, and were it not for that, we would not work at all.
But that is not how God is revealed to be acting, from the very first pages of the Bible. God is immediately revealed to us to be at work, at work creating this world. So to be at work, provided it is work in accordance with God’s will, makes us similar to God. As God works, so should we. So intent was the inspired author of the first chapter of Genesis on giving us this picture of God that he shows God engaged in a working week, finishing with a day of rest. And so if we work well - and God worked well, for everything he made he saw to be good - if we work well each day and each week, and duly observe our Sabbath rest as God commands in the third commandment, then we shall be very like God.
We should aspire to work well all our lives and to make our work a means whereby we grow in the likeness of our heavenly Father. We should make our work a means of sanctification. Our Lord said, when attacked for curing on the Sabbath, that “My Father is working, and so I keep on working.” The Gospel is full of the portrayal of our Lord busy at his work.
We should strive to be like him, busy at our
God-given
daily work, making it something holy.
(E.J.Tyler)
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You know that you will never lack God’s grace,
because
he has chosen you from all eternity. And if this is what he has done
for
you, he will grant you all the help you need to be faithful to him as
his
son. Go forward, therefore, with a sure step and try to correspond at
every
moment to the promptings of God’s grace.
(The Forge, no.280)
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Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Ordinary Time I
St Jerome Emiliani (1486-1537). Born in Venice. Converted to Christianity after a rather dissolute youth, he dedicated himself to the service of the poor, the sick, and abandoned children. He founded a congregation (Somaschi) which looked after the education of children, especially orphaned. He died of the plague while serving the afflicted.
We are God’s children (Genesis 1:20-2:4)
In our passage from the first chapter of Genesis today, God is portrayed as the source of all things that exist. Everything that he made is good. If then we aspire to live in the light of what God has revealed, we ought look on the world around us as utterly dependent on the Creator, and, because dependent on him, somewhat like him - in that it exists, and in that it is good. The world’s existence ought constantly remind us of the reality and goodness of God.
But the crown of our world is man - and this is clearly a teaching of Genesis too. While the things God has made are good in his eyes, man is made in his own image, and so is very good. This created goodness in turn points to a far greater goodness in store for man, and is its natural basis. The far greater calling derives from man’s being placed in Christ. In Christ we are called to be filled with the holiness of God, sharing his own divine life. Man can be much more than very good - a goodness that has been profoundly spoilt by sin. Man is called to be a saint.
Let us be profoundly grateful for the gift of human
life
and the gift of divine life, making us God’s children. Let us live what
we are, recognising our dignity, and live it to the fullest.
(E.J.Tyler)
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I ask the Mother of God to smile on us if she
wishes,
if she can..... She will indeed do so. Moreover, she will reward our
generosity
a thousandfold here on earth. A thousandfold, that is what I am asking
her for!
(The Forge, no.281)
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Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Taking up our daily cross (Luke 9:22-25)
It is a God-given instinct, inherent in our nature, to avoid suffering and to draw back from whatever might harm us. We avoid allowing ourselves to be burnt by fire, or to be placed in other dangerous situations. They cause pain, and pain is the protective alarm system drawing us back from suffering in order to protect us. The animals have this instinct, and some plants show evidence of something like it. But like every natural tendency in the case of man, it must be guided by reason (or higher faith) in what is in our best interests.
Now, our Lord tells us that if we want to be a follower of his, we must renounce ourselves and take up our cross every day and follow him (Luke 9:22-25). So the acceptance of hardship in hte following of our Lord and the embrace or taking up of sufferings that are part and parcel of living in union with him are an indispensable element of being his disciple. We will tend to avoid the difficulties that are part of this course. It is natural. But our Lord says that if we give in to this tendency we cannot be his disciple.
Lent is a time of grace and opportunity. The grace and opportunity relate to taking up the cross and renouncing ourselves - making a start precisely in this. The tendency will be never to face up to this exigency, the exigency of the cross of daily life. That cross is, more often than not, the cross of the fulfilment of the little duties as perfectly as possible - but there are other crosses too. This is the one great thing that is necessary if we are to follow our Lord to sanctity. So let’s make a start in practical and attainable ways during this Lent. Let’s plan it and get down to it in the concrete of daily life.
Lent is a time of opportunity and grace.
(E.J.Tyler)
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Practise a cheerful charity which is at once kindly
and
firm; human and at the same time supernatural. It should be an
affectionate
charity, knowing how to welcome everyone with a sincere and habitual
smile,
and how to understand the ideas and the feelings of others. In this
way,
with gentleness and strength, and without concessions in matters of
personal
morals or in doctrine, the charity of Christ - when it is being well
lived
- will give you a spirit of conquest. Each day you will have a greater
desire to work for souls.
(The Forge, no.282)
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Friday after Ash Wednesday I
The Bridegroom is taken away (Matthew 9:14-15)
One of the most beautiful and striking images that Yahweh God uses of himself in the Old Testament is that of the Husband or Bridegroom. I remember being told by one scripture scholar that in his opinion the very meaning of the word Yahweh is akin to Bridegroom - akin to it. God is the Husband or Bridegroom, and Israel is his Spouse. The bond was meant to be unbreakable. Because Israel did in fact break this bond repeatedly, God promised and brought about a new covenant.
In this new covenant Christ is the Bridegroom. St John the Baptist described our Lord at the beginning of his public ministry as the bridegroom, and himself as the bridegroom’s attendant. And now, here in our Gospel passage today (Matthew 9:14-15) our Lord describes himself as the Bridegroom. He occupies the place of Yahweh in the new covenant between God and his people. However, the Bridegroom has been taken away from us - in the sense that he is no longer directly visible to the senses. So our hearts can the more easily be led astray and we can forget the bridegroom of our souls. We must then fast in the sense of denying ourselves those things that are taking us away from full union with our Bridegroom.
Let us use Lent to make a real start in the
self-denial
that should characterise the life of the authentic Christian who
aspires
to sanctity.
(E.J.Tyler)
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My son, I said with assurance, in spreading our
“madness”
to other apostles I am not unaware of the “obstacles” we will find.
Some
of them may appear insurmountable ... But the waters will pass through
the midst of the mountains. Our supernatural spirit and the drive of
our
zeal will cut through the mountains and we shall overcome those
obstacles.
(The Forge, no.283)
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Saturday after Ash Wednesday I
Leaving all (Luke 5:27-32)
The great and ever pressing issue of each day is the call of God to each of us that we be saints, hidden, known as such only to God, but saints nevertheless. It means loving God with all our heart, expressing this love in the generous fulfilment of our daily duties, and being prepared to struggle to bring this about - with the grace of God.
Now why is it that all too often we make so little progress? All too often it is because the pattern of our life does not reflect what St Matthew did when our Lord said to him, “Follow me.” Matthew left everything and got up and followed him. That disposition to leave all was what our Lord wanted. With that readiness to respond to his call immediately our Lord could lead Matthew on to sanctity and to a total following in his footsteps. But by contrast consider the rich young man. He came to our Lord and asked what he had to do to gain eternal life. Our Lord invited him to leave all and to follow him. But he went away sad.
Let us this Lent leave behind what is preventing us
from
a total following of the Master each day. In this lies the grandeur or
ordinary life. Let what we see in Matthew’s response to our Lord’s call
be the pattern of our lives.
(E.J.Tyler)
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“My God, my God. All of them were equally loved,
through
you, in you and with you, and now they are all scattered.” Thus you
complained
when you saw yourself once again all alone and lacking in human
resources.
But our Lord immediately made you feel sure in your soul that He would
sort it out. And you said to him: “You will fix everything.” And so he
did. God solved everything sooner, more fully and better than you
expected.
(The Forge, no.284)
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The First Sunday of Lent
Message of His Holiness John Paul II for Lent 2005
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
1. Each year, the Lenten Season is set before us as a good opportunity for the intensification of prayer and penance, opening hearts to the docile welcoming of the divine will. During Lent, a spiritual journey is outlined for us that prepares us to relive the Great Mystery of the Death and Resurrection of Christ. This is done primarily by listening to the Word of God more devoutly and by practicing mortification more generously, thanks to which it is possible to render greater assistance to those in need.
This year, dear brothers and sisters, I wish to bring to your attention a theme which is rather current, well-illustrated by the following verse from Deuteronomy: "Loving the Lord ... means life to you, and length of days..." (30:20). These are the words that Moses directs to the people, inviting them to embrace the Covenant with Yahweh in the country of Moab, "that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord, your God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him" (30:19-20). The fidelity to this divine Covenant is for Israel a guarantee of the future: "that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them" (30:20). According to the biblical understanding, reaching old age is a sign of the Most High's gracious benevolence. Longevity appears, therefore, as a special divine gift.
It is upon this theme that I would like to ask you to reflect during this Lent, in order to deepen the awareness of the role that the elderly are called to play in society and in the Church, and thus to prepare your hearts for the loving welcome that should always be reserved for them. Thanks to the contribution of science and medicine, one sees in society today a lengthening of the human life span and a subsequent increase in the number of elderly. This demands more specific attention to the world of so-called old age, in order to help its members to live their full potential by placing them at the service of the entire community. The care of the elderly, above all when they pass through difficult moments, must be of great concern to all the faithful, especially in the ecclesial communities of Western societies, where the problem is particularly present.
2. Human life is a precious gift to be loved and defended in each of its stages. The Commandment "You shall not kill!" always requires respecting and promoting human life, from its beginning to its natural end. It is a command that applies even in the presence of illness and when physical weakness reduces the person's ability to be self-reliant. If growing old, with its inevitable conditions, is accepted serenely in the light of faith, it can become an invaluable opportunity for better comprehending the Mystery of the Cross, which gives full sense to human existence.
The elderly need to be understood and helped in this perspective. I wish, here, to express my appreciation to those who dedicate themselves to fulfilling these needs, and I also call upon other people of good will to take advantage of Lent for making their own personal contribution. This will allow many elderly not to think of themselves as a burden to the community, and sometimes even to their own families, living in a situation of loneliness that leads to the temptation of isolating themselves or becoming discouraged.
It is necessary to raise the awareness in public opinion that the elderly represent, in any case, a resource to be valued. For this reason, economic support and legislative initiatives, which allow them not to be excluded from social life, must be strengthened. In truth, during the last decade, society has become more attentive to their needs, and medicine has developed palliative cures that, along with an integral approach to the sick person, are particularly beneficial for long-term patients.
3. The greater amount of free time in this stage of life offers the elderly the opportunity to face the primary issues that perhaps had been previously set aside, due to concerns that were pressing or considered a priority nonetheless. Knowledge of the nearness of the final goal leads the elderly person to focus on that which is essential, giving importance to those things that the passing of years do not destroy.
Precisely because of this condition, the elderly person can carry out his or her role in society. If it is true that man lives upon the heritage of those who preceded him, and that his future depends definitively on how the cultural values of his own people are transmitted to him, then the wisdom and experience of the elderly can illuminate his path on the way of progress toward an ever more complete form of civilization.
How important it is to rediscover this mutual enrichment between different generations! The Lenten Season, with its strong call to conversion and solidarity, leads us this year to focus on these important themes which concern everyone. What would happen if the People of God yielded to a certain current mentality that considers these people, our brothers and sisters, as almost useless when they are reduced in their capacities due to the difficulties of age or sickness? Instead, how different the community would be, if, beginning with the family, it tries always to remain open and welcoming towards them.
4. Dear brothers and sisters, during Lent, aided by the Word of God, let us reflect upon how important it is that each community accompany with loving understanding those who grow old. Moreover, one must become accustomed to thinking confidently about the mystery of death, so that the definitive encounter with God occurs in a climate of interior peace, in the awareness that He "who knit me in my mother's womb" (cf. Psalm 139:13b) and who willed us "in his image and likeness" (cf. Genesis 1:26) will receive us.
Mary, our guide on the Lenten journey, leads all believers, especially the elderly, to an ever more profound knowledge of Christ dead and risen, who is the ultimate reason for our existence. May she, the faithful servant of her divine Son, together with Saints Ann and Joachim, intercede for each one of us "now and at the hour of our death."
My Blessing to All!
From the Vatican, September 8, 2004
JOHN PAUL II
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Loving Christ in those in need (Matthew 25:31-46)
A very notable feature of many ancient religions and of many traditional religions of primitive societies and peoples is that the practices of religion are directed to the god or gods, with little concern, relatively speaking, for one’s fellow man. The dictates of the religion are oriented to honouring and placating the gods.
Now, of course in revealed religion both Old and New there are abundant elements that direct one to the honour and worship of God. This is the primary purpose of religion. It is God who must be honoured and loved above all else. But very obvious in revealed religion is the constant reference to justice and charity towards one’s neighbour. Numerous passages from the Old Testament make it clear that as far as God is concerned, he cannot be honoured and worshipped properly if one is failing in justice and charity towards one’s neighbour in need. And the New Testament presents the judgment of God as being dominated by this issue. Our Lord tells us that at our judgment and at the General Judgment in particular we will be told that our neglect of the one in need has been counted as a culpable neglect of Christ himself. “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:31-46). The upshot will be solemn and eternal: “And they will go away to eternal punishment, and the virtuous to eternal life.” (Matthew 25:46).
Lent is the time of grace and opportunity to make a
real
step ahead in our spiritual life. Let us resolve this Lent, then, to
rediscover
Christ in our neighbour, especially in our needy neighbour. It is
because
of this (Christ being in the needy) that love for the needy will
sanctify
us.
(E.J.Tyler)
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I want to warn you against a difficulty that may
arise:
it is the temptation of weariness and discouragement. Isn’t it still
fresh
in your memory what life - your old life - used to be like, with no aim
to it no purpose, no sparkle, and then, with God’s light and your own
dedication,
a new direction was given to it a nd you were filled with joy? Don’t be
so silly as to exchange your new life for that other one.
(The Forge, no.286)
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Tuesday of the First Week of Lent I
Forgiving others (Matthew 6:7-15)
St Alphonsus Ligouri says somewhere that it is impossible to be saved if we do not pray. So we ought have the utmost appreciation for any teaching coming from our Lord himself on how we are to pray. All too often we simply take for granted the prayer he himself taught us in response to the request that he teach his disciples to pray: the Lord’s Prayer. Let us treasure the Lord’s Prayer, pondering deeply on its parts, allowing it to shape and inform our own life of prayer.
Let us especially during Lent notice and take to heart one detail. Part and parcel of Christian prayer is that we constantly ask God for forgiveness. Anyone with a sense of sin will do this, and it has to be an essential element of Lent. But our Lord says that if we hope to be forgiven by God, we must be prepared to forgive others in our turn. Let us pray for the grace to forgive others. Let us forgive, and forgive. Imagine if we reach the point by the end of our lives of going to God having forgiven everyone for everything.
“Yes, if you forgive others their failings, your
heavenly
Father will forgive you yours; but if you do not forgive others, your
Father
will not forgive your failings either.” (Matthew 6:15)
(E.J.Tyler)
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If you feel for whatever reason that you cannot
manage
to go on, abandon yourself in God, telling him: Lord, I trust in you, I
abandon myself in you, but do help me in my weakness! And filled with
confidence,
repeat: See Jesus what a filthy rage I am. My life seems to me so
miserable.
I am not worthy to be a son of yours. Tell him all this - and tell him
so over and over again. It will not be long before you hear him say: do
not be afraid; and also: rise up and walk!
(The Forge, no.287)
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Wednesday of the First Week of Lent
The spirit of repentance (Luke 11:29-32)
In our Gospel passage today our Lord makes it clear that those who were asking for signs and wonders from him were wicked - they were “a wicked generation.” They would not repent. He said all they would get was what they saw, and what they saw was far greater than what the Ninevites saw. What they saw and heard led them to repent. They must have been very disposed to repent. The “generation” that faced our Lord and heard his words did not have this disposition.
Our Lord was asking for a complete and thorough repentance, similar to that which the Bible tells us of the pagan Ninevites. As we think of these words of our Lord we are reminded that virtually everything in spiritual progress depends on our having the readiness to repent. Sin is the obstacle in our way, and we are attached to our sins. So we must renounce our sins - we must repent especially of venial sin and of anything that habitually leads to deliberate venial sin.
Let us aim at repentance during this Lent. Let us
make
it a special feature of this holy season, so that we acquire the spirit
of repentance as a gift of grace. Everything depends on it, and on our
cooperation with it.
(E.J.Tyler)
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You were still rather hesitant when you were telling
me:
“I am deeply aware of the occasions when our Lord is asking more of
me.”
All I could think of was to remind you how you used to assure me that
the
only thing you wanted was to identify yourself with him. What’s keeping
you back?
(The Forge, no.288)
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Thursday of the First Week of Lent
Ask and it will be given to you (Matthew 7:7-12)
“Ask and it will be given to you.... Your heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask him.” (Matthew 7:7-12). The greatest give we can ask for, and ask for all our lives, is the gift of personal holiness, with the gifts that enable us to seek holiness prudently and correctly.
The fact is, of course, that it is one thing to aspire to personal holiness, and it is another thing to take the means tu attain it - as is the case with seeking and attaining any goals at all. And in respect to holiness and goodness of life through doing God’s will, quite possibly when one looks back over the years all one can see are failures and mistakes which bring shame and embarrassment. What is one to do in the face of this personal experience of failure in attaining the most important goal of life? One must acknowledge it before God - one’s failures, one’s incapacity, and the certainty of continued failure if one does not have the power and guidance of God.
However, the thought of past, present and possible
future
failure ought not lead to discouragement and possible abandonment of
the
all-important goal of sanctity. Rather it should lead to a renewal of
the
commitment to and desire for this goal, but more and more totally
dependent
on the power and guidance of God. It is he and he alone who can bring
this
great work to its fruition. “Ask, and it will be given to you.” So, now
I begin! I ask for holiness and the grace to take perseveringly the
means
to attain it.
(E.J.Tyler)
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If only you could manage to fulfil that resolution
you
made: “to die a little to myself each day.”
(The Forge, no.289)
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Friday of the First Week of Lent
Holiness at any cost (Ezechiel 18:21-28; Matthew 5:20-26)
“If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:20). For so many of us, the standard of virtue we settle for is little more than average. We are content not to be worse than those around us, the Catholics we see or rub shoulders with, or the good friends we have. But our Lord has made it clear that each of us should aim very, very high. Here, of course, in our text today he is speaking specifically of our getting to heaven. But God’s plan is that we aim for the highest virtue we can possibly manage. “Be holy, as I am holy”, we read God telling us already in the Old Testament.
If holiness is ever to become our ambition we must cultivate a profound sense of personal responsibility (Ezechiel 18:21-28). We have but one life and then we face eternity. No one else will be held accountable for how we use the time we have been given. Our eternity will be determined by the degree of our love - our love for God himself, and in God our love for our neighbour. It will depend on me, for the grace of God on which everything really depends will not be lacking.
Let us take up the daily challenge: holiness at all
costs.
Now I begin!
(E.J.Tyler)
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Cheerfulness, and supernatural and human optimism,
can
go hand in hand with physical tiredness, with sorrow, with tears
(because
we have a heart), and with difficulties in our interior life or our
apostolic
work. He who is Perfect God and Perfect Man and who enjoyed every
happiness
in heaven, chose to experience fatigue and tiredness, tears and
suffering
..... so that we might understand that if we are to be supernatural we
must also be very human.
(The Forge, no.290)
After the heart of Christ (Matthew 5:43-48)
Cardinal Newman once wrote that it is quite possible for a person to close his eyes, fold his arms, and commit such a serious sin as to warrant going to hell forever. And this is true. But this remark reminds us of the broader point that the battleground for sanctity lies within our hearts. Our hearts are to be transformed into the likeness of the heart of Christ, with the heart of Mary his mother as our model. We are to be made like unto Christ at the core of our being.
And this is very much what our Gospel passage today is about. Our Lord is telling us of the imperative to love: “I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”. This is a matter of the will, of a decision of the heart. We must resolve to love our enemies and to pray for those who cause us harm. We are to aim at the perfection of love, and love is a matter of the heart - to be expressed in deeds. It is at this level that we are to be more and more like our heavenly Father who gives good things to both the good and the bad alike.
Let us aim to put on the mind and heart of Christ
through
constant vigilance, and especially by constantly living in his presence.
(E.J.Tyler)
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Jesus is asking you to pray more. You see this very
clearly.
Nonetheless ... how poor your response has been. Everything is a great
effort for you: you are like a baby who is too lazy to learn to walk.
But
in your case it isn’t just laziness. It is fear, too, and a lack of
generosity.
(The Forge, no.291)
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Second Sunday of Lent A
The Transfiguration: future glory (Matthew 7:1-9)
Cardinal Newman once wrote that all his life he could not help being struck by the scale of suffering in the world. Whatever of that, at least this has to be said, in the life of every person there will be suffering. Every parent ought remember this as they think of their children: suffering awaits them. Are they, the parents, preparing their children for this suffering? How are they to prepare them for it? Do the parents know the meaning of suffering for the Christian?
In our Gospel passage today (Matthew 7:1-9) we are presented with the transfiguration of our Lord. From the day Peter declared to Jesus that he was the Messiah the Son of the Living God, our Lord began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things, and be put to death. Tremendous sufferings awaited him. He told them that on the third day he would rise again. They could not grasp it, and Peter resisted him. Our Lord rebuked Peter, and insisted that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer to enter into his glory. Now, in the transfiguration, a foretaste of this glory was given not only to our Lord himself, but to his principal disciples. Our Lord’s face and clothes became dazzling with light, and Moses and Elijah appeared speaking of his death, his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem. A cloud covers Jesus, and a voice from heaven says: “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him.”
I invite you to look on the Transfiguration as a wonderful pointer to the glory of heaven. Our Lord shows his divine glory for a moment. He also reveals that he will have to go to this glory by way of the cross, and that this path is the will of the Father. Moses and Elijah had both seen the glory of God on the Mountain, - Moses during the period in the wilderness, and Elijah centuries later. Now they saw Christ’s glory. The Law, represented by Moses, and the prophets represented by Elijah, had announced the sufferings of the Messiah. Now these two figures speak of them with him. In this event the Blessed Trinity appeared: the Father in the voice, the Son in the man Jesus, and according to St Thomas Aquinas the Holy Spirit in the shining cloud.
Right at the beginning of our Lord’s public life the heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit made their presence known in respect to our Lord. It was at his baptism. The voice from heaven said the words, this is my beloved Son. The Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove and descended upon him. The presence of the Holy Trinity at our Lord’s baptism reminds us of the presence of the Holy Trinity at our own baptism and of how we are reborn at our baptism and made adopted sons of God. As our Lord was proclaimed by the Father at his baptism to be the Son of God, so at our baptism we are made adopted sons of God, sharing in the life of the Holy Spirit day by day as we make our way through the duties and sufferings of life towards our heavenly homeland.
Now at the threshold of his passion and death the Holy Trinity again is present and in a sense visible, reminding the disciples of the risen glory that awaited our Lord. His body was seen in glory. It reminds us of our risen glory if we remain united to Jesus through life and the suffering that life will bring. During Lent we ought often think of heaven. The way to heaven is through union with Jesus, and Jesus our Lord asks us to take up our cross every day and follow in his footsteps. During Lent we try in a special way to follow in footsteps of Jesus who prepares for his Passion and Death. We follow him in our celebration of his Passion, but being reminded by the Transfiguration of the heavenly glory that awaits him.
<> That same glory awaits us too. It will be glory for ever and for ever, and with Jesus and all those who are friends of Jesus. Glory awaits us if we take up our cross daily with Jesus and follow in his footsteps. Let us pray for the grace to do this during Lent.Monday of the Second Week of Lent A
The sense of sin (Daniel 9:4-10)
We have in our first reading a great prayer from the Old Testament book of Daniel. It has much to offer modern man, for it expresses a profound sense of sin - the very thing modern man tends to lack. The prayer of this passage is permeated with this sense precisely because behind it is a profound sense of god and our indebtedness to him.
God, the prophet Daniel prays, is great and to be feared. He is faithful and kind. For our part, we have sinned and disobeyed God’s representatives. Yet God is a God of mercy and pardon.
How common it is even for baptised Catholics, let alone those outside the Church Christ founded and endowed with his presence and his gifts of grace, to lack a sense of God and a knowledge of him - and this right to the end of their days. Lacking this they lack a sense of sin, their sinfulness and their need for his pardon and mercy. They are not interested in his forgiveness.
Let us try to make up for this by praying during
Lent
for a deep sense of sin and a profound desire for the pardon of God.
(E.J.Tyler)
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Seek union with God and buoy yourself up with hope -
that
sure virtue - because Jesus will illuminate the way for you with the
gentle
light of his mercy, even in the darkest night.
(The Forge, no.293)
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Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent
Choosing humility (Matthew 23:1-12)
One of the many fascinating things to notice in the animal kingdom is how many animals try to dominate one another and to have precedence. Have you ever noticed how a dog will, if he can, try to be the “top dog”? I remember watching a documentary film on monkeys and apes, and the same thing was obvious among them.
Seeing this reminds us that having the desire to be first and to exalt oneself over others - a pattern that so marks the history of mankind - is hardly distinctively human. Dominating others and cannot be said to make a man greater as a man. All too often it is the opposite - it often makes a man more like an animal.
Our Lord described himself as meek and humble of heart. St Paul tells us that Christ emptied himself and became as men are, and humbler yet even to the point of death. God, then, is profoundly humble, and chooses to humble himself. For this reason our Lord says in our Gospel passage today that the one who humbles himself will be exalted. He is the one who is like God.
Let us this Lent pray for the grace to seek to be
humble
after the manner of Christ.
(E.J.Tyler)
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Your prayer went like this: “My wretchedness weighs
me
down, but it doesn’t overwhelm me because I am a son of God. I want to
atone, to Love ... And,” you added, “like Saint Paul, I want to turn my
weakness to good use, convinced that the Lord will not abandon those
who
place their trust in him.” Carry on like that. I assure you that - with
God’s grace - you will succeed, and you will overcome your wretchedness
and your shortcomings.
(The Forge, no.294)
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Thursday of the Second Week of Lent
The heart of man (Jeremiah 17:5-10)
“I, the Lord, search the heart ... to give each man what his conduct and his actions deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:10). There will be no avoiding the absolutely true judgment of God on the ultimate roots of our conduct, which is to say on the state of our heart. We will be judged on the degree of true love that possesses our heart, our love for God and our love for others in God. On this we are ourselves unable to judge, nor can anyone else, only God.
So we must work on this all our lives, never knowing how much time we have we have to achieve the task. We were made to know, love and serve God, and our judgment will be on the extent to which this goal and purpose has been achieved. Our entire eternity will depend on the degree of love we have attained when we go to meet our God. It is for this that we have been created.
So let us put our minds and hearts to the task each
day.
We must put our trust in the Lord, with him for our hope, as the
prophet
Jeremiah says (17:5-8). With the Lord as our constant stay, we will
bear
fruit - fruit that comes from the Lord.
(E.J.Tyler)
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Any time is the right time to make an effective
resolution,
to say “I believe”, to say “I hope”, to say “I love”.
(The Forge, no.295)
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Friday of the Second Week of Lent
To work! (Matthew 21:33-46)
“The kingdom of God will be taken from you and given
to
a people who will produce its fruit”
In these words we are all given a warning. God expects
us to do something with the gifts of the Holy Spirit he has entrusted
us
with at our baptism and our confirmation. So we ought ask ourselves,
what
have I done for Christ? What am I doing for him? What shall I do for
him?
God expects from us a genuine service, a life that is not in any way
dormant,
a life that produces results that forward his plan for mankind.
The point is that there will be consequences if we are making little effort in this direction. What ought we do, then? To begin with, we must resolve to live as constantly as possible in the realization of the presence of God, in whose presence we constantly are. Living thus in his presence, we must make our life each day a direct and generous service of him. If we can achieve this and use whatever means at hand to achieve it, we shall have made a wonderful beginning.
So then, to work! Now I begin!
(E.J.Tyler)
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Learn to praise the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit.
Learn to have a special devotion to the Blessed Trinity: I believe in
God
the Father, I believe in God the Son, I believe in God the Holy Spirit;
I hope in God the Father, I hope in God the Son, I hope in God the Holy
Spirit; I love God the Father, I love God the Son, I love God the Holy
Spirit. I believe, I hope and I love the most Holy Trinity.
(The Forge, no.296)
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Saturday of the Second Week of Lent
Our impression of God (Luke 15:1-3.11-32)
It has often been remarked that the whole of a person’s (or society's) religion will depend on that person’s impression of God - of God’s very reality and of what he is like. Many people seem not to care about God - their impression seems to be that he is not very real, and that he is in any case very distant. There are others who have the impression that he is overwhelmingly kind, and that whatever we do he will be kind to us. He is purely and simply a benevolent God, and that sin is not an issue ultimately.
In our Gospel passage (Luke 15:1-3.11-32), our Lord tells the story of what has come to be called the prodigal son. Such a way of referring to it puts the emphasis squarely on the younger and irresponsible son. But the introduction to the passage reveals the true intent of our Lord in telling it. He told it because the scribes and Pharisees were complaining about our Lord himself and his behaviour. He was welcoming sinners and dining with them.
So our Lord told the story of how the amazingly kind father welcomed his sinful son warmly back into his love. The story, then, is really about our Lord himself and his love for sinners, and ultimately of course, inasmuch as he is the revelation of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, it is about our heavenly Father.
Let us fill our hearts with the right impression of
God,
God who hates sin, but who is full of love and compassion for the
sinner
who wishes to turn back to him. God lovingly invites us to repent.
(E.J.Tyler)
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The system, the method, the procedure, the only way
to
have a life abundant and fertile in supernatural fruits, is to follow
the
Holy Spirit’s advice, which comes to us via the Acts of the Apostles -
all these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer. Nothing can be
done without prayer!
(The Forge, no.297)
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