Posted on 11/05/2013 10:35:02 PM PST by Salvation
November 6, 2013
Wednesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 Rom 13:8-10
Brothers and sisters:
Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;
for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
The commandments, You shall not commit adultery;
you shall not kill;
you shall not steal;
you shall not covet,
and whatever other commandment there may be,
are summed up in this saying, namely,
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Love does no evil to the neighbor;
hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.
Responsorial Psalm PS 112:1b-2, 4-5, 9
R. ( 5a) Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed.
R. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He dawns through the darkness, a light for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice.
R. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Lavishly he gives to the poor;
his generosity shall endure forever;
his horn shall be exalted in glory.
R. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel Lk 14:25-33
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”
Feast Day: November 6
Died: 559
Patron of: political prisoners, imprisoned people, prisoners of war, and captives, women in labor, as well as horses
St. Theophane Venard
Feast Day: November 6
Born: 1829 :: Died: 1861
Jean-Theophane Venard was born at Saint-Loup in France. He was brought up in a pious family. One older brother was a priest and another was the bishop of Poitiers in France. As soon as he was old enough, Theophane went to study for the priesthood. Then he entered a college for missionaries in Paris, France.
Even as a youngster this holy French priest dreamed of being a martyr. His family, whom he dearly loved, was greatly saddened to think that after he became a priest, he would leave them. Travel was not easy those days and Theophane realized that the long ocean journey to the Orient would most probably separate him from his family for the rest of his life.
"My darling sister," he wrote in a letter, "how I cried when I read your letter. Yes, I well knew the sorrow I was going to bring on my family. I think there will be a special sorrow for you, my dear little sister. But don't you think it cost me bloody tears, too?
By taking such a step, I knew that I would give all of you great pain. Whoever loved his home more than I do? All my happiness on this earth was centered there. But God, who has united us all in bonds of most tender affection, wanted to draw me from it."
After he became a priest, Theophane left for Hong Kong. He studied languages for over a year there and then he went on to Tongking. Two problems troubled this eager missionary: his poor health and the terrible persecution of Christians by the ruler Minh-Menh.
But he struggled bravely on. Often he wrote to tell his beloved sister in France all his adventures and narrow escapes from his persecutors. At last, after bravely serving the many Christians in Tongking, a parishioner betrayed him and Theophane was captured and chained in a cage for two months.
His gentle ways won even his jailers. He managed to write a letter home in which he said: "All those who surround me are civil and respectful. A good many of them love me. From the great mandarin down to the humblest private soldier, everyone regrets that the laws of the country condemn one to death. I have not been put to the torture like my brethren."
But their kindness could not save his life and his head was chopped off. After he was beheaded, crowds rushed to soak handkerchiefs in his blood. Father Venard was martyred on February 2, 1861. He is also one of the martyrs of Vietnam celebrated on November 24.
Wednesday, November 6
Liturgical Color: Green
On this day in 1789, Pope Pius VI
appointed the missionary priest, Fr.
John Carroll, as the first bishop of the
United States. He became bishop and
later archbishop of the diocese of
Baltimore.
Daily Readings for:November 06, 2013
(Readings on USCCB website)
Collect: Almighty and merciful God, by whose gift your faithful offer you right and praiseworthy service, grant, we pray, that we may hasten without stumbling to receive the things you have promised. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
RECIPES
ACTIVITIES
o Praying for the Dead and Gaining Indulgences During November
o Religion in the Home for Elementary School: November
o Religion in the Home for Preschool: November
PRAYERS
o November Devotion: The Holy Souls in Purgatory
o Little Litany of the Holy Souls
· Ordinary Time: November 6th
· Wednesday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time
Old Calendar: St. Leonard of Limoges (Hist)
Historically today is the feast of St. Leonard of Limoges, a hermit-abbot who was a convert of St. Remigius. He was a French courtier offered a bishopric, but became a recluse at Micy, France. He then lived at Limoges, France, and he was given land by the royal court on which he founded Noblac Abbey, later called Saint-Leonard.
Since we are so closely associated with the Church Suffering in the communion of saints, fraternal charity demands that we pray fervently for those who have preceded us with the sign of faith and who rest in the sleep of peace. This thought is repeatedly inculcated in every Mass for the dead.
Don't forget to pray for the Poor Souls in Purgatory from November 1 to the 8th.
St. Leonard of Limoges
Leonard of Noblac or of Limoges (also known as Lienard, Linhart, Leonhard) (died in 559), was a Frankish noble in the court of Clovis I. He was converted to Christianity along with the king by Saint Remigius ("Saint Rémy"), Bishop of Reims. Leonard secured the release of a number of prisoners, for whom he has become a patron saint, then, declining the offer of a bishopric, he entered a monastery at Micy near Orléans, under the direction of Saint Mesmin and Saint Lie. Then, according to his legend, Leonard became a recluse in the forest of Limousin, where he gathered a number of followers. Through his prayers the queen of the Franks was safely delivered of a male child, and in recompense Leonard was given royal lands at Noblac, 21 km from Limoges, where he founded the abbey of Noblac, around which a village grew, named in his honour Saint-Leonard de Noblat.
In the eleventh century his cult rapidly spread, at first through Frankish lands, following the release of Bohemond I of Antiochin 1103 from a Danishmend prison. Bohemond, a charismatic leader of the First Crusade, subsequently visited the Abbey of Noblac, where he made an offering in gratitude for his release. Bohemund's example inspired many similar gifts, enabling the Romanesque church and its visible landmark belltower to be constructed. About the same time Noblac was becoming a stage in the pilgrimage route that led towards Santiago de Compostela. Leonard's cult spread through all of Western Europe: in England with its cultural connections to the region, no fewer than 177 churches are dedicated to him. Leonard was venerated in the Low Countries, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, particularly in Bavaria, and also in Bohemia, Poland, and elsewhere. Pilgrims and patronage flowed to Saint-Leonard de Noblac. Leonard or Lienard became one of the most venerated saints of the late Middle Ages. His intercession was credited with miracles for the release of prisoners, women in labour and the diseases of cattle. His feast day is 6th November, when he is honoured with a festival at Bad Tölz, Bavaria.
Excerpted from thisismiddleton.co.uk
Hiding Death and its Signs
"Hiding death and its signs" is widespread in contemporary society and prone to the difficulties arising from doctrinal and pastoral error.
Doctors, nurses, and relatives frequently believe that they have a duty to hide the fact of imminent death from the sick who, because of increasing hospitalization, almost always die outside of the home.
It has been said that cities of the living have no place for the dead: buildings containing tiny flats cannot house space to hold a vigil for the dead; traffic congestion prevents funeral corteges as they block the traffic; cemeteries, which once surrounded the local church and were "holy ground" and noted the link between Christ and the dead, are now located outside of the towns and cities, since urban planning no longer includes provision for cemeteries.
Modern society refuses to accept the "visibility of death", and hence tries to conceal its presence. In some places, recourse is even made to conserving the bodies of the dead by chemical means in an effort to prolong the appearance of life.
The Christian, who must be conscious of and familiar with the idea of death, cannot interiorly accept the phenomenon of the "intolerance of the dead," which deprives the dead of all acceptance in the city of the living. Neither can he refuse to acknowledge the signs of death, especially when intolerance and rejection encourage a flight from reality, or a materialist cosmology, devoid of hope and alien to belief in the death and resurrection of Christ.
The Christian is obliged to oppose all forms of "commercialisation of the dead," which exploit the emotions of the faithful in pursuit of unbridled and shameful commercial profit.
Excerpted from the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy
Indulgences for All Souls Week
An indulgence, applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory, is granted to the faithful, who devoutly visit a cemetery and pray, even if only mentally, for the departed. The indulgence is plenary each day from the first to the eighth of November; on other days of the year it is partial.
A plenary indulgence, applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory, is granted to the faithful, who on the day dedicated to the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed [November 2 {as well as on the Sunday preceding or following, and on All Saints' Day}] piously visit a church. In visiting the church it is required that one Our Father and the Creed be recited.
To acquire a plenary indulgence it is necessary also to fulfill the following three conditions: sacramental Confession, Eucharistic communion, and prayer for the intention of the Holy Father. The three conditions may be fulfilled several days before or after the performance of the visit; it is, however, fitting that communion be received and the prayer for the intention of the Holy Father be said on the same day as the visit.
The condition of praying for the intention of the Holy Father is fully satisfied by reciting one Our Father and one Hail Mary. A plenary indulgence can be acquired only once in the course of the day.
Luke | |||
English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
Luke 14 |
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25. | And there went great multitudes with him. And turning, he said to them: | Ibant autem turbæ multæ cum eo : et conversus dixit ad illos : | συνεπορευοντο δε αυτω οχλοι πολλοι και στραφεις ειπεν προς αυτους |
26. | If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. | Si quis venit ad me, et non odit patrem suum, et matrem, et uxorem, et filios, et fratres, et sorores, adhuc autem et animam suam, non potest meus esse discipulus. | ει τις ερχεται προς με και ου μισει τον πατερα αυτου και την μητερα και την γυναικα και τα τεκνα και τους αδελφους και τας αδελφας ετι δε και την εαυτου ψυχην ου δυναται μου μαθητης ειναι |
27. | And whosoever doth not carry his cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple. | Et qui non bajulat crucem suam, et venit post me, non potest meus esse discipulus. | και οστις ου βασταζει τον σταυρον αυτου και ερχεται οπισω μου ου δυναται ειναι μου μαθητης |
28. | For which of you having a mind to build a tower, doth not first sit down, and reckon the charges that are necessary, whether he have wherewithal to finish it: | Quis enim ex vobis volens turrim ædificare, non prius sedens computat sumptus, qui necessarii sunt, si habeat ad perficiendum, | τις γαρ εξ υμων ο θελων πυργον οικοδομησαι ουχι πρωτον καθισας ψηφιζει την δαπανην ει εχει τα εις απαρτισμον |
29. | Lest, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able ti finish it, all that see it begin to mock him, | ne, posteaquam posuerit fundamentum, et non potuerit perficere, omnes qui vident, incipiant illudere ei, | ινα μηποτε θεντος αυτου θεμελιον και μη ισχυοντος εκτελεσαι παντες οι θεωρουντες αρξωνται εμπαιζειν αυτω |
30. | Saying: This man began to build, and was not able to finish. | dicentes : Quia hic homo cpit ædificare, et non potuit consummare ? | λεγοντες οτι ουτος ο ανθρωπος ηρξατο οικοδομειν και ουκ ισχυσεν εκτελεσαι |
31. | Or what king, about to go to make war against another king, doth not first sit down, and think whether he be able, with ten thousand, to meet him that, with twenty thousand, cometh against him? | Aut quis rex iturus committere bellum adversus alium regem, non sedens prius cogitat, si possit cum decem millibus occurrere ei, qui cum viginti millibus venit ad se ? | η τις βασιλευς πορευομενος συμβαλειν ετερω βασιλει εις πολεμον ουχι καθισας πρωτον βουλευεται ει δυνατος εστιν εν δεκα χιλιασιν απαντησαι τω μετα εικοσι χιλιαδων ερχομενω επ αυτον |
32. | Or else, whilst the other is yet afar off, sending an embassy, he desireth conditions of peace. | Alioquin adhuc illo longe agente, legationem mittens rogat ea quæ pacis sunt. | ει δε μηγε ετι πορρω αυτου οντος πρεσβειαν αποστειλας ερωτα τα προς ειρηνην |
33. | So likewise every one of you that doth not renounce all that he possesseth, cannot be my disciple. | Sic ergo omnis ex vobis, qui non renuntiat omnibus quæ possidet, non potest meus esse discipulus. | ουτως ουν πας εξ υμων ος ουκ αποτασσεται πασιν τοις εαυτου υπαρχουσιν ου δυναται μου ειναι μαθητης |
31st Week in Ordinary Time
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them… (Luke 14:25)
Try to imagine yourself among the people following along behind Jesus. Questions are swirling around you; some are laughing, and some are crying, as the crunch of feet on the ground grows. Suddenly Jesus stops, turns around, and looks right at you. Did I do something? Jesus begins to speak, and it is as if everyone else disappears.
Luke’s little detail about Jesus stopping, turning, and speaking seems deliberate. He wanted to emphasize Jesus’ desire to get the people’s full attention as he spoke words crucial to their faith. This was not a time for idle chatter or casual conversation. It was a time to let every word soak in. And for those who did pay close attention, the words changed their lives.
Every day, Jesus, the Son of the living God, wants to speak to you! He wants to take your face in his hands and say, “Look at me. Listen closely. This is important. I want you to receive it.” He asks you to set aside your own thoughts, ideas, and plans, and try your best to imagine looking into his eyes. This is a holy moment, when he can move your heart and form your mind. It’s a sacred time, when he can give you the grace you need to love him and follow him. It’s a golden opportunity for him to chip away at the hard outer layer of your heart so that he can find new ways to teach you and love you.
Day in and day out, we are surrounded by distractions—both interior and exterior. There is so much “chatter” trying to pull us away from Jesus and from one another. How encouraging, then, to know that we have a Redeemer who will never stop trying to get our attention! Day after day, he wants to turn to us, look us in the eye, and tell us about his love, his will, and his salvation. So don’t let the chatter drown him out!
“Jesus, thank you for calling my name and speaking to my heart. Open my ears to hear you above all the noise in my day.”
Romans 13:8-10; Psalm 112:1-2, 4-5, 9
Daily Marriage Tip for November 6, 2013:
Whats the wisest thing youve done so far in your life (other than marrying your beloved)? How is your spouse wise?
Blessed are the poor in spirit
Wednesday, 06 November 2013 09:08
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 5, 1-12.
Seeing the multitudes, Jesus went up into a mountain, and when he was set down, his disciples came unto him.
And opening his mouth he taught them, saying:
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart: they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake:
Be glad and rejoice for your reward is very great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets that were before you.
The Beatitudes: A Wellspring of Life
The Gospel of the Beatitudes leaves a luminous imprint upon these dark days of the first fortnight of November. We read the Beatitudes from Saint Matthew’s Gospel on the feast of All Saints; then on November 6th we hear the Beatitudes from Saint Luke’s Gospel. The Beatitudes are the very form of the monastic life. The Rule of Saint Benedict is an ascetical and mystical flowering of the Beatitudes under the influence of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of All the Just. Chapter Seven of the Holy Rule — the Twelve Steps of Humility — is, in effect, a description of one whose life is inwardly illumined by the Beatitudes. Mother Mectilde’s doctrine of the imitation of the Sacred Host (in Le véritable esprit) also corresponds, in its own way, to the grace of the Beatitudes. Every authentic development of the ascetical and mystical life springs from the Beatitudes.
Apprenticeship in Adoration
Today, I should like to show you how the Beatitudes shape our particular charism of Eucharistic adoration. Silent prayer before the Most Blessed Sacrament, before the Eucharistic Face of Jesus, does not come easily to everyone. More often than not it demands a long apprenticeship, a patient endurance in the obscurity of faith, in the silence of hope, in the vulnerability of love’s self–offering. The Beatitudes, the very words of the Word, are a way of entering into relationship with the hidden Jesus of the Most Holy Sacrament.
The Icon of the Nakedness of God
“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” When you go to adoration, you need bring nothing other than yourself. Go before Our Lord with empty hands. Go before Him in a great poverty: without thoughts, without words, without the security of a program and without expectations. Look at the poverty of God in the Most Holy Sacrament. The Host reveals the mystery of the poverty of God. The Host is the icon of the nakedness of God. Rarely do our depictions of the crucifixion depict the nakedness of Jesus — His absolute poverty — upon the wood of the Cross; the Sacred Host, however, is the sacramental presence of the nakedness of Christ who, “being rich made Himself poor, for our sakes; that through his poverty we might be made rich” (cf. 2 Corinthians 8:9). In the presence of such utter poverty who can keep up the pretense of claiming ownership over anything or of controlling anyone? When we are tempted to run away from the silence of adoration, it us because we cannot bear the nakedness of the Host; it because we cannot bear to ourselves stripped of all the things to which we look for security and meaning.
In the Light of Thy Countenance
Although we are accustomed to speak of “exposition” of the Most Blessed Sacrament, it is, in fact, we who are exposed to the penetrating gaze of Christ when we place ourselves in adoration before the Sacred Host. “Thou hast set our iniquities before thy eyes: our life in the light of thy countenance” (Psalm 89:8). The man who adores will become poor in spirit, and the man who is poor in spirit will adore.
Disarmed by the Meekness of God
Wednesday, 06 November 2013 10:03
Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land.
Just as the Sacred Host is the icon of the nakedness of God become poor for our sakes, so too is the Sacred Host the icon of the meekness of God. One who enters into the prayer of adoration will find himself utterly disarmed by the meekness of God. The experience of the meekness of God in Eucharistic adoration is not unlike what Elijah experienced in “a sound of sheer silence” on Mount Horeb.
A Sound of Sheer Silence
He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. (1 Kings 19:11–12)
Content to Wait
The meek man will be a lover of silence, and the lover of silence will be meek. Quietness and meekness go together. What is meekness in God, and what is it in man? Meekness is more than the mere absence of aggressivity; it is more than the quality of being unthreatening, gentle, and approachable. By not seeking to impose himself, the meek man graces others with the freedom to respond to him sincerely and from the heart. The meek man is content to wait for the response of another. He never forces the outcome of an encounter, or tries to attain his own ends by coercion.
One cannot gaze upon the Sacred Host without being touched by the meekness of God. The Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar is the real presence of the Lord God of Sabaoth, the God concerning whom the prophet Isaias wrote:
I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and elevated: and his train filled the temple. Upon it stood the seraphims: the one had six wings, and the other had six wings: with two they covered his face, and with two they covered his feet, and with two they flew. And they cried one to another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of hosts, all the earth is full of his glory. And the lintels of the doors were moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: Woe is me, because I have held my peace; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people that hath unclean lips, and I have seen with my eyes the King the Lord of hosts. (Isaias 6:1–5)
The Courtesy of God
At the same time this Thrice–Holy God, enthroned in glory and adored by angelic choirs, “shall not cry, nor have respect to person, neither shall his voice be heard abroad. The bruised reed He shall not break, and smoking flax He shall not quench” (Isaias 42:2–3). When you go to adoration, do not expect to be pressured by God. Be certain, rather, of encountering a God who is infinitely gentle. He is humble, courteous, willing to wait, and unwilling to impose Himself on the one who approaches Him. Who is there upon the altar if not the Lamb who, in meekness and silence, went to His most bitter Passion?
His Divine Friendship
Do not mistake the meekness of God for indifference on His part, nor for an unwillingness to communicate with you. Those whom He invites to adoration are dear friends with whom He shares the secrets of His Heart. “I will not now call you servants: for the servant knoweth not what his lord doth. But I have called you friends: because all things whatsoever I have heard of my Father, I have made known to you” (John 15:15).
Apprenticeship to Adoration
The meekness of God in the Sacred Host means that one must be apprenticed to the prayer of adoration over time. It is only because we are not meek, because we would impose our own conditions, and expectations, and timetables on God, that we find adoration tedious. By allowing oneself to be disarmed by the meekness of the hidden Christ, one becomes capable of “possessing the land,” that is, of being at home amidst the things that God has prepared for His adorers, His friends: “Which none of the princes of this world knew; for if they had known it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written: That eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him. But to us God hath revealed them, by this Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:8–10).
Discipleship: Neither Cheap nor Easy | ||
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Wednesday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time
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Father Steven Reilly, LC
Luke 14: 25-33 Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them, "If any one comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, ´This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.´ Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. In the same way, every one of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple." Introductory Prayer: Lord God, I believe that you are present here for this moment of prayer. Even if I have not really longed for this time together, I know that you have been waiting for me. As an expression of my gratitude and love, I truly wish to give myself totally to you during this meditation. Petition: Lord, help me to realize that holiness is worth the effort! 1. A Capital Campaign for Holiness: Our Lord remarks on the need to calculate the costs and estimate the amount of resources needed in a building project. That sounds like a “feasibility study,” the first step of any capital campaign. Whether a parish is trying to build a new hall, or a school is trying to put up a new building, there’s no way to avoid a great deal of work in order to make the endeavor successful. The Lord is saying something similar about our spiritual lives. We have to know what it will take to achieve the goal. His answer to this question? Much sacrifice. This can sound daunting. But just like the thrill of cutting the ribbon when the building is all paid for and ready to be used, the effort to grow in holiness will result in a magnificent eternity! 2. A Battle Plan’s First Goal? The answer is simple: Don’t get beat! This second image of our Lord makes another important point about discipleship. War is tough, and if getting beat is a likely prospect, you’d better find other tactics to achieve the goal. So too with our discipleship. In our efforts to grow holy, some “battles” will be won easily; others will need to be avoided completely. So let’s not get beat by foolishly overestimating our capacities. This happens especially when we don’t avoid the occasions of sin, thinking ourselves strong enough to handle them. At times, the best battle strategy is not to fight, but to flee! 3. What Place for Our Relationships? In all this reflection about plans and resources, the Lord has some extremely radical words about our relationships. In the hyperbole of “hating father and mother” a very important teaching emerges: As vital as these relationships are, they cannot take the first place in our heart. That place belongs to the source of our entire existence, the one who loves us with a tender and passionate love — God himself. This is why the Cross is so important. When we see how thoroughly Jesus embraces the will of God above everything and everyone, he gives us a pattern to follow. But the divine irony is that by following Christ in the way of the cross, this “hatred” actually results in a greater and more self-sacrificing love in those very relationships that have to take a back seat to the Lord. Conversation with Christ: Oh Jesus, following you is not easy. You ask me to put everything in second place to you and pick up my cross every day. I won’t be able to do this without your grace. I am weak and frail, but I believe that you will give me the strength I need. Resolution: I will take some time and think about my priorities to make sure that God is always coming first. |
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