"Our relationship with God the Father, through Jesus Christ His Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit, is the absolute center and purpose of faith...We are made sons and daughters of the Father, partakers of the Divine Nature. We become by grace what Christ is by nature."
"At the heart of Christianity and catechesis is not an idea but a person, the person of Jesus. He is the primary and essential object of our teaching; everything else is taught with reference to Him. Furthermore, Jesus is the primary teacher – anyone else who teaches is simply Christ’s spokesperson."
"Many people seem to think that the Church is an after-effect, an accident of history rather than something directly willed by God. Instead, the Church is an essential aspect of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, directly willed and structured by Him, endowed with the Holy Spirit, the fullness of truth and all the means of salvation. She is no mere human institution, despite the sinful human beings who comprise her in this world, but His Sacrament, Bride and very Body. She is the Kingdom of God, visible in human history, already but not yet perfected in Heaven."
~Bishop Nickless, Ecclesia Semper Reformanda, 2009
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
GOOD Friday!
In the days preceeding today we have focused on many things that we can apply to our walks as Christians. We can reflect on three different attitudes and actions...the attitudes of Peter, John, & Judas in Jesus' last days. John's love for Jesus was shown immensely in his actions. In John 13 we see that John's love for Jesus caused him to to stay close to Jesus, so close that he could lean on the chest of Christ, not wanting to miss anything that Jesus had to offer. John's understanding may have been lacking, but his love caused him to stay close to Jesus...all the way to the foot of the cross. Peter on the other hand loves and professes his dedication to our Lord with a better understanding than the others, but fear leads to a different action...even though the desire was genuine no doubt, he hides. Judas just leaves into the night with betrayal on his mind, allowing Satan's seed to grow, even though he had not reached the point of no return, he chose not to turn from his sin and ask for forgiveness. Judas could have said to Jesus that he didn't want to go, that he wanted to stay close to his master and teacher, but he did not. He chose betrayal, despite walking with Jesus, despite the love shown to him by Christ, & despite the miracles and teachings he had witnessed...the same things that the others had witnessed. Due to sin rooted in selfishness, the despair that Judas felt lead to suicide rather than the forgiveness that he had been taught he could attain. Instead of asking what he could do for his brothers, Judas asks what he can get for handing Christ over...what could HE attain and how could HE benefit.
Jesus shows us by his act of love and service, a model by which to live...love. Jesus showed his closest friends that serving one another is love. He asked, "Do you realize what I have done for you?" When we think today about the gift that was given to us, we think about love. John 15:13 reminds us that there is no greater love than to die for someone and that's what Good Friday is all about...God's love for us in the utmost form. God has given us the sacrament of his body and blood, no ordinary meal and surely not merely a symbol...God gives us a physical presence to remain with us forever, along with the breath of his spiritual presence. God also gave to us apostles and authority in their ordination. This handing down of authority allowed a Church to form and is what allows us to even know of Jesus Christ. Without handing down the traditions that they learned from Jesus himself, we would not know of this love and the act of reconciliation would have been lost. Jesus' Eucharistic meal and the forgiveness of our sin speaks to us a common mystery: Love. In these, we are unified into Christ's love because of our acts of obedience.
So today, let us focus on imitating Christ's charity to our brothers and sisters and his perfect obedience to our Father. Think about what his cross actually means to us as Christians, the ability to attain forgiveness and redemption. I pray that God will give all of us the love of John, that we may be by Christ's side always even if death is a possible result. I pray that in our times of fear, just as Peter feared, that we may not give in and that we embrace Jesus and his teachings to their fullest. I pray that we may shed any similarities of Judas, that we may think of others before ourselves and that we may recognize our sinfulness and ask for forgiveness. That we may take what we've learned from Christ and not only remember, but apply them to our lives, that we may say to Jesus, "Lord, I want to stay with you always."
I hope you all have a great Easter and that you all remain in what we are celebrating on Sunday, amidst the eggs and bunnies.
Jesus shows us by his act of love and service, a model by which to live...love. Jesus showed his closest friends that serving one another is love. He asked, "Do you realize what I have done for you?" When we think today about the gift that was given to us, we think about love. John 15:13 reminds us that there is no greater love than to die for someone and that's what Good Friday is all about...God's love for us in the utmost form. God has given us the sacrament of his body and blood, no ordinary meal and surely not merely a symbol...God gives us a physical presence to remain with us forever, along with the breath of his spiritual presence. God also gave to us apostles and authority in their ordination. This handing down of authority allowed a Church to form and is what allows us to even know of Jesus Christ. Without handing down the traditions that they learned from Jesus himself, we would not know of this love and the act of reconciliation would have been lost. Jesus' Eucharistic meal and the forgiveness of our sin speaks to us a common mystery: Love. In these, we are unified into Christ's love because of our acts of obedience.
So today, let us focus on imitating Christ's charity to our brothers and sisters and his perfect obedience to our Father. Think about what his cross actually means to us as Christians, the ability to attain forgiveness and redemption. I pray that God will give all of us the love of John, that we may be by Christ's side always even if death is a possible result. I pray that in our times of fear, just as Peter feared, that we may not give in and that we embrace Jesus and his teachings to their fullest. I pray that we may shed any similarities of Judas, that we may think of others before ourselves and that we may recognize our sinfulness and ask for forgiveness. That we may take what we've learned from Christ and not only remember, but apply them to our lives, that we may say to Jesus, "Lord, I want to stay with you always."
I hope you all have a great Easter and that you all remain in what we are celebrating on Sunday, amidst the eggs and bunnies.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Babbling
Based on Matthew 6:7-15
"Friends do not talk at each other; they talk to each other. This simple truth, confirmed by our own experience of friendship, lies at the heart of Christ's teaching on prayer. Talk to God, Jesus instructs his disciples when giving them the 'Our Father'. Talk to him, as to a friend, and not at him. In today's Gospel passage, Jesus warns his disciples against babbling their prayers like the pagans. Why do they babble, believing they will be heard because of their many words? Because they do not know their gods. They enjoy no real relationship with them. So the pagans speak at their gods. They babble, throwing their words up to the heavens hoping that some of them might find a receptive ear. Jesus is right. This is not prayer, but rather hopeless chatter. We sons and daughters of the Father do not babble in prayer, for we know to whom we pray. Christ has shown us the Father. We know his truth. We know his love. We know his power. Therefore, when at prayer, we speak to the Father as to a friend. The Our Father reveals what this conversation should look like - the union of two wills, one divine and the other human, in mutual desire. What wonder! In Christian faith and hope, the creature speaks to the Creator - in love." ~ Father Aquinas Guilbeau
Heavenly Father, perfect our faith, so that knowing you we may speak to you and with you in love. May the Lord's Prayer form our every prayer to you.
Magnificat - Feb. 23, 2010
I posted this because I sometimes find myself babbling without realizing it. I think we all get used to 'the way we pray', often repeating the same words to God...maybe at dinner, or in the evening before bed. This is great, as long as my heart is behind every word, but I find myself less focused on the fact that I am talking to the world's creator and that every word is with purpose, and that God is listening to each one of them. I may ask God to send his angels to watch over my household as we sleep every night, but am I focused on who I am talking to and focused on believing that my prayers will be heard; or are the words just coming out due to a habitual prayer? Praying the Lord's Prayer can have the same affect I guess...most of us learned the Lord's Prayer at an early age and so it can become babble if we don't meditate on what the words actually speak and focus on the fact that we're repeating a prayer that our Lord Jesus used to teach his disciples when teaching on prayer, the verbal communication to our God.
How simple, yet how much does that prayer contain! Glory & honor to God, recognition and belief in prophecy and fulfillment, a submission of ourselves to God's perfect will, asking for the bread of life daily, asking for forgiveness while reminding ourselves of how we should forgive others in all things, and asking him to help us in fighting temptation and evil. Wow...those are some things to grab on to in prayer!
"Friends do not talk at each other; they talk to each other. This simple truth, confirmed by our own experience of friendship, lies at the heart of Christ's teaching on prayer. Talk to God, Jesus instructs his disciples when giving them the 'Our Father'. Talk to him, as to a friend, and not at him. In today's Gospel passage, Jesus warns his disciples against babbling their prayers like the pagans. Why do they babble, believing they will be heard because of their many words? Because they do not know their gods. They enjoy no real relationship with them. So the pagans speak at their gods. They babble, throwing their words up to the heavens hoping that some of them might find a receptive ear. Jesus is right. This is not prayer, but rather hopeless chatter. We sons and daughters of the Father do not babble in prayer, for we know to whom we pray. Christ has shown us the Father. We know his truth. We know his love. We know his power. Therefore, when at prayer, we speak to the Father as to a friend. The Our Father reveals what this conversation should look like - the union of two wills, one divine and the other human, in mutual desire. What wonder! In Christian faith and hope, the creature speaks to the Creator - in love." ~ Father Aquinas Guilbeau
Heavenly Father, perfect our faith, so that knowing you we may speak to you and with you in love. May the Lord's Prayer form our every prayer to you.
Magnificat - Feb. 23, 2010
I posted this because I sometimes find myself babbling without realizing it. I think we all get used to 'the way we pray', often repeating the same words to God...maybe at dinner, or in the evening before bed. This is great, as long as my heart is behind every word, but I find myself less focused on the fact that I am talking to the world's creator and that every word is with purpose, and that God is listening to each one of them. I may ask God to send his angels to watch over my household as we sleep every night, but am I focused on who I am talking to and focused on believing that my prayers will be heard; or are the words just coming out due to a habitual prayer? Praying the Lord's Prayer can have the same affect I guess...most of us learned the Lord's Prayer at an early age and so it can become babble if we don't meditate on what the words actually speak and focus on the fact that we're repeating a prayer that our Lord Jesus used to teach his disciples when teaching on prayer, the verbal communication to our God.
How simple, yet how much does that prayer contain! Glory & honor to God, recognition and belief in prophecy and fulfillment, a submission of ourselves to God's perfect will, asking for the bread of life daily, asking for forgiveness while reminding ourselves of how we should forgive others in all things, and asking him to help us in fighting temptation and evil. Wow...those are some things to grab on to in prayer!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Rununciation for the Bridegroom
Well the time of Fasting, Prayer, and giving is here again. I was reading in the Lenten Magnificat for this year, and yesterday's read was more than touching to my heart, so I thought I would share...enjoy!
This reflection is based on Matthew 9:14-15
"Then came to him the disciples of John, saying: Why do we and the Pharisees, fast often, but your disciples do not fast? And Jesus said to them: Can the children of the bridegroom mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then they shall fast."
"The days will come when the Bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they shall will fast." Has that day come for us? Not that our Lord has vanished from our lives; certainly not, and yet perhaps we pray less now than in the past, or are more indulgent in worldliness, less concerned for pleasing God. The beginning of Lent is a time to recover an essential focus on Jesus Christ. Practices of self-denial can be helpful in this effort, but if we ask why, it is not primarily as penitential acts in reparation for past sins. Rather, mortification should be viewed as a means of self-emptying, turning attention away from ourselves so that our soul may open to God. A sacrifice of any kind loses its greater purpose without a motive to draw closer to Christ. We should discover that in fasting and renunciations we want more prayer in our lives. The pattern is a sign of grace. Our Lord finds greater desire for himself when a soul is less preoccupied with its own needs, and so he invites that soul to deeper intimacy. Let us remember also that in offering up sacrifices we help filter graces of conversion through the Church to souls in spiritual danger. This in itself is a profound reason to keep firm our resolve to make this year a fervent lent. ~Father Donald Haggerty
Loving Father, help me to be generous in renouncing myself during these holy days of Lent, and let my sacrifices be for the good of souls in need of grace. To God the Father, through Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Magnificat USA LLC, NY, 2010
www.magnificat.com
Hope you enjoyed...this really hit home with me, it's so easy for me to get caught up doing the day so to speak and not focusing on Jesus in my everyday activities. To do all things through Christ...
This reflection is based on Matthew 9:14-15
"Then came to him the disciples of John, saying: Why do we and the Pharisees, fast often, but your disciples do not fast? And Jesus said to them: Can the children of the bridegroom mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then they shall fast."
"The days will come when the Bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they shall will fast." Has that day come for us? Not that our Lord has vanished from our lives; certainly not, and yet perhaps we pray less now than in the past, or are more indulgent in worldliness, less concerned for pleasing God. The beginning of Lent is a time to recover an essential focus on Jesus Christ. Practices of self-denial can be helpful in this effort, but if we ask why, it is not primarily as penitential acts in reparation for past sins. Rather, mortification should be viewed as a means of self-emptying, turning attention away from ourselves so that our soul may open to God. A sacrifice of any kind loses its greater purpose without a motive to draw closer to Christ. We should discover that in fasting and renunciations we want more prayer in our lives. The pattern is a sign of grace. Our Lord finds greater desire for himself when a soul is less preoccupied with its own needs, and so he invites that soul to deeper intimacy. Let us remember also that in offering up sacrifices we help filter graces of conversion through the Church to souls in spiritual danger. This in itself is a profound reason to keep firm our resolve to make this year a fervent lent. ~Father Donald Haggerty
Loving Father, help me to be generous in renouncing myself during these holy days of Lent, and let my sacrifices be for the good of souls in need of grace. To God the Father, through Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Magnificat USA LLC, NY, 2010
www.magnificat.com
Hope you enjoyed...this really hit home with me, it's so easy for me to get caught up doing the day so to speak and not focusing on Jesus in my everyday activities. To do all things through Christ...
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