Showing posts with label Spiritual. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spiritual. Show all posts

Monday, January 23, 2012

Nick Vujicic - "Something More"



We always have the thoughts of : "Why is this happened to me?", "Why am I not accepted by my friends?", "Why am I not happy despite I have all the money in the world?"

We dwell on these 'unfortunate' events and hoping there will be an alleviation from God. What would you do if there's no answer or miracle by God? Grumbling and cursing will not solve the problem.

Nick contemplated on these questions, and revelation he got is :" If you don't get a miracle.... BECOME ONE!" He use his life-story to encourage millions of young people.

He don't want us to draw console by comparing his sorrows with ours. He wants us to overcome the negative side of whatever thoughts that comes in our mind.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Jesus went up into the hill country and called those He wanted



Today, the Gospel considers the theology of Christian vocation: «The Lord called those he wanted to be with him and send them to be apostles» (cf. Mk 3:13-14). First, He calls them: For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy (cf. Eph 1:4). God loves us, shaping us in Christ, encouraging us to develop the characteristics necessary for us to become his children. These qualities are best understood when we consider them from a vocational perspective; vocation is the “role” in life that God's plan of redemption has allotted us so that we can fulfill our part in his work of redemption. Only by discovering your God-given vocation —the true reasons for your life— and by fulfilling it on his terms, will you come to know yourself as God knows you.

And what does God require of those He calls? He asks us to live close to him as we serve him, and in return, He promises to stay close to us. Yet, God speaks to each one of us individually and specifically. «One day perhaps an ordinary Christian, just like you, opened your eyes to horizons both deep and new, yet as old as the Gospel. He suggested to you the prospect of following Christ earnestly, seriously, of becoming an apostle of apostles. Perhaps you lost your balance then and didn't recover it. Your complacency wasn't quite replaced by true peace until you freely said “yes” to God, because you wanted to, which is the most supernatural of reasons. And in its wake came a strong, constant joy, which disappears only when you abandon him» (Saint Josemaria Escrivá de Balaguer).

It is a blessing, but it is a blessing that can only be fully realized when we become holy through our willingness to serve, through prayer, and through the blessed sacraments. «All faithful Christians, of any kind and condition, are called to the plenitude of Christian life and to the perfection of charity; a sanctity that, also in our earthly society, contributes to humanize our way of life» (Vatican Council II).

This is how we learn of our apostolic mission of taking Christ to others. First, having him ourselves so that we can share him. Today, and every day, we must meditate upon the true nature of our call to vocation, answering his call with an increased love, born of our increased understanding of what He calls us to do and to be.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

A Great Lesson To Learn

A Great Lesson To Learn

A Young Couple Moves Into A New Neighorhood
The Next Morning While They Are Eating Breakfast,
The Young Women Sees Her Neighbor Hanging The Wash Outside.

" The Laundry Is Not Very Clean " She Said 
" She Dosnt Know How To Wash Correctly
Perhaps She Needs Better Laundry Saops "
Her Husband Looked On But Remained Silent.

Every time Her Neighbour Would Hang Her Wash To Dry,
The Young Women Would Make The Same Comments.
About One Month Later,
The Women Was Surprised To See A Nice Clean
Wash On The Line And Said To Her Husband :
" Look, She Has Learned How To Wash Correctly.
I Wonder Who Taught Her This "



The Husband Said :
I Got Up Early This Morning And Cleaned Our Windows. "
And So it is With Life.
What We See When Watching Others Depends
On The Purity Of The Window Through Which We Look!!!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Stay away from anger.... It hurts .... Only You!!!!

Stay away from Anger... It hurts ...
Only You!!!

The Wise man explained how to handle insult and maintain compassion. One day the wise man was walking through a village. A very angry and rude young man came up and began insulting him. "You have no right teaching others, he shouted." You are as stupid as everyone else. You are nothing but a fake."




The wise man was not upset by these insults. Instead he asked the young man "Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone, and that person does not take it, to whom does the gift belong?"

The man was surprised to be asked such a strange question and answered, "It would belong to me, because I bought the gift."



The wise man smiled and said, "That is correct. And it is exactly the same with your anger. If you become angry with me and I do not get insulted, then the anger falls back on you. You are then the only one who becomes unhappy, not me. All you have done is hurt yourself."

"If you want to stop hurting yourself, you must get rid of your anger and become loving instead. When you hate others, you yourself become unhappy. But when you love others, everyone is happy."



The young man listened closely to these wise words of the Wise man. "You are right,  "he said. "Please teach me the path of love. I wish to become your follower."

The Wise man answered kindly, "Of course. I teach anyone who truly wants to learn. Come with me."



Beautiful Quotes

If you are right then there is no need to get angry, And if you are wrong then you don't have any right to get angry.


Patience with family is love,
Patience with others is respect,
Patience with self is confidence and
Patience with GOD is faith.








Never Think Hard about PAST, It brings Tears...
Don't Think more about FUTURE, It brings Fears...
Live this Moment with a Smile, It brings Cheers.!!!!



Every test in our life makes us bitter or better,
Every problem comes to make us or break us,
Choice is our whether we become victim or victorious !!!



Do you know, why God created gaps between fingers? So that someone who is special to you, comes and fills those gaps by holding your hands forever.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

2012 - It's a year for spiritual renewal.


We had celebrated the coming of year 2012. There are a lot of ‘happening’ events taking place, eg. count down concerts, parties, shopping spree. That day also a very important for us especially for Christians, it is also the one-week old Jesus in your life. Do we take the time off to go for thanksgiving mass on the last day of the year? Do we examine ourselves for what good has been done? What wrongs that need to rectify with other people or God? Asking for pardon for what can not be undone, and give praise and glory to God for what has been accomplished through us.

Every human from the very beginning, was made In the image and likeness of God. However, the values and practices of the society made us ignorant to the needs and kindness towards others. We are promoting individualism, materialism. For example, we are so into accumulating wealth that sometimes, we do not care for the consequences of our selfishness. We turn on air-conditioner in the hotel rooms day and night just because ‘we paid for it’. However, we keep on complaining the intolerable heat outdoor. It is by someway caused by the excessive greenhouse gases release by power producers which run on fossil fuel.

Regardless of the genuineness of the myth of ‘2012’, we are to live our life as what has been exhorted by Christ – to be the salt and light of the world. St. Paul in his letters continually foretold “the time is near”, but the people then was living their life with hope till today. There’s no need for unnecessary fear of the judgment day. If we are well-prepared spiritually, we will be celebrating rather than fearing the coming of the Kings of Kings and Lords of Lords.

Friday, December 9, 2011

The Nativity Story told in current world.



A story that has been told to us by our fore-fathers orally, that the Emmanuel was with us here physically on earth 2 centuries ago.

Unfortunately, the current generation is too 'sucked into' the cyber-world and could not relate this story in the same manner it's been told to us.

Therefore, there's this need to put the same story in the context that they knows best - the social network. The Church continues on from the first disciples hand-picked by Christ himself up-to-date. There were many ideology and philosophy arise and gone, e.g. Marxism, Communism, etc. However, the truth will never be over ruled. Christ himself proclaim that he is the way, truth and life. (Jn14:6)

The Church has evolved from her mediaeval faults to adapt to the current world, but the core teachings which were passed down by Christ himself remain unchanged.

"Go and therefore, make disciples of all nations." (Mt28:19a) is the call of Jesus for all of us to reach out to proclaim the Gospel - The Good News. It was told to you personally by the Bishop during your confirmation. Jesus is the words who will reveals himself when you muse through the bible.

He promised :"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."(Jn8:32). Free in this context refers to no lies or misinformation that eventually fails over time.

So, therefore, go and spread this truth to your love ones.

Friday, December 2, 2011

"If I am saved and all of my sins are forgiven, why not continue to sin?"

Question: "If I am saved and all of my sins are forgiven, why not continue to sin?"

Answer: 
The apostle Paul answered a very similar question in Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” The idea that a person could “trust in Jesus Christ” for salvation and then go on living just as he/she lived before, is absolutely foreign to the Bible. Believers in Christ are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). The Holy Spirit changes us from producing the acts of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) to producing the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). The Christian life is a changed life because the Christian is changed.

What differentiates Christianity from every other religion is that Christianity is based on what God has done for us through Jesus Christ—divine accomplishment. Every other world religion is based on what we must do to earn God's favor and forgiveness—human achievement. Every other religion teaches that we must do certain things and stop doing certain other things in order to earn God's love and mercy. Christianity, faith in Christ, teaches that we do certain things and stop doing certain things because of what Christ has done for us.

How could anyone, having been delivered from sin's penalty, eternity in hell, go back to living the same life that had him on the path to hell in the first place? How could anyone, having been cleansed from the defilement of sin, desire to go back to the same cesspool of depravity? How could anyone, knowing what Jesus Christ did on our behalf, go on living as if He were not important? How could anyone, realizing how much Christ suffered for our sins, continue sinning as if those sufferings were meaningless?

Romans 6:11-15 declares, “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!”

For the truly converted, then, continuing to live sinfully is not an option. Because our conversion resulted in a completely new nature, our desire is to no longer live in sin. Yes, we still sin, but instead of wallowing in it as we once did, we now hate it and wish to be delivered from it. The idea of “taking advantage” of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf by continuing to live sinfully is unthinkable. If a person believes himself to be a Christian and still desires to live the old, sinful life, he has reason to doubt his salvation. “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5).

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Obedience in Jesus is the true cult to God

Today's Gospel Reading (Luke 8:19-21)
His mother and his brothers came looking for him, but they could not get to him because of the crowd.He was told, 'Your mother and brothers are standing outside and want to see you.'But he said in answer, 'My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice.'

Obedience in Jesus is the true cult to God
Today, Christ exacts our obedience. The "letter to the Hebrews" describes Old Testament worship as a "shadow" in view of the inadequacy of animal sacrifices that God does not require and which man does not give God what He might expect from man. Authentic worship to God is to be found in a life marked by His Word and within it.

However, our obedience is always lacking. Our personal morality is not enough to properly worship God. For this reason the Son of God becomes flesh; He takes on a human body. In this way a new obedience becomes possible, an obedience that surpasses all human fulfillment of God’s Commandments. The Son becomes man and in His Body bears the whole of humanity back to God. Only the incarnate Word, whose love is fulfilled on the Cross, is perfect obedience of the Son; it is the new sacrifice.

—O Jesus, You who are God incarnate, take us all with you and offer what we could not give just by ourselves.

Monday, September 19, 2011

What is the "Social Doctrine of the Church"?

Today's Gospel Reading (Luke 8:16-18)
No one lights a lamp to cover it with a bowl or to put it under a bed. No, it is put on a lamp-stand so that people may see the light when they come in.For nothing is hidden but it will be made clear, nothing secret but it will be made known and brought to light.So take care how you listen; anyone who has, will be given more; anyone who has not, will be deprived even of what he thinks he has.'
What is the "Social Doctrine of the Church"?
Today, we remember that Jesus Christ said He was the "Light of the world". It is the mission of the "Social Doctrine of the Church" to project this light over the whole world, by effectively permeating the hearts of all men and earthly structures. This social teaching of the Church is "caritas in veritate in re sociali", the proclamation of the truth of Christ’s love in society.

This doctrine is a service to charity, but its locus is truth. Developments, social well-being, the search for a satisfactory solution to the grave socio-economic problems besetting humanity, all need this truth. The Christian faith in promoting development does not rely on privileges or positions of power, but only on Christ, to whom every authentic vocation to integral human development must be directed. The Gospel is fundamental for development because, in the Gospel, Jesus Christ fully reveals humanity to itself.

—Lord, precisely because you pronounce the biggest "Yes" to man, I cannot fail to open myself to the divine vocation to reach my full potential.

Friday, September 16, 2011

The women


Today's Gospel Reading (Luke 8:1-3)
Now it happened that after this he made his way through towns and villages preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. With him went the Twelve, as well as certain women who had been cured of evil spirits and ailments: Mary surnamed the Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their own resources.

The women
Today, Jesus walks with the twelve and some women, spreading the
Word. There is a considerable difference between the way the disciples 
follow Jesus and the way the women do. The Gospels leave us in No 
doubt that “many” women formed part of the constituency of 
believers and that they “accompanied Jesus in the faith” which was essential to being part of this community. This is clearly demonstrated later on at the foot of the Cross and at the resurrection.

In opposition to the customs of the times where women were considered
secondary citizens, Christ started a sort of female emancipation.
Femininity completes humanity as much as masculinity does but in very
different ways; Women have a special sensitivity to be able to capture
what is new, different and great, what is mysterious that appears in
Jesus Christ. He brings them into his company in a special way and from
this comes forth the "Womanly Charisma".

—Mary, you are blessed among all women and mother of the church.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Our Lady of Sorrows


Today's Gospel Reading (Luke 2:33-35)
As the child's father and mother were wondering at the things that were being said about him, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, 'Look, he is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is opposed- and a sword will pierce your soul too -- so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.'.



Our Lady of Sorrows
Today, the Gospel not only tells us what women were next to the
Cross, but also that Jesus Christ does not leave His mother alone:
He places her in the custody of John. When St. John speaks of human
acts like this, he certainly remembers events that had actually occurred,
but he always wants to go deeper than mere facts of the past. So,
what is he trying to say?

The first clue comes from his form of address to Mary: "Woman".
Jesus had used this same form of address at the marriage feast of Cana,
anticipation of the definitive marriage feast, of the "new wine" that the
Lord wanted to bestow. What had then been merely a prophetic sign
now becomes a reality. Second, the Church has not had any difficulty
to recognize in the "Woman", on the one hand, Mary herself, and,
on the other hand —transcending time— the "Church", bride and
Mother, in which the mystery of Mary spreads out into history.

—O Jesus, I wish to receive Mary as a person (our Mother!) in my
own personal existence and as a Church, thus fulfilling your last will,
as St. John also did.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross


Today's Gospel Reading (John3:13-17)
No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the Son of man; as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. For this is how God loved the world: he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.For God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but so that through him the world might be saved.
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Today, Nicodemus, who "took out the nails" from Jesus Christ, receives
an anticipated revelation: the Son of man will be "ex-alted" (high and lifted
up from the Earth) and will draw all men unto Himself. The emerging
Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, was slowly getting deeper
into this truth. One thing was clear from the onset: with the Cross of Christ,
the ancient sacrifices of the temple were definitely outdone. Something new
had happened!

God did not want to be glorified by sacrificing bulls and rams, whose blood
cannot purify man nor atone for him. The new desired cult, but still undefined
until then, had become a reality. In the Cross of Jesus it had been verified what
in vain had been attempted with animal sacrifices: Christ has occupied their
place. The temple was still a venerable place of prayer and announcement.
Its sacrifices, on the other hand, were no longer binding upon Christians.

—We adore you, Oh Christ!, and we bless you, because with your Holy Cross
you redeemed the world.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

The greatness of humanity depends on its relation with the sufferer


Today's Gospel Reading (Luke 7:11-17)
It happened that soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, 
accompanied by his disciples and a great number of people. Now 
when he was near the gate of the town there was a dead man being 
carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a 
considerable number of the townspeople was with her. When 
the Lord saw her he felt sorry for her and said to her, 'Don't cry.' Then 
he went up and touched the bier and the bearers stood still, and he said, 
'Young man, I tell you: get up.' And the dead man sat up and began to 
talk, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Everyone was filled with awe 
and glorified God saying, 'A great prophet has risen up among us; God 
has visited his people.' And this view of him spread throughout Judaea 
and all over the countryside



The greatness of humanity depends on its relation 
with the sufferer
Today, the mercy of God towards the needy is highlighted. The true
measure of humanity is essentially determined in relationship to
suffering and to the sufferer. This holds true both for the individual and
for society.

A society unable to accept its suffering members and incapable of
helping to share their suffering and to bear it inwardly through "com-
passion" is a cruel and inhuman society. Yet society cannot accept its
suffering members unless individuals are capable of doing so
themselves; moreover, the individual cannot accept another’s suffering
unless he personally is able to find meaning in suffering, a path of
purification and growth in maturity, a journey of hope.

—O Jesus, help me to welcome the sufferer by taking up his suffering,
so it becomes also mine. Then, this shared suffering will be penetrated
by the light of love and we will experience the joy of consolation:
both of us —united in suffering— will find You, Who suffered on the
cross for us.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Religion, "laïcité positive" and "secularism"


Today's Gospel Reading (Luke 7:1-10)
When he had come to the end of all he wanted the people to hear, 
he went into Capernaum. A centurion there had a servant, a favourite 
of his, who was sick and near death. Having heard about Jesus he sent 
some Jewish elders to him to ask him to come and heal his servant. 
When they came to Jesus they pleaded earnestly with him saying, 
'He deserves this of you, because he is well disposed towards our people;
he built us our synagogue himself.' So Jesus went with them, and was 
not very far from the house when the centurion sent word to him by 
some friends to say to him, 'Sir, do not put yourself to any trouble 
because I am not worthy to have you under my roof; and that is why I
did not presume to come to you myself; let my boy be cured by your 
giving the word. For I am under authority myself, and have soldiers 
under me; and I say to one man, "Go," and he goes; to another, "Come 
here," and he comes; to my servant, "Do this," and he does it.' When
Jesus heard these words he was astonished at him and, turning round, 
said to the crowd following him, 'I tell you, not even in Israel have 
I found faith as great as this.' And when the messengers got back to 
the house they found the servant in perfect health.


Religion, "laïcité positive" and "secularism"
Today, this scene plunges us in a social atmosphere of
"endearing humanity": a centurion —a foreigner— is concerned about
one of his servants; he sends some elders of the Jews to plead with Jesus
to heal his servant who is seriously ill… There is an element that brings
them together: "he has built our synagogue". In their multifaceted
diversity (origin, culture, social position… even religion), they are united
by their respect to "religiosity".

"Laïcité positive" seeks a fair political autonomy: it avoids the
"confessional"State, but assumes the deep human fact of the religiosity
("secularism"rejects it). It is essential to insist on the distinction between
"politics" and"religion” to protect as much the religious freedom of all
citizens as the State responsibility for them. On the other hand, we
should become more aware of the irreplaceable role of religion for the
formation of consciences and the contribution which it can bring to
—among other things— the creation of a basic ethical consensus within
society.

—O Lord, we adore You and we pray to you for our authorities.

Friday, September 9, 2011

The "blindness" of relativism - Love of God is certain and undeniable


Today's Gospel Reading (Luke 6:39-42)
He also told them a parable, 'Can one blind person guide another? 
Surely both will fall into a pit? Disciple is not superior to teacher; 
but fully trained disciple will be like teacher. 
Why do you observe the splinter in your brother's eye and 
never notice the great log in your own? 
How can you say to your brother, "Brother, let me take out that 
splinter in your eye," when you cannot see the great log in 
your own? Hypocrite! Take the log out of your own eye first,
and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter in 
your brother's eyes



The "blindness" of relativism
Today, it turns out to be very much in progress the description
made by St. Paul about "nonage" in the faith: to be tossed back
and forth by the waves and being blown here and there by every
wind of teaching. How many "winds" of doctrine have we known
these recent decades! From Marxism to Liberalism, even to
Libertinism; from collectivism to radical individualism; from
atheism to a vague religious mysticism... and so forth. This is the
worst blindness, because one does not know to which place one is
going or where should one go.

Having a clear Faith, based on the Creed of the Church, is often
labeled today as a fundamentalism. Whereas, relativism —the
"blindness" of thinking according to "what is in fashion"— looks
like the only attitude acceptable to today’s standards. We are
moving towards a dictatorship of relativism which does not
recognize anything as certain and which has as its highest goal one’s
own ego and one’s own desires.

—Our friendship with you, O Jesus, is our "measure": the measure
of true humanism. Your friendship gives us the criterion to discern
between veracity and falsehood, between deception and truth...

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Birth of Mary - God's work in secret


Today's Gospel Reading (Matthew 1: 1-16.18-23)
Roll of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham: Abraham fathered Isaac, Isaac fathered Jacob, Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers, Judah fathered Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, Salmon fathered Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed fathered Jesse; and Jesse fathered King David. David fathered Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife, Solomon fathered Rehoboam, Rehoboam fathered Abijah, Abijah fathered Asa, Asa fathered Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat fathered Joram, Joram fathered Uzziah, Uzziah fathered Jotham, Jotham fathered Ahaz, Ahaz fathered Hezekiah, Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered Amon, Amon fathered Josiah;and Josiah fathered Jechoniah and his brothers. Then the deportation to Babylon took place. 

After the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah fathered Shealtiel, Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel fathered Abiud, Abiud fathered Eliakim, Eliakim fathered Azor, Azor fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Achim, Achim fathered Eliud, Eliud fathered Eleazar, Eleazar fathered Matthan, Matthan fathered Jacob; and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ. 

This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being an upright man and wanting to spare her disgrace, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.' Now all this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: Look! the virgin is with child and will give birth to a son whom they will call Immanuel, a name which means 'God-is-with-us'.
Birth of Mary
Today, Jesus' genealogy, the Saviour that had to come and be born
of Mary, shows us how the work of God is interwoven into human
history, and how God acts in the secret and silence of every single day.
At the same time, we can see his reliability to accomplish his promises.

The Holy Spirit, that mysteriously had to incarnate the Son in Mary,
entered, therefore, in our history since a long time before, and traced
a path leading to the Virgin Mary of Nazareth and, through her,
to her Son Jesus. In this work, everything bring us to contemplate,
 admire and worship, through prayer, the greatness, the generosity
and the simplicity of the divine action, that will extol and rescue
our human lineage through our Lord’s personal involvement.

—This girl, virgin and Jesus' mother, had to be also our mother.
Who could ever imagine God to be so great and so simple as to so
intimately bind himself to us?

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

The "Beatitudes", the Christian’s paradoxes - Christ set of values rather than of the world.

Today's Gospel Reading (Luke 6,20-26)

Then fixing his eyes on his disciples he said: 
How blessed are you who are poor: the kingdom of God is yours 
Blessed are you who are hungry now: you shall have your fill. 
Blessed are you who are weeping now: you shall laugh. 
'Blessed are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, 
denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of man. 
Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, look!
-your reward will be great in heaven. 
This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets 
But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now.
 Alas for you who have plenty to eat now: you shall go hungry. 
Alas for you who are laughing now: you shall mourn and weep. '
Alas for you when everyone speaks well of you! 
This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.

The "Beatitudes", the Christian’s paradoxes
Today, Jesus repeatedly calls "blessed" to his disciples.
The "Beatitudes" are words of promise that work at
the same time as moral guidance.
Each "beatitude" describes, so to speak,
the realistic condition of the disciples of Christ:
they are poor, they are hungry, they cry, they are hated,
 persecuted... The beatitudes are like practical "qualifications",
but also like theological-moral indications.

Despite the threatening situation in which Jesus considers
his disciples, this situation becomes a promise when
regarded in the light coming from the Father.
For the disciple, the "Beatitudes" are a paradox:
the standards of the world are turned upside down
when you just look at things from God’s scale of values.
The "Beatitudes" are promises resplendent with the
new image of the world and of the man inaugurated by Jesus,
His "transformation of values ".

—When I "look" through you, O Lord, then,
I live with new standards, I begin to "feel" something of what is
yet to come (Heaven) and joy enters in my tribulation.