Acts, Chapter 15, Verse 9
He made no distinction between us and them, for by faith he purified their hearts.
This verse is about the
Jewish practice of circumcision. Were the Greek Christians required to be
circumcised? The apostles determined that the leaders should not put obstacles
to commitment. They should ask only the compromises needed to enable Christian
Jews to associate in table fellowship with non-Jewish Christians.[1]
Are you circumcised or
uncircumcised? Today we might divide ourselves as the early Christians did: Are
you a democrat or a republican. At this point what does it matter; no matter
the election results we must have
faith that God’s purpose will be done. We must
purify our hearts and render unto Caesar (New President) our heartfelt
determination to serve the Nation by living our catholic beliefs within the
political system with a willingness to compromise wherever possible except in
matters the breech the covenant of God.
From a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, pope
My dear brethren, there is no doubt that the Son of God took
our human nature into so close a union with himself that one and the
same Christ is present, not only in the firstborn of all creation, but
in all his saints as well. The head cannot be separated from the
members, nor the members from the head. Not in this life, it is true,
but only in eternity will God be all in all, yet even now he dwells,
whole and undivided, in his temple the Church. Such was his promise to
us when he said: See, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.
And so all that the Son of God did and taught for the world's
reconciliation is not for us simply a matter of past history. Here and
now we experience his power at work among us. Born of a virgin mother
by the action of the Holy Spirit, Christ keeps his Church spotless and
makes her fruitful by the inspiration of the same Spirit. In baptismal
regeneration she brings forth children for God beyond all numbering.
These are the sons of whom it is written: They are born not of blood, nor of the desire of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
In Christ Abraham's posterity is blessed, because in him the
whole world receives the adoption of sons, and in him the patriarch
becomes the father of all nations through the birth, not from human
stock but by faith, of the descendants that were promised to him. From
every nation on earth, without exception, Christ forms a single flock
of those he has sanctified, daily fulfilling the promise he once made: I
have other sheep, not of this fold, whom it is also ordained that I
shall lead; and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
Although it was primarily to Peter that he said: Feed my sheep,
yet the one Lord guides all the pastors in the discharge of their
office and leads to rich and fertile pastures all those who come to the
rock. There is no counting the the sheep who are nourished with his
abundant love, and who are prepared to lay down their lives for the
sake of the good shepherd who died for them.
But it is not only the martyrs who share in his passion by their
glorious courage; the same is true, by faith, of all who are reborn
through baptism. That is why we are to celebrate the Lord's paschal
sacrifice with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. The leaven
of our former malice is thrown out, and a new creature is filled and
inebriated with the Lord himself. For the effect of our sharing in the
body and blood of Christ is to change us into what we receive. As we
have died with him, and have been buried and raised to life with him,
so we bear him within us, both in body and in spirit, in everything we
do.
United We Stand Divided We Fall-As a united nation together we can strive for excellence.
Excellence
Examining the life of Wilma Rudolph who was one of the fastest women on earth and is John McCain’s example for the characteristic of excellence. It is good to reflect that excellence is not achieved alone Wilma achieve greatness because of the love and support of her family and because of the creativity of herself and her family. Having a creative mind is essential to making right judgments which will be the next step up in our study of character. Now would be a good time to review our progress so far and realize that for one to have a creative mind they must first be curious (Darwin), enthusiastic (Roosevelt); discerning (da Vinci), and filled with aspiration (Magellan) are essential to come to excellence.
McCain states that Wilma Rudolph:
Survived poverty, racism, and polio to become the fastest woman on earth and was known to journalists as La Gazelle Noire, the Black Gazelle and go on to win a gold medal in the 1960 Olympics.
Blanche and Eddie Rudolph had already welcomed nineteen children into the world when little Wilma arrived on June 23, 1940, two months ahead of schedule. Blanche had fallen down and almost immediately gone into labor. Weighing a little over four pounds at birth, Wilma Glodean Rudolph wasn’t expected to live long. That the newborn survived those first perilous weeks was an early indication of the strength she would employ to see herself safely through the many crises of her childhood. Blanche and Eddie were extraordinary parents, hardworking and devoted to their children. But with twenty-two children (two more were born after Wilma), and each parent holding more than one job, Eddie as a railroad porter and handyman, Blanche a laundress and housekeeper, it was hard to give much attention to any individual child. Wilma would need a lot of attention, and would have little prospect of finding much help outside her family. The family’s poverty and the injustices of the segregated South offered scant encouragement to the Rudolph’s as they looked to their community in rural Clarksville, Tennessee, for the care that their lively but chronically ill daughter needed. But they did the best they could; for as poor as they were, they were rich in virtue, and gave their struggling child the love and encouragement she needed to believe she might one day be a healthy, happy little girl. Wilma suffered measles, mumps, chicken pox, and the whooping cough before she was four years old. Colds and the flu constantly plagued her. She spent most of her early childhood in bed. Shortly before her fifth birthday, Wilma became very sick with scarlet fever and pneumonia in both her lungs. Again, she was not expected to survive. Her family covered her in blankets, plied her with the usual remedies, comforted her, and prayed. But the illness persisted. Even as the crisis began to abate, a strange symptom occurred that caused her worried family even greater alarm. Wilma’s left leg began to twist to one side. When her parents encouraged her to move it, she told them she couldn’t. The doctor was called, and after examining her briefly, he informed Eddie and Blanche that their daughter had been stricken with polio, for which there was then no known cure. If she survived, he warned them, she would never walk again. But walk she did. Her family saved her. Their constant encouragement and care helped Wilma to overcome her despair, and summon such a great quantity of strength and courage, and an almost superhuman power of concentration, that she would in time become known as their miracle child. She attributed those qualities to the great fortune of having a loving family. “The doctors told me I would never walk,” she wrote in her autobiography, “but my mother told me I would, so I believed my mother.” One day, as Wilma felt the onset of another illness, she decided she would begin to fight. “Enough! No more taking everything that comes along, no more drifting off, no more wondering.”
During the long years of her rehabilitation, when few outside her family ever believed that day would come, Wilma had developed into a young girl with extraordinary reserves of strength, and had learned to pursue goals that were beyond the reach of most people with a tremendous intensity of resolve and concentration. She was not just a normal, healthy kid. She was special, and she knew it. Now that she had beat the odds and learned to walk again, she decided to focus her formidable strength on becoming an athlete. There are four things necessary to excel at a sport, or anything, for that matter: skill, concentration, willingness to struggle, and love. When she was only sixteen, she made the American women’s track and field team in the 1956 Olympic Games, which were held in Melbourne, Australia. Then in 1960, she was the first American woman to win three gold medals. And she was, beyond dispute, the fastest woman on earth. The girl had beaten polio, poverty, and racism to become the greatest female athlete of her time, and one of the most beloved people in the world.
[1]
The Collegeville Bible Commentary
COURAGE FOR THE MODERN WORLD 2017
Authored by Mr. Richard H. Havermale Jr.This book is the continuation of my first book based on more than 365 references in the Bible to fear, dread, and that in fact our God encourages us to "BE NOT AFRAID". To do this we must be in the presence of our Lord and talk to Him. I recommend you develop the habit of spending 10-15 minutes a day with our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel or if that is not available some other quiet place where you can be in the presence of our Lord. Read the daily entry and reflect on it asking our Lord and His mother to talk to your heart and reveal to you the will of the Father and then Do it. The layout of this book is to list and reflect on the books of the bible Sirach through Revelations. In the early part of September my search of the verses dealing with fear and being afraid was completed; so I asked the Lord what do I, do now. After some reflection I realize that the fruit of fear in the Lord is the Theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Love which ultimately results in Peace of the Lord. As a consequence the month of September will deal with Peace, October with Love and the month of November will be reflections on Faith and Hope. After Thanksgiving for the season of Advent and Christmas this work uses a multitude of references that reflect the Christmas season. There are many theologians who state that the eighth deadly sin is fear itself. It is fear and its natural animal reaction to fight or flight that is the root cause of our failings to create a Kingdom of God on earth. Saint John Paul II in his writings and talks also tells us to BE NOT AFRAID. In fear or anger we walk away from God. Our Lord, Jesus Christ taught us how to walk back toward God in His sermon on the mount through the Beatitudes. Each of the beatitudes is the antidote for the opposite deadly sins.
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