Acts, Chapter 9, verse 26
When he arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they
were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.
Christ tells us
to love our enemy which is much easier to say than to do. Yet as much as
possible we are to not fear them but strive to love them. Often, we find it
difficult to love even our family and neighbors let alone our enemies. In fact,
the opposite of fear is not courage but love. Hebrews, Chapter 13, Verse’ 1-6 show the following ways of living
to demonstrate true love or charity.
·
In
all that you do be an agent of hospitality. That is to be generous.
Even the poor can be rich in their praise and love of others. Share not only
your time, talent and treasure but truly give of yourself to others of your
intellect, emotional support, and physical presence. A good guide is the
spiritual works of mercy: instruct the ignorant; counsel
the doubtful; admonish sinners; bear wrongs patiently;
forgive offences willingly; comfort the afflicted; pray for
the living and the dead.
·
Do
what you can to free others of their prisons whether these are
self-imposed i.e. addictions or through ignorance. A good guide is the corporal
works of mercy: feed the hungry; give drink to the thirsty; clothe the naked;
harbor the harbor-less; visit the sick; ransom the captive; bury the
dead.
·
Marriage
is the physical reality of our soul’s marriage to God through the Holy Spirit;
therefore. If married love and honor your wife; be chase in spirit whether
married or single knowing that marriage is the physical sign of your union with
God. Disdain any kind of sexual defilement.
·
Avoid
the love of money.
Seek simplicity and contentment. Treat all the wealth you have as if it were
Gods; on loan to you to build the Kingdom; which it is. You can do this if you
know and trust God will never forsake you or abandon you.
The true meaning of
love is to seek the good of the other as other.
This country cannot
afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor. John F. Kennedy
Have we become a soulless Nation? Have we in the
pursuit of happiness; ignored the Gospel of Life. Realizing that if we put
success or liberty as greater values than life that we are serving Caesar and
not God. To understand this, we need to review the US Bishops “The Gospel of
Life”.
Brothers and sisters in the Lord:
At the conclusion of the 1998 ad limina visits of the bishops of the United States, our Holy Father Pope John Paul II spoke these words:
At the conclusion of the 1998 ad limina visits of the bishops of the United States, our Holy Father Pope John Paul II spoke these words:
Today
I believe the Lord is saying to us all: do not hesitate, do not be afraid to
engage the good fight of the faith (cf. I Tim 6:12). When we preach the
liberating message of Jesus Christ we are offering the words of life to the
world. Our prophetic witness is an urgent and essential service not just
to the Catholic community but to the whole human family.
In this statement we attempt to fulfill our role as
teachers and pastors in proclaiming the Gospel of Life. We are confident
that the proclamation of the truth in love is an indispensable way for us to
exercise our pastoral responsibility.
"Your country stands upon the world scene as a model
of a democratic society at an advanced stage of development. Your power
of example carries with it heavy responsibilities. Use it well,
America!" --Pope John Paul II, Newark, 1995
When Henry Luce published his appeal for an
"American century" in 1941, he could not have known how the coming
reality would dwarf his dream. Luce hoped that the "engineers,
scientists, doctors . . . builders of roads [and] teachers" of the United
States would spread across the globe to promote economic success and American
ideals: "a love of freedom, a feeling for the quality of opportunity, a
tradition of self-reliance and independence and also cooperation." Exactly
this, and much more, has happened in the decades since. U.S. economic
success has reshaped the world. But the nobility of the American
experiment flows from its founding principles, not from its commercial
power. In this century alone, hundreds of thousands of Americans have
died defending those principles. Hundreds of thousands more have lived
lives of service to those principles -- both at home and on other continents --
teaching, advising and providing humanitarian assistance to people in
need. As Pope John Paul has observed, "At the center of the moral
vision of [the American] founding documents is the recognition of the rights of
the human person . . ." The greatness of the United States lies
"especially [in its] respect for the dignity and sanctity of human life in
all conditions and at all stages of development."
Now
the word of the Lord came to me saying: Before I formed you in the womb I knew
you, before you were born, I consecrated you; a prophet to the nations I
appointed you.
--Jeremiah 1:5
--Jeremiah 1:5
"Read
these counsels slowly. Pause to meditate on these thoughts. They are things
that I whisper in your ear-confiding them-as a friend, as a brother, as a
father. And they are being heard by God. I won't tell you anything new. I will
only stir your memory, so that some thought will arise and strike you; and so
you will better your life and set out along ways of prayer and of Love. And in
the end you will be a more worthy soul."
11. Will-power. Energy. Example. What
has to be done, is done... without hesitation, without more worrying. Otherwise,
Teresa of Avila would not have been Saint Teresa: nor Iñigo of Loyola, Saint
Ignatius. God and daring! 'We want Christ to reign!'
Daily Devotions
·
Please
pray for me and this ministry
·
Please
Pray for Senator
McCain and our country; asking Our Lady of Beauraing to
intercede.
[1]
Render unto Caesar, Charles J. Chaput
[2]http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/abortion/living-the-gospel-of-life.cfm
[3]http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_way-point-1.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment