Saturday, September 28, 2019
ST.
WENCESLAUS
Luke, Chapter 9, Verse 44-45
44 “Pay attention to
what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” 45 But they did not understand this
saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it,
and they were afraid to ask him about
this saying.
The apostles were so caught up with the glory of
Christ and their own dreams of power that they dared not look at the truth. We
often prefer to live in fantasy rather than face the present and actually see
what is really going on. We like the apostles must “Pay Attention.” We must be
mindful of others and support them where we can, we must check in with others,
exercise forgiveness and engage in service to others and our (first to our
families, charity begins at home-there should be no orphans in your family)
community.
Amoris Lætitia[1]
Looking to Jesus: The Vocation of the Family-Jesus
restores and fulfills God’s plan (61-65)
Contrary to those who rejected marriage as evil, the
New Testament teaches that “everything created by God is good and nothing is to
be rejected.” Marriage is “a gift” from the Lord. At the same time, precisely
because of this positive understanding, the New Testament strongly emphasizes
the need to safeguard God’s gift: “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and
let the marriage bed be undefiled.” This divine gift includes sexuality: “Do
not refuse one another.”
God’s original plan for man and woman, reaffirmed the
indissoluble union between them, even stating that ‘it was for your hardness of
heart that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it
was not so’ (Mt 19:8). The indissolubility of marriage – ‘what God has joined
together, let no man put asunder’ (Mt 19:6) – should not be viewed as a ‘yoke’
imposed on humanity, but as a ‘gift’ granted to those who are joined in
marriage… God’s indulgent love always accompanies our human journey; through
grace, it heals and transforms hardened hearts, leading them back to the
beginning through the way of the cross.
Through his Church, Christ bestows on marriage and the
family the grace necessary to bear witness to the love of God and to live the
life of communion. The Gospel of the family spans the history of the world,
from the creation of man and woman in the image and likeness of God (cf. Gen
1:26-27), to the fulfillment of the mystery of the covenant in Christ at the
end of time with the marriage of the Lamb (cf. Rev 19:9).”
He began his public ministry with the miracle at the
wedding feast of Cana (cf. Jn 2:1-11). In this way he demonstrated the true
meaning of mercy, which entails the restoration of the covenant (cf. John Paul
II, Dives in Misericordia, 4). We need to enter into the mystery of Jesus’
birth, into that “yes” given by Mary to the message of the angel, when the Word
was conceived in her womb. We need to contemplate the joy of the shepherds
before the manger. We need to contemplate the religious expectation of
Zechariah and his joy at the birth of John the Baptist. We then need to peer
into those thirty long years when Jesus earned his keep by the work of his
hands, reciting the traditional prayers and expressions of his people’s faith
and coming to know that ancestral faith until he made it bear fruit in the
mystery of the Kingdom. This is the mystery of Christmas and the secret of
Nazareth, exuding the beauty of family life!
·
Throughout
his life he preserved his virginity unblemished.
·
As
duke he was a father to his subjects, generous toward orphans, widows, and the
poor.
·
On
his own shoulders he frequently carried wood to the houses of the needy.
·
He
often attended the funerals of the poor, ransomed captives, and visited those
suffering in prison.
·
He
was filled with a deep reverence toward the clergy; with his own hands he sowed
the wheat for making altar breads and pressed the grapes for the wine used in
the Mass.
·
During
winter he would visit the churches barefoot through snow and ice, frequently
leaving behind bloody footprints.
Things to
Do
·
Learn
more about Prague and the Czech
Republic and St. Vitus Cathedral, supposedly started by St. Wenceslas in the
10th century as a small chapel to house relics of St. Vitus and where in the
14th century St. John Nepomucene was buried after being executed for refusing
to violate the seal of the confessional.
·
Teach
your children the Christmas carol, Good King Wenceslas and discuss his
life and virtue. If you can find a copy, a wonderful book with music and
illustrations is called Good King Wenceslas: A Legend in Music and Pictures
by Mary Reed Newland, published by Seabury Press, 1980.
Our
mindset connects or disconnects us with others—there are a number of ways we
can “see” others from an inward mindset. Traditionally, Arbinger has
categorized these three ways of seeing others as obstacles, vehicles or simply
irrelevant.
1. When I’m seeing someone as an
obstacle, I see them as “in my way”, or as a hindrance to what I’m seeking to
accomplish.
2. When I’m seeing someone as a vehicle, I use
them to get me what I want, or where I need to go. They might have information
or connections that are valuable to me, so I “play nice” until I get what I
want.
3. When someone is irrelevant to me, I
don’t care about them and likely don’t allow their humanity to impact me in any
way.
All
three of these labels are ultimately ways that I objectify others. When I’m
seeing someone as an obstacle, vehicle or irrelevancy, I’m not seeing them as a
human being with needs, concerns, hopes and fears similar to my own. Think of
someone who you struggle to see as a person. Perhaps they get on your nerves
frequently, or perhaps you avoid them at all costs. This person might be a
coworker, a family member, a neighbor—someone with whom you feel your
relationship could improve. How do you see this particular person? Are they
often an obstacle? A vehicle? Mostly irrelevant? If the person you have in mind
feels like an obstacle to you, consider how you might not be receiving their
goodness or kindness. If this person feels more like a vehicle to you, contemplate
what needs they might have that you’re failing to see? Are you looking to
simply “get”, or are you willing to give? For someone you’re seeing as
irrelevant, what must it feel like
for him or her to feel ignored, barely noticed or hardly cared about? Have you
ever been seen as an obstacle, a vehicle or irrelevant? How did it feel? Ponder
what underlying qualities you might be missing in the person you’re thinking
of. What might the people who love them see in them?
“For God so loved
the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may
not perish but may have eternal life.”-John 3:16
Daily Devotions
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