"A Christian isn’t a person who simply follows some commandments, but is a person who tries to think like Christ, act like him, love like him,  Being a Christian means allowing Jesus to take possession of our lives and change them, transform them, free us from the darkness of evil and sin. Christians have an obligation to be visible, clear, brilliant signs of hope." Pope Francis

"Marriage is a spiritual reality. That is to say, a man and a woman come together for life, not just because they experience deep love for each other, but because they believe that God loves each of them with an infinite love and has called them to each other to be living witnesses of that love. To love is to embody God's infinite love in a faithful communion with another human being." (Henri Nouwen)

When Jesus gives us himself in the Eucharist, he seeks total  communion with us. He gives his total self to us. For this union to reach its ultimate intimacy, we are to give our total self to him. We are to surrender all that is ours, all that we hold on to, all of our concerns to him. He is the Lord and we hold nothing back. This is what St. Theresa of Avila experienced one day in Eucharist. Only then is the union truly a communion. All He has is mine and all I have is his.

"Behold, I am doing something New" Is 43:19 Part I

What was the new thing God was doing in the midst of his people who were in exile?

Let us read the passage in context. 43:14-21.

The Chosen people of God are in exile because they had broken their covenant with God. God had sent numerous prophets proclaiming a call of repentance and return to the Lord their God, but the leaders and the people on the whole ignored the prophetic warnings. They trusted in those false prophets instead who tickled their ears, saying things they wanted to hear. They believed that since they were the Chosen people of God, that as long as they gave lip service to the law of the covenant they could live a double life. They looked back on their history and saw the many times God delivered them from their enemies. Why would he not do the same in their time and situation?

We know what happened. The prophetic word of God was fulfilled. Their enemies overwhelmed them after a long siege which devastated them almost to extinction. The remnant was brought to Babylon. Jeremiah the prophet was one of the ones who tried to warn the leaders. But they refused to listen. But after his prophetic word came true, he gave the exiles hope without them fully understanding. He said that their exile would last for 70 years.

During that time the word of God was still present to the people in exile. They were told to make the most of their situation; to remain faithful to the covenant and the laws of Moses.

The first part of the passage we read stresses that Yahweh will again redeem his people as he once did for their ancestors when they were slaves in Egypt. The Babylonians who were their present conquers will be overthrown. The point in fact is that the prophet is setting the stage for the divinely appointed mission of Cyrus, the Persian.. For it is he who would conquer Babylon and the fall of that city will usher in the opening act in the future drama of the Chosen people’s redemption again.

How does God assure them of this? He recalls for them the fact that it was He who made a way for the Israelites to cross through the Red Sea on dry soil; while at the same God destroyed the pursuing Egyptian charioteers who drowned when the waters returned to their normal level.

But it is not the past that the Lord wants them to reflect on or to live in. Remembrance of the past is only to help them to understand what God was about to do in the present moment for them because of his everlasting love. Just as mightily will God act on behalf of his people once again as he delivers them from Babylonian captivity and return them to the Promised Land. God is not the God of the past but of the present. What God did in a marvelous, miraculous way to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage, he will do once more to redeem the Israelites in the present condition.

The present context is situated in the true identity of who God is. "Here is the words of Yahweh your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel....the Holy God, the creator of Israel, your King."(43:14, 15)

It is because who he is that he will redeem his people. As God made a way through the Red Sea which seemed impossible to the Israelites at the time with their backs to the sea and the Egyptians coming against them in battle array, so God will make a way for the present people through the desert back to Jerusalem. At the same time God will both protect and provide for them: protect them from their enemies and provide nourishment and drink during their journey.

As God prepared the people by proclaiming what he was about to do on their behalf because he was God, he also indicated what their response should be. Besides believing and acting on the word of God, they were to "proclaim his praises" both before and after it happens.

The passage that follows indicates that it was lack of true worship and sacrifice was the reason for the collapse of Israel and the resulting exile of the people. As the people are about to experience the redemptive mercy of Yahweh, they were freely to break into praise and glory before God as the Israelites did after their deliverance from Egypt.

What happened in fact was that God did fulfilled his prophetic word and did something new in the life of his people. But it went beyond their restoration and return to Jerusalem. For when they returned their hearts were disheartened because Jerusalem was in total ruin and the Temple burnt and destroyed. In prophecy God told the people that he was going to restore the beauty and life of Jerusalem and the Temple in such a way that the former glory would be nothing in comparison to the new glory. And so he did.

When the early Church Fathers reflected on this passage from Isaiah, they saw more than what actually happened. They also saw it to have a greater and fuller meaning. Ambrose saw it as applying to what God did in the Incarnation. Superceding the normal process of conception, doing what was beyond the imagination or expectation of human beings, God became Man in the person of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin.

Irenaeus interpreted this passage of God doing something new as a foreshadowing of the new covenant God will establish with his people: the new covenant established by Jesus at the Last Supper and on the Cross.

How are we to apply this passage to our present moment? First, we need to recall and respond with praise to the author of that Word: God, our Creator, our Redeemer, and our Sanctifier. Our praise is not to be a mere lip service but an authentic offering of a heart and mind that stands continually in awe of God.

Secondly, we must recognize that the Word of God is timeless and though meant for the people who were the original recipients, the Word of God has a life beyond any particular point of history. So when we read that Jesus says, forgive or you will not be forgiven, those words were not meant only for his contemporaries but for us as well. When Jesus called for repentance, that is a call we must hear and respond to in our own lives on a daily basis.

Thirdly, we are called to be a people who is rooted firmly in the present moment in spite of the pull to look and long for the so-called glorious past or the pull to yearn for a future that is not yet. Yes, we are called to remember the past but not to idolize it nor allow shame and guilt to shackle us in the darkness of lost and despair. The past we are to remember is what God has done in spite of our sinfulness and failures. The future we are to keep before us is the prize on high won for us by Jesus through his death and resurrection. But it is neither in the past nor the future that we find life, only in the present moment in the presence of the living God who is doing something new now.

Fourthly, we are to perceive what is God is doing. This perception is a gift of the Holy Spirit who gives us all we need to correctly perceive the grace of God in our life in the present moment. It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the gift of wisdom to enable us to perceive what is in the mind of God for us in the present moment. It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the gift of knowledge to be able to have a clarity of what we perceive. It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the gift of understanding to be able to draw the necessary conclusions of what we perceive and know. It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the counsel and discernment to have certainty that we are following the will of God. It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the courage and fortitude to be able act on this knowledge and understanding. It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the desire to respond to the revelation of God with praise and thanksgiving. It is the Holy Spirit who brings us to a deeper awareness of the awesomeness of the God who reveal his plan to us.

Fifthly, we are to act on the new thing God is doing in the present moment in our life. It is in the present moment that we will hear God’s voice and see the move of his Spirit. We are to learn to be attentive to the present moment having studied and remembered the past. We are to open to the future direction of the Lord as we remain rooted in the present moment.

"The life of the Christian has three distinguishing aspects: deeds, words and thought. Thought comes first, then words, since our words express openly the interior conclusions of the mind. Finally, after thoughts and words, comes action, for our deeds carry out what the mid has conceived. So when one of these results in our acting or speaking or thinking, we must make sure that all our thoughts, words and deeds are controlled by the divine ideal, the revelation of Christ. For then our thoughts, words and deeds will not fall short of the nobility of their implications." St Gregory of Nyssa

When Jesus had crossed again (in the boat) to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea. One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, "My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live."
  It is obvious the girl is dying and to Jairus Jesus is his last hope. He must have heard or seen the power of Jesus already. Do we sometimes wait until the last moment before calling upon Jesus?
He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him. There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.
Mark often times interrupts one story and inserts another that is connected.
Her hemorrhage made her ritually unclean according to the belief of the Jewish people who followed the Law. That meant she could not go into the Temple without first be ritually washed.

She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse. She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured."

                   She too had "heard" about Jesus. In her unworthiness she sought just  to touch his
                   garments           
Even the act of touching Jesus’ garment would technically make Jesus ritually unclean. It is not enough to be in the presence of Jesus or even to touch him. The faith of the woman made the difference. Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who has touched my clothes?" But his disciples said to him, "You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, 'Who touched me?'" And he looked around to see who had done it. The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction." Why did Jesus make a such a scene? Was it because he wanted the woman to publicly attest to the healing she had received from God? Do we give such a witness when Jesus moves in our lives? The healing was not for the woman only, but as will see, for the crowd but especially for Jairus. While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official's house arrived and said, "Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?" Imagine that you were the father of the girl and received such a message, what would you feel at the moment? Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, "Do not be afraid; just have faith."
                    In other words, recall the healing of the woman and have the same
                    faith.
Where and when has Jesus said the same thing to you? He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. Why do you think Jesus did this? He is not looking for the approval of the crowd. He only wants to do the work of his Father. When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. So he went in and said to them, "Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep." And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out.
Here Mark contrasts the faith of the woman who was healed and the people pressing upon Jesus as well as the faith of Jairus against the lack of faith of the weeping crowd. He took along the child's father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was. He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!" The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. (At that) they were utterly astounded. He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat. It was not the faith of the child that brought the healing but the faith of the parents. What does this say to you?
How strong is your faith in the person and power of Jesus in times of difficulties?                                        What is God asking of you as you reflect on this passage?

"And give me, good Lord, a humble, lowly, quiet, peaceable, patient, charitable, kind, tender, and merciful mind, with all my works and all my words and all my thoughts to have a taste of your holy blessed Spirit. Give me, good Lord, a full faith, a firm hope, and a fervent charity; a love for you, good Lord, incomparably above the love of myself; and that I love nothing to your displeasure, but everything for the sake of you." Prayer of St. Thomas More

"It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a father." (St.John XXIII)  The role of the father is more than biological and financial. It is also spiritual. I believe that one of the questions God the Father will ask each human father is this: "Where are your children in relationship to me because of you? Are they closer to me because of you or are they further away from me because of you? Ponder this question as you enjoy your special day.

1. Eph. 1:3-6 "Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has bestowed on us in Christ every spiritual blessing in the heavens! God chose us in him before the world began to be holy and blameless in his sight, to be full of love; he likewise predestined us through Christ Jesus to be his adopted sons --such was his will and pleasure--that all might praise the glorious favor he has bestowed on us in his beloved."

2. 1 Pet. 1:15 "Rather, become holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct after the likeness of the holy One who called you; remember, Scripture says, 'Be holy, for I am holy.'"

3. 1 Thess. 4:3, 7 "It is God's will that you grow in holiness....God has not called us to immorality but to holiness."

4. Mt. 5:48 "In a word, you must be made perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect."

We become holy not through our natural powers but by the grace of God. Holiness is a sharing in the divine life of God. It is a gift bestowed upon the first man and woman after creation. They were made in the image and likeness of God: human beings naturally endowed with the gift of knowing and the gift of freedom to choose.

"Our freedom is real but limited; its absolute and unconditional origin is not in itself, but in the life within which it is situated and which represents for it both a limitation and a possibility. Human freedom belongs to us as creatures; it is a freedom which is given as a gift, one to be received like a seed and to be cultivated responsibly. It is an essential part of that creaturely image which is the basis of the dignity of the person. Within that freedom there is an echo of the primordial vocation whereby the Creator calls man to the true Good, and even more, through Christ's Revelation, to become his friend and to share his own divine life. It is at once inalienable self-possession and openness to all that exists, in passing beyond self to knowledge and love of the other. Freedom then is rooted in the truth about man, and it is ultimately directed towards communion." (Veritatis Splendor #86)

But even though human beings were made in the image and likeness of God, as such they could not share in the life of God. So they were sanctified, raised to the level of adopted children, sharing the divine life of the Trinity. This was pure, unmerited gift of the highest order. Now we have human beings who were naturally gifted to know and to choose good or evil and who were supernaturally gifted to share in the divine life of God.

We know that even though man and woman were gifted naturally and supernaturally, under the force of temptation, they misused their freedom. This is what sin is: to use one's freedom in a way contrary to its purpose and destiny.

"According to Christian faith and the Church's teaching, 'only the freedom which submits to the Truth leads the human person to his true good. The good of the person is to be in the Truth and to do the Truth.'" (VS #84)

"Reason and experience not only confirm the weakness of human freedom; they also confirm its tragic aspects. Man comes to realize that his freedom is in some mysterious way inclined to betray this openness to the True and the Good, and that all too often he actually prefers to choose finite, limited and ephemeral goods. What is more, within his errors and negative decisions, man glimpses the source of a deep rebellion, which leads him to reject the Truth and the Good in order to set himself up as an absolute principle unto himself." (VS #86)

Because human freedom is not absolute and perfect, it too needs to be set free, to be brought to greater perfection, to be reordered and properly focused. We can not do this ourselves. Only Christ, the True Man and True God, the One who is totally free, can set us free. "When Christ freed us, he meant us to stay free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit to the yoke of slavery." (Gal. 5:1)

Christ frees us by revealing the truth to us and by revealing that he is the Truth, the Way and the Life. The more we embrace the truth as revealed by God as the Good for us, the more we will experience authentic freedom. On the other hand, when we accept the lie as the truth, then our freedom is comprised and we live not in the truth but in falsehood, leading to sin.

The evil one spoke the lie to our ancestors as if it were the truth. The lie: "You will not die. You will be like God, knowing good and evil." Choosing to believe the lie as truth and acting on this belief by choosing to disobey God, led to the lost of freedom in the presence of God.

Jesus came to set us free from the kingdom of lies. "You will know the Truth and the truth will set you free." (Jn 8:32) Embracing the truth of revelation, even in the context of mystery, keeps us in the light and not in the darkness.

Freedom is acquired in love, that is, in the gift of self. What our ancestors would not do was to die to self as an expression of true freedom. "What about me?...What's in it for me?...I don't want to be in relationship to the Other. I want to be equal to the Other...Even more, I want to be the Other." When the I is the center of our universe and not God, then we become slaves to self and not free people. Like Esau, we sell our inheritance for a bowl of pottage or like Judas, we betray our most intimate relationship with the one who truly loves us for thirty pieces of silver.

Christ came to set us free from the slavery to sin and death through the greatest example of the gift of self. First in word, he said: "Greater love has no one than this, that one lays down his life for his friends." (Jn 15:13). Then in action, he embraced the cross in total obedience and love. Through this gift of self, the gift of his life, he brought us back into life with God. He gave his life that we may have life, life to the fullest. Jesus crucified is the gift of self in service to God and to us.

"In the house of the Lord, slavery is free. It is free because it serves not out of necessity, but out of charity....Charity should make you a servant, just as truth has made you free...You are at once both a servant and free: a servant, because you have become such; free, because you are loved by God your Creator; indeed, you have also been enabled to love your Creator...You are a servant of the Lord and you are a freedman of the Lord. Do not go looking for a liberation which will lead you far from the house of your liberator." (St. Augustine)

In the Sacrament of Baptism we personally experienced the liberation from sin and death. We were immersed in the life of God and set forth on the path that leads to fullness of this eternal life we now share with God.

"God is rich in mercy; because of his great love for us he brought us to life with Christ when we were dead in sin. By this favor your were saved. Both with and in Christ Jesus he raised us up and gave us a place in the heavens....It is owing to his favor that salvation is yours through faith. This is not your own doing., it is God's gift." (Eph 2:4-8)

As we came into the greater awareness of this gift, we also came into the greater awareness of personal sin in our lives. Maybe for a while we were not aware of the relationship we had been given by God because of his infinite love. Maybe for a while sin dominated us; we misused the freedom given to us a sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of the Lord and living temples of the Holy Spirit. Jesus may have been a person who lived centuries ago, but not really relevant in our lives today. Others had greater influence in our day to day activities.

Then the grace of God broke through in our lives as it did in the life of Paul. We call this the grace of conversion, which led to repentance of sin and acceptance of Jesus as Lord of our lives. We recaptured the freedom given us in baptism.

We come to realize more clearly that it is our faith relationship with and in the Crucified and Risen Christ which enables us to live morally and rightly before and in union with God. It is our faith in Christ who has shared his life with us which enables and empowers us to "walk as children of the light." It is this faith which is a light giving us the necessary insight to do what is pleasing to the Lord.

"Faith is a lived knowledge of Christ, a living remembrance of his commandments, and a truth to be lived out. a word, in any event, is not truly received until it passes into action, until it is put into practice. Faith is a decision involving one's whole existence. It is an encounter, a dialogue, a communion of love and of life between the believer and Jesus Christ, the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. It entails an act of trusting abandonment to Christ, which enhances us to live as he lived, in profound love of God and of our brothers and sisters." (VS #88)

"Faith gives rise to and calls for a consistent life commitment; it entails and brings to perfection the acceptance and observance of God's commandments....Through the moral life, faith becomes 'confession', not only before God but also before men: it becomes witness. 'You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may se your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.'....Christ's witness is the source, model and means for the witness of his disciples, who are called to walk on the same road: 'If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.'" (VS #89)

The witness we are called to give is that of service. This new freedom we have in the Lord entails service of the Lord and one another. Like Christ, our true identity and destiny is "not to be served but to serve," and to give our life in the service of others for their good. What Paul addressed to Christian slaves in his letter to the Ephesians, we can apply to ourselves: "Do not render service for appearance only and to please men, but do God's will with your whole heart as slaves of Christ. Give your service willingly, doing it for the Lord rather than men." (Eph 6:6-7)

"None of us lives as his own master and none of us dies as his own master. While we live we are responsible to the Lord, and when we die we die as is servants. Both in life and in death we are the Lord's." (Rom 14:7-8)

The exercise of freedom in the Lord is further witnessed in the gift of obedience to the will of the Father. Where our ancestors said: "I will not obey", Christ has said and his disciples are to say: "I have come to do the will of my Father."

On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to them, "Let us cross to the other side." Leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat just as he was.
 
Do we invite Jesus into the everyday events of our lives? Do we consciously ask Jesus to go with us to different experiences?            How responsive are we to the lead of Jesus when he invites us to follow him without telling      
          us the details?


And other boats were with him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"
          Do we feel that Jesus is not there when we need him the most?

         Do you think that the disciples tried to take care of the situation first like most of us? Then    
         when we can’t handle it, we turn and ask help. Why do we wait so long before asking Jesus for
         help?

He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Quiet! Be still!" The wind ceased and there was great calm.

          Like his dealing with demons within people, Jesus speaks a word of command and even the    
          winds and seas obey. What does this say about Jesus?

Then he asked them, "Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?"

          How strong is our faith in times of crises?

          If we are aware that Jesus is with us at all times, even if he seems to be "silent", do we think
          that he will let anything harm us with eternal consequences?

          Recall the times in the past we knew Jesus was present with us, but we still panic in the midst
          of some major difficulty.

They were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?"

What do we learn from this passage that we can incorporate into our relationship with Jesus?

What is Jesus saying to us as we reflect on this passage?

Will we act differently next time?

Thought of the Day June 19, 2015"You know well enough that Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them."
— St. Therese of Lisieux

The call is from God–the response is ours

"It is God's will that you grow in holiness." (1 Thess 4:3)

The call to holiness which is from the Trinity is patterned after the life of the Triune Divine Persons. In the words of Peter: "Become holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, after the likeness of the holy One who called you; remember, Scripture says, 'Be holy, for I am holy.'" (1Pet. 1:15-16)

"The good news is: Jesus is the Holy One of God; We are called to be holy and spotless; Jesus communicates, gives, presents his holiness to us. He himself is our holiness. In baptism Jesus not only passes on to us what he has but also what he is. He is holy and makes us holy; he is the Son of God and makes us children of God." (Cantalamessa, Jesus Christ: the Holy One of God p. 18-19)
The plan is from God–the acceptance is ours

This response can be conscious or unconscious; positive or negative; fully or half-heartedly given; superficial or internalized; continual or sporadic.
The grace is from God–the cooperation is ours.

To begin we must desire to be holy. St. Augustine said: "The whole life of a good Christian is a desire for holiness." But this desire is a grace from the Holy Spirit to which we respond in action. St. Bonaventure said: "This mysterious wisdom is hidden, no one knows it who has not received it, no receives it who has not desired it, and no one desires it unless already inflamed within by the Holy Spirit sent by Christ."

The Plan of God: Eph 1:4-6

The setting forth of that plan:

Creation: Out of love God gave us human life and divine life: our response–sin (non-love)

Sin wounded our human nature and left a law of sin within us and separated us from the divine life of God.

Promise of Salvation–made to Adam and Eve; brought forth in the Salvation History of the OT people.

Promise becomes a reality in the Incarnation: God became Man: Jesus

Justification/reconciliation/restoration: the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Once more human beings can share in the Divine Life through the grace of sanctification– the Gift of the Holy Spirit–Be filled with the Holy Spirit.

　

God’s grace: Justification

Our response: Conversion

God’s grace: Purification Eph 4:22

Our response: letting go of sin and its fruits

God’s grace: Transformation 2 Cor 18

Our response: Putting on the mind of Jesus; growing in the life of the Spirit

God’s grace: Glorification

Our response: Taking on the aroma of God.

God’s grace: Union

Our response: Yes.

Falling in love with God—Holiness and love are synonymous —Holiness flows from love. God is holy because God is love

5pt plan for holiness

Do what you are supposed to do

When you are supposed to do it

The way you are supposed to do it

To the best of your ability

For the love of God.

Piaget gave the steps to holiness:
We first act out of fear of punishment
Then hope of reward
We do something out of obligation
We choose to do this out of love of the other
We choose to act for the love of God

A young man came to the Holy Man and asked to be ordained as a rabbi. The Holy Man inquired regarding his daily conduct, and the candidate replied: "I always dress in white; I drink only water; I place tacks in my shoes for self-mortification; I roll naked in the snow; and I order the synagogue caretaker to give me forty stripes daily on my bare back." Just then a white horse entered the courtyard, drank water, and began rolling in the snow. "Observe," said the Holy Man. "This creature is white, it drinks only water, it has nails in its shoes, it rolls in the snow, and it receives more than forty stripes a day. Still it's nothing but a horse."

One day a mother and her pre-school child were walking through a church. The child was quiet taken with the sun streaming through the stained glass windows and was asking about the people represented in the windows. When the mother told her that they were saints, the little girl asked one of those unanswerable questions that fill their minds: "What is a saint?" The mother stumble, paused, and confessed that it would be rather difficult to define what saints are. Then the little girl's face lit up as she found her own answer: "I know what a saint is; a saint is one who lets the sun shine in.

God is holy; we become holy not by doing external things like the young man in the first story but by becoming, through yielding to the Lord in what we do. What we yield is our will and selfish desires so that we become open to the transforming power and presence of God. Like the stained glass window, the more transparent we are, the more we are free of the film of grim and dirt, sin and self-centeredness, the more the light and life of the Son of God can shine through us for the good of others and the glory of God.

There is a correlation between holiness and abandonment. The more we reflect dependence upon God for all things, the freer and detached we are from things. The more we are free of the bondage and addiction of sin and the more we are reconciled to God and to one another, the greater degree of holiness is experienced. But in all of this process it is God who is at work in us. As Paul prays in 1 Thess. "May he strengthen your hearts, making them blameless and holy before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones....May the God of peace make you perfect in holiness." (3:13; 5:23)

Obstacles:

There are many obstacles to holiness. Let me identify a few of them, none of which are new to any of us.

1) Unwarranted fear of being unworthy or a sense of being too great a sinner. When Peter told Jesus: "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinner." Jesus responded: "Fear not." The evil one does not want to see us respond to the Lord's invitation to become holy. He makes our sinfulness an obstacle and stumbling block. He does not want us to remember that what is impossible to man is possible to God. If God calls us, he graces us.

2) Procrastination. It is the attitude of St. Augustine who told God that he wanted to be holy but not today. We will do something later in our life, but not now.

3) Lack of priorities:I would like to pray but I don't have time. I would like to read the scriptures, but there is so much to be done. Sometimes our priorities are out of order. Things that are good are not second to that which is better or best for us. We make excuses and rationalize our way out of doing what we know in our heart is what we should be doing. Rather than take the time for prayer and study, we busy ourselves. I have a friend who found it very hard to pray each day. He was so busy. I challenged him to pray at least 10 minutes a day and to increase it as time goes on. For a long time it was a struggle for him to do even the 10 minutes. Now he is doing an hour of prayer each morning. He tells me that his day goes much better now that he is spending prime time with the Lord.

4) Lack of discipline and balance. Some people go to the extreme in their spiritual activities and exercises. They try to imitate what they read in the lives of the saints, forgetting that it took the saints years to develop the degree of asceticism which we read in their biographies. It is not the quantity we do but the quality of focus we give to what we do; not the sporadic spurts now and then but the constant pace which we persevere in that makes the difference in the long run.

5) Some people have a block to anything connected to the intellectual aspect of our life, sort of anti-intellectualism. They do not see the need to study the scriptures through the reading of commentaries. They believe that all knowledge is infused knowledge, given directly by the Holy Spirit. Other people limit their reading only to the scriptures and neglect the rich heritage of our faith given to us by the spiritual masters. Both the scriptures and other spiritual writings is really the balanced approach to a proper spiritual diet.

6) Some people do not see that healthy Christian relationships are also part of the call to holiness envisioned in the New Testament. The me and Jesus focus is important but so is the we and Jesus focus. Holiness is experienced not in isolation but in contact with others. Our commitments and convictions, our resolutions and good intentions are tested in the context of community. We can love in theory but to love this person who is a challenge to us is the litmus test of our response to the call to be holy. We can say we forgive others, but when something hurtful happens to us through our relationships then we find out if we are really walking the talk.

Our attitude needs to be that of St. Paul as reflected in Phil. 3:12-16.

Thought of the Day June 13, 2015
"Actions speak louder than words; let your words teach and your actions speak." St Anthony of Padua.

God


As far as the Holy Ghost, he too is a separate being from God and Jesus but not co-eternal with God and thus not God.

Baptism


After a month of the birth of a child to a Mormon parent (one sealed in the Temple), the child is blessed and given a name and is known as a “child of record.” Once this child reaches the age of 8, the child is invited to be baptized and confirmed. It is at this point the child becomes a member of the Church.

For Catholics, we believe in original sin and that everyone, except Jesus and Mary, is born separated from God. It is in the Sacrament of Baptism that a person is freed from all sin (original and personal) and adopted as a son or daughter of God, incorporated as a member of the Church, and share in God’s life through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

For Mormons, Baptism is done by a member who belongs to the Melchizedeck Priesthood (see below). Baptism is by immersion only. This Baptism takes away any sin the child may have committed once the person comes to know the difference between right and wrong. Through Baptism a person enters into a covenant with God. The person promises to take on the name of Christ and to follow his commandments. In turn God promises to provide the companionship of the Holy Spirit as a help to the person. The person is, at the same time, confirmed.

Because of the views of Mormons about God and Jesus, as Catholics, we believe that Mormons converting to the Catholic Church must be re-baptized. Their baptism is not the same as that intended by Christ and taught by the Church since apostolic times. In other words, we do not accept their baptism as valid.

The Sacrament


Scriptures



Priesthood


The Aaronic priesthood is the lower order of the two. Those who belong to this group take care of the temporal affairs of the community. It includes deacon, teacher, priest, bishops. At the age of 12, boys enter this order as deacons.

The Melchizedeck priesthood includes every practicing Mormon male who has reached the age of 18 and adheres to the teachings of the Church. They are divided into elders, seventy, high priest, patriarch, apostle and president. The young men evangelizing two by two on bicycles are elders.

After Life On Earth


Only Satan and the other fallen angels are condemned to hell forever. Other spirits are not. Instead, they will share some form of heavenly glory in one of the three heavens. The telestial kingdom is the lowest of the three and it is reserved for adulterers, murderers, thieves, liars and other evil doers. Though their sins are forgiven, they can only enjoy the eternal presence of the Holy Ghost because of their deeds.

The middle heaven or terrestrial kingdom is reserved for the souls and bodies of good non-Mormons and those Mormons who were not in full compliance with the Mormon Church. These will enjoy the presence of Jesus Christ.

The highest heaven or celestial kingdom is the place where devout Mormons, who go on to become gods and rulers of different universes, reside. If their wives and children are sealed with them during a temple ceremony, their families will also be with them.

Mormons believe in multiple universes and multiple gods. While there are other universes and may be other living creatures than human beings, we believe there is still only one God who created all out of nothing.

Sealing of the Dead


As Catholics, we believe that life begins in conception and continues after death. But we believe that one’s final state of existence is determined at the time of death. There is no further chance for that person to gain salvation.

Thought of the Day June 12, 2015
"Who will separate us from the love of Christ?...For I am certain that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor powers, neither height nor depth nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God that comes to us in Christ Jesus, our Lord." (St Paul's letter to the Romans, 8:38-39)

What is the new thing God is doing in our lives? What is the Spirit saying to the Church of the 21^st Century?

We believe that God spoke one word. Jesus

"In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets;in these last days, he spoke to us through a son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe, who is the refulgence of his glory, the very imprint of his being, and who sustains all things by his mighty word. When he had accomplished purification from sins, he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high, as far superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs." (Heb 1:1-4)

Jesus gave us the gift of his Spirit to understand, appropriate and to act on the word of God as it applies to our lives today.

I believe that the vision of what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church is made clearer in the teaching of the Magisterium, especially in the messages of the Holy Fathers to the Church. I believe that we need to hear the word of the Spirit within the context of what is happening in our culture and society. The signs of the times speak of a need for a return in a fresh new way to the basic values set forth in the Gospels and the other NT writings.

Call to holiness and transformation
Call to revival
Call to New Evangelization

1 Call to holiness and personal transformation

At the beginning of this century, JPII issued his Pastoral Letter, "NOVO MILLENNIO INEUNTE"

One of the ten points he said that we need to focus on as we move into this century was holiness.
"all pastoral initiatives must be set in relation to holiness. "

"All the Christian faithful, of whatever state or rank, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity".¹⁶

"The time has come to re-propose wholeheartedly to everyone this high standard of ordinary Christian living: the whole life of the Christian community and of Christian families must lead in this direction. It is also clear however that the paths to holiness are personal and call for a genuine "training in holiness", adapted to people's needs. This training must integrate the resources offered to everyone with both the traditional forms of individual and group assistance, as well as the more recent forms of support offered in associations and movements recognized by the Church."

This holiness is reflected in the second emphasis he made that of prayer.

"This training in holiness calls for a Christian life distinguished above all in the art of prayer."

"Is it not one of the "signs of the times" that in today's world, despite widespread secularization, there is a widespread demand for spirituality, a demand which expresses itself in large part as a renewed need for prayer?"

"Yes, dear brothers and sisters, our Christian communities must become genuine "schools" of prayer, where the meeting with Christ is expressed not just in imploring help but also in thanksgiving, praise, adoration, contemplation, listening and ardent devotion, until the heart truly "falls in love". Intense prayer, yes, but it does not distract us from our commitment to history: by opening our heart to the love of God it also opens it to the love of our brothers and sisters, and makes us capable of shaping history according to God's plan."

2 Revival
Jesus said: ""I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!"" (Lk 12:39).

"Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides, and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for the second time in the history of the world, we will have discovered fire. (Teilhard de Chardin)

A " personal encounter with the Lord will also bring a renewal of the Church" JPII

Baptism in water--entrance into divine life; we become temples of the Holy Spirit, children of God and members of the faith community; we are born again; the baptism of regeneration.

Baptism in the Spirit--there is an effusion of the Spirit, in which a new infilling of the Spirit occurs; we are empowered by the Spirit with the spiritual gifts to bear witness to Jesus; we become co-workers with the Spirit in the building of the Body of Christ; the doorway to the fullness of God; the baptism of power.

Baptism in fire--growing in the deeper life of the Spiirt; baptism of perfection or fullness through yielding oneself to the work of the Spirit which is holiness;

"May (God) strengthen you inwardly through the working of his Spirit. May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith, and may charity be the root and foundaiton of your life. Thus you will be able to grasp fully, with all the holy ones, the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ's love, and experience this love which surpasses all knowledge, so that you may attain to the fullness of God himself" (Eph 3:16-19). It is God's call that "we become one in faith and in the knowledge of God's Son, and form that perfect man who is Christ come to full stature" (Eph 4:13).


The Spirit renews us so that we can be a catalyst for renewal in others; through this process the Spirit likewise brings about revival. The fire of revival is what Jesus may have had in mind when he said: "I have come to light a fire on the earth. How I wish the blaze were ignited!" (Lk 12:50) Revival is the abundance of a hundredfold that the seed which fell on good soil produced. The fire of revival is the symbol of the six stone water jars which Jesus changed into the choicest of wine. The fire of revival is seen when on Pentecost three thousand were baptized after hearing the simple, straightforward, strong proclamation of the Word of God by Peter. The fire of revival was experienced in the world as Francis of Assisi, Dominic, Francis Xavier and others like them both men and women proclaimed the saving message of Jesus Christ to a spiritually starved world.

The fire of Revival is what God desires today in our times. He wants to set this secularistic and consummeristic world dead through sin, this fad seeking new-age world drawn to the occult, this humanistic-centered world, this war scarred, crime infected, sexually abusive and rampant violent world-- he wants to set it ablaze with the power and presence of his Spirit as he did on that first Pentecost. He wants us to likewise desire such a revival, crying out: Let the fire fall! Even more. He wants us to prepare ourselves and to enlist in the fire of revival which he has already called forth in these last days. The prophesy of Ezekiel is being fulfilled even in our own times. God is raising up a vast army from what was at one time dead bones scattered over a vast field. He is doing this by breathing into what was lifeless the life-breath of his Spirit. The prophesy of Joel is likewise being fulfilled in our day. God is pouring out his Spirit in a new way over young and old, servants and handmaids as they call upon his name and yield their lives to do his will.

the words of Metropolitan Ignatios of Latakia:

"Without the Holy Spirit, God is far away/ Christ stays in the past,/ the Gospel is a dead letter, the church is simply an organization,/ authority a matter of propaganda,/ the liturgy no more than an evocation,/ Christian living a slave morality. But in the Holy Spirit (when people have experienced the Baptism in the Spirit and living in this reality) the cosmos is resurrected and groans with the birth-pangs of the kingdom,/ the risen Christ is there,/ the Gospel is the power of life,/ the church shows forth life of the Trinity,/ authority is a liberating service,/ mission is a Pentecost,/ the liturgy is both memorial and anticipation,/ human action is deified."

Let us be who we are called to be: Baptized in the Holy Spirit and fire. Filled with the Spirit, let us act in the power and fire of love as zealous men of God. Let us go forth with the anointing of the Spirit to bring forth the Kingdom of God with signs and wonders as our credentials. Let us be the blaze that brings about the spiritual revival envisioned and willed by God. Let it begin in us. Let it begin now. Amen. Alleluia.

3. New Evangelization

Benedict XVI has set the theme for the Synod of Bishops in 2012 as the New Evangelization.

The mission of the Church in America is this New Evangelization JPII

"In accepting this mission, everyone should keep in mind that the vital core of the new evangelization must be a clear and unequivocal proclamation of the person of Jesus Christ, that is, the preaching of his name, his teaching, his life, his promises and the Kingdom which he has gained for us by his Paschal Mystery. " JPII

"At this moment in the Church's history, the Charismatic Renewal can play a significant role in promoting the much-needed defense of Christian life in societies where secularism and materialism have weakened many people's ability to respond to the Spirit and to discern God's loving call. Your contribution to the re-evangelization of society will be made in the first place by personal witness to the indwelling Spirit and by showing forth His presence through works of holiness and solidarity. "The witness of a Christian life is the first and irreplaceable form of mission" (Redemptoris Missio, 42). What more effective means can there be for drawing those who have lost their spiritual bearings towards that truth which alone can calm the restlessness of the human heart than the living example of fervent Christian believers? To bear witness is to be a powerful leaven among people who perhaps do not fully recognize the value of the salvation that only Jesus Christ can offer". " JPII Mar 1992

"a commitment not to a re-evangelization but to a new evangelization —— new in ardor, methods and expression.

"the program of evangelization, embracing today's world in all its diversity, must take different shape in the light of two quite different situations: on the one hand, the situation of countries strongly affected by secularization, and, on the other, the situation of countries where there are still ""many vital traditions of piety and popular forms of Christian religiosity""

Benedict established THE PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR PROMOTING THE NEW EVANGELIZATION.

Paul VI noted that the task of evangelization, ""as a result of the frequent situations of dechristianization in our day, also proves equally necessary for innumerable people who have been baptized but who live quite outside Christian life, for simple people who have a certain faith but an imperfect knowledge of the foundations of that faith, for intellectuals who feel the need to know Jesus Christ in a light different from the instruction they received as children, and for many others"" (Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, n. 52). Moreover, having in mind those distant from the faith, he added that the evangelizing action of the Church ""must constantly seek the proper means and language for presenting, or representing, to them God’’s revelation and faith in Jesus Christ"" (ibid., n. 56). 

""Whole countries and nations where religion and the Christian life were formerly flourishing and capable of fostering a viable and working community of faith, are now put to a hard test, and in some cases, are even undergoing a radical transformation, as a result of a constant spreading of an indifference to religion, of secularism and atheism." JPII

We are called to be part of this new evangelization.

We will not change the world, but we can make a difference in this starfish.

Evangelization is described this way. It is not just giving bread to the beggar but showing the beggar how to bake the bread.

"New evangelization means: never being satisfied with the fact that from the grain of mustard seed, the great tree of the Universal Church grew; never thinking that the fact that different birds may find place among its branches can suffice——rather, it means to dare, once again and with the humility of the small grain, to leave up to God the when and how it will grow (Mark 4:26-29)." Benedict XVI

Conversion

The Kingdom of God

Jesus Christ

"Evangelization will always contain
as the foundation, centre and, at the same time,
the summit of its dynamism
-- a clear proclamation that,
in Jesus Christ salvation is offered to all men,
as a gift of God's grace and mercy."
"The new evangelization," according to John Paul II,
"is not a matter of merely passing on doctrine
but rather of a personal and
profound meeting with the Savior."

Eternal Life

The mission to the nations
is incumbent upon the entire People of God
. . . missionary activity which is carried out
in a wide variety of ways,
is the task of all the Christian faithful."
"Missionary activity is a matter for all Christians..."
the new evangelizationis is very much tied up with
"entering a new missionary age,
which will become a radiant day
bearing an abundant harvest,
if all Christians . . .
respond with generosity and holiness
to the calls and challenges of our time."

Thought of the Day June 11, 2015
"
The way you teach is important, and what you teach is more important, but how you live is most important."

Thought of the Day June 8, 2015
"Beg for me the courage and endurance not only to speak but also to will what is right, so that I may not only be called a Christian, but prove to be one." St. Ignatius of Antioch

Thought of the Day June 5, 2015


-- Saint Boniface from a letter

Thought of the Day June 4, 2015
Eucharist:
"The effect of our sharing in the body and blood of Christ is to change us into what we receive." (Pope Leo the Great)

Thought of the Day June 3, 2015 Feast of St. Charles Lwanga and companions
It is as if you are pouring water on me. Please repent and become a Christian like me.

What is the new thing God did through Jesus?

Read Is 43: 19 once more

The marvels of God, the new graces and signs and wonders were prophesied in the Old Testament.

1) The coming of a future Messiah (there are more than a 100 prophetic statements in OT)
· Born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:21-23)
· A descendant of Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3; 22:18; Matthew 1:1; Galatians 3:16)
· Of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10; Luke 3:23, 33; Hebrews 7:14)
· Of the house of David (2 Samuel 7:12-16; Matthew 1:1)
· Born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:4-7)
· Taken to Egypt (Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:14-15)
· Anointed by the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:2; Matthew 3:16-17)
· Heralded by the messenger of the Lord (John the Baptist) (Isaiah 40:3-5; Malachi 3:1; Matthew 3:1-3)
· Would perform miracles (Isaiah 35:5-6; Matthew 9:35)
· Would preach good news (Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:14-21)
· Would minister in Galilee (Isaiah 9:1; Matthew 4:12-16) Would cleanse the Temple (Malachi 3:1; Matthew 21:12-13)
· Would enter Jerusalem as a king on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:4-9)
· Would be rejected by Jews (Psalm 118:22; I Peter 2:7)
· Die a humiliating death (Psalm 22; Isaiah 53) involving:
1. rejection (Isaiah 53:3; John 1:10-11; 7:5,48)
2. betrayal by a friend (Psalm 41:9; Luke 22:3-4; John 13:18)
3. sold for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12; Matthew 26:14-15)
4. silence before His accusers (Isaiah 53:7; Matthew 27:12-14)                               5. being mocked (Psalm 22: 7-8; Matthew 27:31)
                              6. beaten (Isaiah 52:14; Matthew 27:26)
                              7. spit upon (Isaiah 50:6; Matthew 27:30)
                              8. piercing His hands and feet (Psalm 22:16; Matthew 27:31)
                              9. being crucified with thieves (Isaiah 53:12; Matthew 27:38)
                            10. praying for His persecutors (Isaiah 53:12; Luke 23:34)
                            11. piercing His side (Zechariah 12:10; John 19:34)
                            12. given gall and vinegar to drink (Psalm 69:21, Matthew 27:34,   
                                 Luke 23:36)
                            13. no broken bones (Psalm 34:20; John 19:32-36)
                            14. buried in a rich man’s tomb (Isaiah 53:9; Matthew 27:57-60)
                            15. casting lots for His garments (Psalm 22:18; John 19:23-24)
· Would rise from the dead!! (Psalm 16:10; Mark 16:6; Acts 2:31)
· Ascend into Heaven (Psalm 68:18; Acts 1:9)
· Would sit at the right hand of God (Psalm 110:1; Hebrews 1:3)

2) What was the new prophetic message that was given to us in the NT                      God so loved the world that he gave us his only Begotten Son that whoever     
                     believes in him will have eternal life.
                      God became man: The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Jesus came to establish a new covenant, one prophesied in the OT, established at the Last Supper as part of the new Passover and formalized on the cross through the sacrifice of the Jesus life for our life. The covenant of the OT was sealed by the blood of animal sacrifice at Mt Sinai. The new covenant is sealed by the blood of Jesus on the cross, the perfect sacrifice pleasing to the Father. Paul tells us that this new covenant is no longer written on tablets of stone as the old law but in our hearts of flesh (2 Cor 3:3) This is the covenant of the Spirit and not of the law.
Jesus established the new signs of God’s love through the various sacraments
Baptism: the new sign by which people will become part of the new chosen people through water and the Holy Spirit, no longer through circumcision. Original separation from God is abolished and we once more share in the divine life of God as adopted sons and daughters.
Reconciliation: the new sign by which sins committed after baptism are forgiven and relationship with God restored; sign of God’s healing of the very roots of sin.
Eucharist: sign of communion with God through the sharing in the Body and Blood of Jesus; this is the new Manna come down from heaven; this is the foretaste of the eternal, eschatological banquet to which we are called; this is the initial union anticipated by Jesus in his prayer to the Father, that we may be one with him as he is with the Father.
Confirmation: sign of the anointing power of the Spirit prophesied by Joel and patterned by Jesus in his own life and ministry; this is the power that enables us to witness Jesus before others with signs and wonders as our credentials.
Anointing of the Sick: sign of God’s healing power through the laying of hands and the anointing of the oil of the sick.
Marriage: sign of the love of man and woman united in Christ as a means of fulfilling the purposes of marriage: mutual love and the bringing forth of new life for the sake of the Kingdom.
Holy Orders: sign of God’s love for his people, so that worship in spirit and truth can be offered to God, so that the word of God may be proclaimed with clarity and boldness, so that the ministry of Jesus may continue till the end of time. It is the new priesthood not passed down from generation because of levitical ancestry. It is the priesthood of Jesus who is of the line of Melchisedeck. Every priest shares in the one priesthood of Jesus Christ, the unique and eternal high priest. 3) Jesus came to proclaim and establish a new and everlasting Kingdom of justice and peace and the joy of the Holy Spirit. This Kingdom will include both the Jews and the Gentiles. Salvation is for all.
4) Jesus gave us a new commandment: love of God and love of neighbor based on his love for us. He delivered himself for us. It is a love shared in our communion with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
5) Jesus gave us a new way of living based on love and the beatitudes, not on the law. As we live this new way we become more the new men and women of the new creation. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2Cor 5:17) Christ is the new Adam who gives new life to those who believe in him and embrace his message as their way of life. Because of this, Paul reminds us: "to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."(Eph 4:24) To believe in him and embrace his life involves the following:
Repentance and conversion: turning away from sin and turning more fully to God
Love your enemies
Do good to all
Forgive from your heart
Seek first the Kingdom of God and all things will be given you.
Be obedient to the will of God
If someone slaps you on the cheek, turn the other cheek; if someone asks for your cloak, give your tunic as well;
What you do to the least who is hungry, thirsty, homeless, naked, sick and in prison, you do to me.
The measure with which you measure will be measured back to you.
To whom much is given much is expected;
Hear and receive the word of God and put it into practice, as the good soil receives the seed and bears fruit abundantly.
Receive the Holy Spirit and follow the lead of the Holy Spirit. For the one who believes in Jesus will do the works he did and far greater;
Be a witness of the good news of salvation to others in the power of the Holy Spirit.
4) What should our new response be?
     We are called to a deeper repentance and conversion of heart and a yearning for transformation so  that we can grow in that holiness, leading to greater perfection. To hunger and thirst for holiness is not an impossible task but the norm of life in Christ. The attitude that must be adopted is that which Paul states in Rom 12:2: "Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect." And what is the will of God? To love with his love!

We are called to become the new Creation that is able to hear, receive, understand and act on God’s word: "No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one. Otherwise, he will tear the new and the piece from it will not match the old cloak. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins. (And) no one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, 'The old is good.’" (Lk 5:36-39) How often is God not able to bring us into the next new moment of our journey because we are comfortable with the "old spiritual wine." We have remained spiritually stagnant at a level of immaturity competent of a beginner or of one who stopped on the journey years ago, rather than ready to leave behind the past and to move into the new moment, which brings with it the best of the past but in a fresh new way. What is the new wine God is offering us? It is the new spiritual food that God is giving us which is different from the pablam of our spiritual infancy. God provides the new wine and we the wine skin. What wine skin are we offering God?

                                        "Travel back 50 years to the mahogany-paneled office of Sewell Avery, then
chairman of Montgomery Ward & Co. Avery was responsible for Ward's failure to open a single new store from 1941 to 1957. Instead, the big retailer piled up cash—and then sat on it. Ward's amassed $607 million, earning them a dubious Wall Street nickname: "the bank with the department store front."So why didn't Avery join in the nation's postwar expansion by following Americans to the suburbs? He held firmly to the belief and vision that a depression had followed every major war since the time of Napoleon. "Who am I to argue with history?" Avery demanded. "Why build $14-a-foot buildings when we soon can do it for $3-afoot?" Ward's eventually went bankrupt. How could corporate planning go so wrong? Montgomery Ward's troubles sprang from its firm adherence to an idea from a different time and culture. There was a new time, a new vision, and Sewell Avery failed to change to accommodate it. Consequently his business was wiped out."
We are called to be a man and woman of faith and trust: faith in the person of God whose word is life-giving and trust in the movement of God’s Spirit leading us to become the new visionaries, the new trailblazers, the new evangelizers, the new prophets of today. When Paul and Barnabas were set aside by the Holy Spirit to be the apostles to the Gentiles and they said "yes", they did not know what was going to be their experiences. But they did know that they were zealous for the Lord. How open are we to what lies ahead in our journey? How zealous are we? They persevered in spite of the hardships and struggles they had to endure. Even when Paul was at the point of despair he trusted in the Lord to see him through as he pressed on in the new thing God was doing through and in him. He remembered the past—his own personal experience—but did not long to return to it. He knew that based on his past God had something new and greater for him in the future. But he was also convinced that he had to be faithful in the present moment to what God was asking of him so that he could be ready to enter into that future call of God. Sometimes we forget the original vision and call and settle for a more comfortable way of life. Story of the Life saving station.
Put aside the fear that seeks to paralyze us and keeps us in bondage. We have been set free so that we can enter into that new moment that God is calling us into. But sometimes we are like the bird in the cage. Tell the story.