Meditation is an ideal way to pray. Using God's word (Lectio Divina) allows me to hear, listen and reflect on what the Lord wants to say to me - to one of his disciples - just like He did two thousand years ago.
The best time to reflect is at the beginning of the day and for at least 15 to 30 minutes.
Prior to going to sleep, read the Mass readings for the next day and then, in the morning, reflect on the Meditation offered on this website.
I hope these daily meditations allow you to know, love and imitate the Lord in a more meaningful way.
God bless you!


Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Heb 2:14-18 Looking For Someone Just Right

Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

By BENEDICT AUGUSTINE

therefore, he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every way,that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God
to expiate the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.”

The founder of a religion matters, often even more than the teachings, the subsequent history, the present state of the religion, or the leaders of the religion. Christians choose to be Christian because of Jesus, first and foremost. Catholics choose to become Catholic because of St. Peter and his special role in acting as Christ’s first vicar and the Church’s first pope.

People may find fault in the teachings of Catholicism which inevitably run against popular opinion. They may find fault with the history of the Catholicism because past scandals. They may find fault with contemporary Catholics who know little about their faith and do nothing to remedy it. They may find Pope Benedict boring, Pope Francis confusing, or the Bishop of the area a bumbling foolChristians in general may find the Christianity, done correctly, is way too difficult.

Fortunately, Jesus overcomes all these failings. He does not fail, and requires no excuse from His disciples. He lives a perfect life, dies a perfect death, and rises from that death in a perfect deliverance for all who believe. And yet, in His perfection, He lives as a man, subjects Himself to men, knowing and feeling as man. He performs miracles, but He also takes time to pray in the morning. He helps others with His power, but He makes His life far more cumbersome with it. He has a mother and father; He bears the cross; He dines with others; He cries. No one who knows Him, believes in Him, prays with Him, cannot fail to love Him. He is so perfect, yet He is also so human.

I can never become Muslim because I know Mohammed was violent man personally responsible for the brutal deaths of thousands. I know he lied to others to gain an advantage over his enemies. I know he had many wives, and many more concubines. Whatever progress Islam has made, however popular or dominant it is, however easy it is to practice, however favorable it would be to a male like myself, I cannot convert because I know Mohammed and I cannot love him like I love Jesus.

I can never become Buddhist because Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, concluded that the goal of life was nothingness and that everything else was suffering. His life consists of interwoven legends, nothing concrete or historical. He exists in the dark part of one’s imagination, a fearful abyss ofemotional desolation. I cannot love Buddha because he is not real, and my neighbor is.

I can never become Hindu because Hinduism does not have a founder, or a church, or one sacred text.Rather, it has many gods, many legends, many self-made spiritual leaders, and little coherence. Hinduism is the religion of India, and only India, and I am not Indian.

I can never become Jewish because I was not born a Jew. I revere their founder Moses, as Jesus did; and I do respect Jews as God’s people, as Jesus did; but they do not want me as a convert, and they did not want Jesus as the messiah. I could love Moses, but Moses would want me to love Jesus instead, the man he prophesied, the man he spoke to in the Transfiguration, the Word incarnate.

I can never become Protestant because I know about the lives of Luther, Calvin, King Henry VIII, and the other founders that followed their lead. They could have been saints, but chose to start their own churches and break Christianity into pieces, and establish dissension as the norm. They loved their friends, but they hated their enemies. Luther was careless; Calvin was ruthless; and Henry was a monster. I can understand these men, but I cannot look up to them as I can St. Peter.

I can never become Marxist because I know Marx, and he preached a violent uprising and worship of the state—a secular religion. He was an atheist intellectual who denied God, and consequently denied man. He was a materialist who believed in social engineering and the invisible hand of Progress. He has many adherents even today, and I’m not one of them. I would rather have the whole-man Jesus, king of Heaven, than the half-man Marx waiting for a utopian heaven on Earth.

The world has many religious founders, but none of them were tested like Jesus, suffered like Jesus, orhelped others like Jesus. They have great men—some even have gods—who founded their churches, but none of them loved as Jesus loved. They led armies, wrote amazing texts, incited great social revolutions, and even defined cultures, but they did not rise from the dead as Jesus did. They had faith in God, but not the faith of St. Peter, who trusted Jesus enough to trust himself.

Jesus became like us so that we can become like Him. There is no alternative. We can accept this challenge as He did, or we can fall like the many who have broken away. On the one side lies one truth, and on the other lie a legion of falsehoods. The founder is Truth; we must follow Him.    

6 comments:

  1. ….His life consists of interwoven legends, nothing concrete or historical. He exists in the dark part of one’s imagination, a fearful abyss of emotional desolation…..

    …it has… many legends, many self-made spiritual leaders, and little coherence…

    …They loved their friends, but they hated their enemies. Luther was careless; Calvin was ruthless; and Henry was a monster….


    1/15/15
    Pope Francis insisted that it was an "aberration" to kill in the name of God and said religion can never be used to justify violence.

    But he said there was a limit to free speech when it concerned offending someone's religious beliefs.

    "There are so many people who speak badly about religions or other religions, who make fun of them, who make a game out of the religions of others," he said. "They are provocateurs.”

    ReplyDelete
  2. Excellent thoughts my young friend. You have hit on the essential questions and I do love your thoughts on obedience. Stay close to the Church as you head into your college years. She will never abandon you and will always be your home.

    I think these "big" questions plague us not only in our young lives, but certainly as we move through various stages of our lives. We wonder if we made the right career choice, married the right person,etc. As parents, we wonder if we made the right choices with our children. It never ends...unless...

    It was only in the last 5 years that I realized that we are "stamped" with a purpose--and that purpose is to be SAINTS! Nothing else. The only thing God is calling us to is holiness, to be with him, to serve Him in this life. The rest is immaterial. I believe a saint is someone who completely dies to self and allows Christ to live within him. Keep faithful in your journey and ask the intercession of the Blessed Mother. Mothers really do know best :) Best wishes in your senior year!

    "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I appreciate the compliment, but I should correct you: I'm not a high school senior. I did teach high school seniors this year, and their immaturity probably rubs off on me, but I have a few years on them. I hope that doesn't detract from my post; for my part, it does not detract from your comment. I will certainly try to be a saint and tell others to do the same. I believe the Catholic Church, and nothing else, allows for this.

      Go in peace.

      Delete
  3. Assumptions can be a VERY dangerous thing. Comments / statements like these (and others like them) can be misleading portraying something that is not really there. Emotions fly high and we react in ways where we don’t have the full picture. Unfortunately, these cycles continue. What a sad world we live in.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not sure what you mean with this comment, but I'll take it that you found my words offensive. I figured asserting my position and proclaiming my faith in Jesus and the Catholic Church would probably offend someone. Still, I think it's dishonest to call all religions equal and to put all religious founders in the same category. Even the most basic look at other faiths show they are not the same, so people should stop perpetuating this nonsense and feeling offended when someone points it out. It waters down doctrine, discourages conversion, and ultimately jeopardizes souls.

      Jesus did not undergo crucifixion so that we could think and act however we wanted, and believe in the god of our choice. He wanted us to be His brother, call His Father our Father, take up our cross, and bring His love into the world.

      Delete
  4. ......Dangerous is not the right word. Hurtful is the right word.

    ReplyDelete

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