Friday, August 19, 2011

Who Inspires Us? In Who's Tracks Do We Follow?



Ruth 1:16 - But Ruth said (to Naomi), "Do not ask me to abandon or forsake you! For wherever you go, I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge, your people shall be my people, and your God my God."

Ruth was a Moabite who had married one of the son's of Naomi, a faithful Jew unto God. Yes, how wonderful it is that good people can inspire others to change their ways and to follow a better path. In Today's world, however, we have millions of people inspired by people who themselves are not inspired by God, which leave the last condition of a society in worse condition than before. Its amazing to see how easily millions of people are fooled into believing this or that person from Hollywood, a sports icon, or a music celebrity has it all together, or how quickly people are to buy into this or that persons views about life which are far from godliness, fidelity, generosity, modesty, self-control, hope and charity. Soon enough people have no one that they can trust, they can be so hurt that the only way of self preservation seems to close out everyone which cause even more pain as God had created us to be in communion with others and himself. A few questions to ponder:

(1) Can you name some people in your life who have lived such godly lives that they truly are inspirational?

(2) Have you spoken with them and asked them why they have chosen to live an exceptional life in God?

(3) Which teachers were inspiring for you and why?

(4) Which sisters, brothers, or priests have inspired you and why?

(5) What do I need to change in my life to be more truly inspiring, that is, to be truly following the Lord of Divine Inspiration, Father, Son and Holy Spirit?

(6) Am I willing to encourage others (teens and young adults) to consider living inspirational lives in Christ by being a brother, sister, or priest, or for those marriage to live holier lives, or those single to follow Christ (the Way, the Truth, and the Life) and not the newest fade or celebrity?

Our Catholic Church is completely dependent on people giving their life to Christ. When we complain that our church does have much to offer, then I must beg the question; What are you doing to improve the church? St. Francis was 25 when he decided to re-inspire the church, but it was not him that was the inspiration but God himself who said to him, "Francis, rebuild my church which you see falling into ruin." And respire the church he did!!! All good things are possible in Christ who shall inspire mankind until the end of times.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

God Is Calling Me! What Is My Mission?

Psalm 40 is rich with insight into our purpose in Life: "Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will." and "In the written scroll it is prescribed for me. To do your will, O my God, is my delight, and your law is within my heart!"

My mission and my delight, then, is to do the will of God. Well, Padre, how do I know the will of God? Or how can I trust that God has a will for me? First, we can be assured that God has a will for each of us. In the Old Testament we see that God not only wills Moses to be the person that He has chosen to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, God also had a will for each of the enslaved people in Egypt...TO BE FREE from enslavement...even more so, God wills that we BE FREE FROM ENSLAVEMENT TO SIN. In the Bible there are 1000's of examples of God's will for individuals and as a whole nation, and yet we should be able to cite 1000's of examples of God's will in our lives if we come together and share the Good News of God in our daily lives. Secondly, the will of God is not altogether unknown nor is it something only a few can reach while everyone else is left out. No, as this Psalm says..."your law is within my heart", that is, we can know the will of God by examining the good God has place in our heart, the knowledge of the Divine Law that He has placed in each heart that can not change, that always reveals the Truth about God, about Christ as the Son, about creation, about humanity, about sin, about grace, about love and the Holy Spirit. Yes, everyone has the equal opportunity to know the will of God, but few choose or even want to know the will of God because they are afraid of what God may ask of them, or they are afraid that God made them inferior to others and are afraid that it would shame them, and so many other reasons, but all such nonsense leaves us sitting in the dark while we strain to figure out the meaning of life on our own, without God's help. Ok, listen, God has the only flashlight, in fact its a Perpetual Beaming Light that yearns to Light up the world to bring us happiness and holiness, and bring all of humanity into One Body in Christ. Only God Himself and people who are striving to know God, those who have received free flashlights who's batteries are prayer and surrender unto God are servants of God who can help us in following the will of God. As they say, let go and let God! Be yourself, be the person God has created you to be. Yearn to do things God's way rather than your own way which leaves you crawling out of another pit in life. The will of God for your life certainly involves daily prayer and meditation, reading a chapter a day in the bible, spending time each day to speak with Jesus and to ask for his help and guidance, going to Church on Sunday and being an active member of the faith community to help others and to do things together to share in the ministry of Jesus Christ, and, I firmly believe, that we are all called to journey back home to our Mother Church, the one and only Church Jesus Christ founded, the Catholic Church (the Orthodox Church partially shares in this Apostolic faith though they have chosen to separate themselves (1056? AD) from being completely One, Holy, and Catholic.

Monday, August 15, 2011

How Can I Grow In My Faith?

"...great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." Matthew 15:21-28 - These are the words from Jesus to the Canaanite woman who's faith may very well have been greater than any of the apostles gathered around him. Jesus gives us a real insight into the blessings that are received for those who have faith and to those who's faith is great...a faith that is great enough for God to heal this woman's daughter from demonic possession. How strong is your faith? Does it waiver...is it good sometimes but often lacking trust, communion, and openness to the will of God? If God spoke to you at this very moment could he honestly say that your faith is GREAT? Me neither. I have great moments...even days and maybe a full week that my faith is strong, but then I struggle, the pressures of life seem too great and I begin to hesitate to do God's will, the burdens seem too great and I either begin to do things without consideration of God's will or I become lazy and excuses set in. Then the power of God I had experienced the previous week is gone...ughhh! I wonder why we are thrilled when we experience God's blessings in our lives (when we have great faith), but why we don't keep up our faith and communion with Christ in prayer to keep us joyful, holy, at peace, and following His will?

Certainly, many struggles we experience is for our benefit (read up on the trials and persecutions of Peter and Paul or the lives of the saints, now they had huge trails), they help us to persevere under trial of faith in Jesus and they help us to grow in faith, but I suspect the majority of most peoples struggles are due to lack of faith in God, a lack of allowing God to guide their life, a lack of trust in the Lord who created us from nothingness to be his good stewards in this world and to be a light to the world for nonbelievers and those indifferent to God. Let us listen to Jesus' words again and let us more completely comprehend God's love for us. Jesus said to the woman, "..great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." WOW! When we have GREAT faith, a faith that draws us closer to Christ as trials and tests plague us, this type of unwaivering faith God will find sweet, pleasing, and acceptable so that what we ask for shall be "done for you as you wish". Notice, though, that which she desired to be done was not for herself but for her daughter, for another person. Her unwaivering love for God and for the good of her daughter (may have been many years of trials) opened the way for the love that God has for this mother to be transmitted and received to loving and healing her daughter without the daughter ever having loved God back. This is the Good News of Jesus Christ. God's love is unconditional in the sense that he loves us, cares about us to death, even if we have never even considered loving him, even if we hate God. Remember what Jesus said from the cross as he was being crucified and underwent the most agonizing pain he still thought of others out of love for them...."Father forgive them for they do not know what they do."

Therefore, let us be more faithful to God. Pray daily to God that you may have greater faith, a greater will to follow Him come what may. Certainly, we will experience God's power and blessings in our lives like never before. If what you have been doing with a lack of faith is not working then maybe a sure commitment or even a stronger commitment to follow Christ is the path that will lead you to the life you desire and the life God had planned from the beginning. May you strive in prayer to trust in God that your faith may be great and your life a blessings for your own sake and for the sake of others!