2nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday)
The Divine Mercy (John 20:19-31)
Today’s Gospel invites us to be present in the room where the disciples were for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. They had been full of disappointment and fear, and Jesus gave them peace. “Peace be with you” he said to them, and showed them his hands and his side. Having given them the gift of his peace, he gave them a share in his own mission. "As the Father sent me, so am I sending you." In them the Church too was being given its mission by the risen Jesus, and we are all members of Christ’s Church. This mission the disciples were being given came forth from the mercy of God. The mission was to bring Christ’s redemption and sanctification to mankind and all of us. Then our Lord gave them the gift of the Holy Spirit to empower them, and entrusted them with the power to take away sins. “Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.” Sanctification.
Today then, we think of the gift of the Holy Spirit to the apostles and their power to forgive sins. This gift from of the Holy Spirit and the forgiveness of our sins comes from the divine mercy. For good reason the Church calls this Sunday today Divine Mercy Sunday. When we think of man’s condition, our condition, so prone to sin, so incapable of ourselves of reaching the sanctity that God plans for us, we ought be profoundly consoled with the Gospel scene of today. Each of us has been given the gift of the Holy Spirit our Sanctifier. He is the answer to our need. He is the great gift and manifestation of the divine mercy. And through his power as exercised by the priest our sins can be taken away in the sacrament of Penance, regular and frequent Confession. Sanctification.
The papacy of Pope John Paul II is now over, and if we were to ask what has been his great message to the Church and to the world, we can say it has been the dignity of each one of us, and how our dignity comes from being called as a child of God to sanctity and goodness. This sanctity and goodness is attained in living as a child of God, united with our Father. What a wonderful gift of the divine mercy is this calling that each of us has, and to think that it is truly possible, it is truly possible to reach personal sanctity despite the fallen condition in which we all of us find ourselves. Due to God’s mercy, we have a glorious and attainable goal in life, union with God and the conquest of sin. Goodness, a share in the goodness of God.
The Pope has taught us so much in this respect. He so obviously attained sanctity himself. In this he has been an inspiring example to us all and to the whole world of the call to seek personal sanctity. Moreover, he has shown us in his own sufferings and toil in the service of the Church and the world, that sanctity is attained in the midst of obedient suffering. Our Lord redeemed the world through his death on the cross. He said that if any one wishes to be his disciple he must take up his cross every day and follow in his footsteps. The Pope has so very obviously done that, as did Pope Paul VI before him. The cross, which is to say suffering in doing God’s will, is an indispensable path and means to personal holiness. It has been a gift of the Divine Mercy to have had a Pope in our time who has shown us this, both by his teaching and by his own personal life.
Due to the mercy of God we each of us
can
hope for heaven, and for the special place there that God intends
for each of us according to the measure intended for us. Due to the
mercy
of God we have been given all the means we need, membership in God’s
family
the Church, the word of God and the Church’s teaching, the sacraments
and
all the helps to live a life of prayer and good works. Let us take up
the
great work we have been given, the work of being saints and calling
others
to sanctity. God in his mercy can bring it to completion. Let us
also live out our mission bringing Jesus and his divine mercy to others.
(E.J.Tyler)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cheerfulness is a necessary consequence of our
divine
filiation, of knowing that our Father God loves us with a love of
predilection,
that he holds us up and helps us and forgives us. Remember this and
never
forget it: even if it should seem at times that everything around you
is
collapsing, in fact nothing is collapsing at all, because God doesn’t
lose
battles.
(The Forge, no.332)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord
The gift of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:26-38)
Everyone recognises that John Paul II was a great Pope and a great Christian. But during this second week of Eastertide let us ask ourselves what was the source of his ardent Christian life? Was it simply his many natural qualities and gifts, or was it something beyond this that led him to love God so much and to serve the Church and the world for God’s sake?
The source of his Christian and spiritual life was, of course, the action of the Holy Spirit who had come to him at his baptism, at his confirmation, and at his ordination as priest and bishop. The Christian life is the fruit of the activity of the Holy Spirit within us, provided we give to Him our full cooperation. The Scripture readings of today's feast refer to the coming and action of the Holy Spirit in the life of Mary our Mother, and by implication in the life of the Church and in us.
As we thing of the passing of a great Christian, let us take up the banner of our own daily life of living to the full our life in Christ, begun at our baptism. This we can do if we work at it wholeheartedly, because we too each of us have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, Christ’s gift to the Church’s members. We also have the aid of the Virgin Mary our Mother, filled as she was with the action of the Holy Spirit.
Let us then live for God, and bring God to others.
(E.J.Tyler)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The best way of showing our gratitude to God is to
be
passionately in love with the fact that we are his children.
(The Forge, no.333)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday of the Second Week of Eastertide
Testifying to the Resurrection (Acts 4:32-37)
St Luke in this passage of the Acts (4:32-37) tells us that “the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great power.” That is exactly what all members of the Church are called to do, each according to the grace given, and each according to the circumstances of the vocation God has given. All too many do not testify to this at all, and so the risen living Jesus is unknown to so many people in our secular society. In an age when God is relegated to the status of being an item of personal opinion, the testimony to the resurrection is immensely relevant.
So how can we give this testimony and give it with power? Of course, it will be the work of the Holy Spirit in both the life of the believer who is called to give the testimony, and also in the lives of those who will hopefully receive the testimony. Granted this, we on our part must then live day by day and with consistency a prayerful faith in Jesus as risen, the living risen Jesus who is present in the Church as her head. He is present in a variety of ways, but especially in the word and sacrament, and most powerfully in the Eucharist. The risen Jesus is especially the Eucharistic Jesus. We must live by this faith if we hope to testify to the risen Jesus.
Let us pray to Mary our mother asking her to help us
testify
by our lives, our words and deeds, to the resurrection of her Son.
(E.J.Tyler)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You are like the little pauper who suddenly
finds
out that he is the son of the King. That is why now the only thing that
concerns you on this earth is the Glory of your Father God, his Glory
in
everything.
(The Forge, no.334)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday of the Second Week of Eastertide
Our guardian angel (Acts 5:17-26)
The book of the Acts tells us the inspired story of the infant Church and of those who played a part in the spread of the Gospel. Let us notice a detail in respect to this. We are told in our passage for today that “at night the angel of the Lord opened the prison gates and said as he led them out, 'Go and stand in the Temple, and tell the people all about this new Life'.”
That is to say, in respect to the preaching of the Gospel, in this instance the angel removed obstacles and gave guidance and direction as to what to do. Now, God has given each of u s a calling to take part in the mission of the Church. He has also given each of us a guardian angel to help us live out our vocation and so attain heaven. Our angel can be appealed to to remove genuine (not just apparent) obstacles and to give guidance. Let us remember what the angel did for those in prison in this instance, and cultivate a devotion to our own guardian angels to help us be true apostles of Christ.
We have each of us been given a heavenly friend. In
this
period of Easter as we prepare for the coming of the Holy Spirit, let
us
ask our angel to obtain for us the grace to be led by the Spirit of God
day by day as we journey towards our heavenly homeland.
(E.J.Tyler)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My little friend, say to him: Jesus, knowing that I
love
you and that you love me, nothing else matters - all is well.
(The Forge, no.335)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday of the second week of Eastertide
Filling the world with Christ’s teaching (Acts 5:27-33)
The high priest accused the apostles of having “filled Jerusalem with your teaching” (Acts 5:27-33). We ought ponder the significance for ourselves of that accusation, because our Lord had given to his disciples the mission of preaching the Gospel to all creation. Let us ask ourselves, what have I done for Christ in this respect? What am I doing for him? And what shall I do for him?
Pope John Paul died last Sunday and we are seeing hundreds of thousands coming to Rome to pay their respects. The media all over the world has been doing him homage. It all shows that the Pope strove to fill the world with Christ’s teaching, and even though very many would not have accepted it, and even though many have categorized him misleadingly, we the members of Christ’s faithful have in his example a continuation of what the apostles did in Jerusalem, and what they were accused of doing by the high priest.
Let us during these weeks of Eastertide reflect
deeply
and at length on the mission each of us has been given to bring the
risen
Jesus to those around us, and to ask the Holy Spirit to empower us to
do
this.
(E.J.Tyler)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My little friend, say to him: Jesus, knowing
that
I love you and that you love me, nothing else matters - all is well.
(The Forge, no.335)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday of the Second Week of Eastertide
Fighting against God (Acts 5:34-42)
The passage from the Acts of the Apostles (5:34-42) reports the words of Gamaliel who advised that the apostles be let go. He said that if not, the Sanhedrin would be in danger of finding themselves fighting against God. Prescinding from the particular historical context in which these words were uttered, we could ask ourselves if we ever find ourselves fighting against God.
We are at this moment witnessing a grand aftermath to the death a few days ago of Pope John Paul Ii, in which hundreds of thousands are flocking to Rome to view his body and attend the funeral. Now for the last ten years of his pontificate he suffered from increasingly debilitating physical conditions which God chose to permit, despite the pivotal ministry and responsibilities the pope had to fulfill. He gave a shining example of one who did not fight against God. On the contrary, he submitted humbly, and transformed his crosses into channels of life. In death he is already drawing thousands to God, and his funeral will be the biggest crowd he ever drew.
Let us never fight against God and his holy will.
Let
us, if we wish to be disciples of Christ, take up the cross he chooses
to give us every day, and follow generously in his footsteps.
(E.J.Tyler)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“I have asked Our Lady for many things,” you were
telling
me, and then you corrected yourself: “What I should say is that I have
brought many things to Our Lady’s attention.”
(The Forge, no.336)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday of the second week of Eastertide
"It is I. Do not be afraid." (John 6:16-21)
Time and again in life we are faced with storms of various kinds and degrees - situations of various degrees of difficulty. This applies to everyone of whatever circumstance or walk of life, Christian or not, believer or not. There must have been many cases of fishermen caught in rough and stormy weather on the lake of Galilee. But in the case of the disciples there was this difference that they were friends of Jesus. And so while they were indeed caught in the rough weather, Jesus himself came to them on the water. Jesus came to be with them in their difficulty.
Whatever be our difficulties, our Lord will come to us. He is ever gazing at us with love and power. We are in the presence of the all-loving, all-powerful one. Whatever be the difficulties we are called on to make, we ought remember that we are in the presence of Jesus, and then make those decisions asking his aid. If vicissitudes assail us, we ought likewise remember that we are in his presence. He can and will help us, just as he helped his disciples with his presence. The greatest difficulty and challenge is holiness. Christ is with us, saying "It is I. Do not be afraid." And just as when he entered the boat, the disciples found themselves near to land, so too, if we trust and obey, Christ will bring us to the goal of our life.
Let us then all our lives remember the words of
Jesus,
“It is I. Do not be afraid.” Christ is our strength all the days of our
life, in or out of adversity in seeking the goal of life: holiness and
heaven.
(E.J.Tyler)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“I can do all things in him who strengthens me.”
with
him there is no possibility of failure, and this conviction gives rise
to the holy “superiority complex” whereby we take on things with a
spirit
of victory, because God grants us his strength.
(The Forge, no.337)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Third Sunday of Eastertide A
Reverence for the Eucharistic Jesus (Luke 24:13-35)
In our Gospel scene of today our Lord joins the two disciples on their way to Emmaus. They do not know it is he, but he accompanies them in their uncertainty. He forms them by giving them an extended instruction on the meaning of the Scriptures, a long homily on what the Old Testament readings teach about him, we might say. Then at table with them he took bread, said the blessing, broke it and gave it to them. Their eyes were opened and they recognised him. What are we reminded of in all this? We are surely reminded of the presence of our Lord at Mass, which is the summit and source of the Christian life. Christ is there in his full and total reality, speaking to us and instructing us by means of his word, and by his words that change the bread into his body making present the sacrifice of himself at Calvary. We are reminded of the presence of Jesus in the Mass and in the Tabernacle.
It is the easiest thing in the world to ignore or to forget the real presence of our Lord in the Blessed Eucharist. It requires a constant exercise of faith, and cultivating a number of practices ensuring personal reverence, to keep before one’s mind that Christ, the whole Christ, the risen Jesus in all his power, is truly present at Mass and in the Tabernacle. This is because we do not see him in his physical form and shape. We see him in another form, the form or appearance of bread and wine. When we enter the church, we do not see our Lord in his human figure. We see a tabernacle. And so we ignore him - not deliberately, but we are still at fault, because we do not make the active effort to think and act according to our Catholic Faith.
When we enter the church we tend to act and think as if all there is in the church is what we physically see, especially the group or crowd of people around us. We may enter into some personal private prayers, but unless we are on guard against ourselves, we may just as easily sit down and begin chatting with our neighbour, reading the bulletin, or looking around. Then at the end of Mass as we linger around in the church or as we are walking out, we may do the same. This is because we tend not to live by faith, our faith in the real presence of our Lord in the Tabernacle. In doing this we are neglecting the greatest reality before us, Jesus, the living risen Jesus, truly present, but in a different form or appearance.
So too during Mass itself, we are likely to participate only according to what we see and hear. We can fail to appreciate that God the Holy Trinity is present and active at Mass. By the power of the Holy Spirit Christ is present at Mass in the person of the priest. He is present speaking to us in his word, in the readings of Scripture and the homily. It requires that we make the effort to think of this reality that is going on, to believe that it is Jesus who by the active power of the Holy Spirit is there, speaking to me and to us altogether. We ought remember this as we are coming to Mass, never being late so as to have time to recollect ourselves before Mass begins, to recollect ourselves in the presence of Christ in the Tabernacle. We ought ask the Holy Spirit during the penitential rite to help us be conscious of our sins and to ask God’s pardon, thinking of his mercy. We ought think of the presence of Jesus speaking to us during the reading and preaching of his word. Then especially we ought think of the presence of Jesus who by the power of the Holy Spirit transforms the whole substance of the bread and wine into the substance of his body and blood, and makes present before us the sacrifice of himself for us at Calvary. We ought think of his presence as he comes to us in Holy Communion enabling us to unite ourselves to him in his offering of himself to his Father. Thinking actively of this many sided presence of Christ at Mass and in the Tabernacle, we ought resolve to go to Confession regularly and frequently so as to be worthy of being in his presence and of receiving him into our hearts.
Out of respect for our Lord, we ought
take
ourselves in hand and actively cultivate personal practices that
protect
within us a deep sense of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist. Prayerful
silence in the church where our Lord is, reverent genuflections,
guarding
our eyes and keeping them on the tabernacle, making the sign of the
cross
reverently as we enter - making sure we have a sense of the presence of
God in the Eucharist. Let us make the Eucharist the centre and
summit
of our entire life.
(E.J.Tyler)
(Further Reading: The Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 1373-1375)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The artist stood before his canvas with a deep
desire
to surpass himself and cried out, “Lord, I want to paint for you
thirty-eight
hearts, thirty eight angels bursting with continual love for you,
thirty-eight
marvels embroidered on your heaven, thirty-eight suns upon your mantle,
thirty-eight flames of fire, thirty-eight ardours, thirty-eight feats
of
madness, thirty-eight joys ...”
Then, humbly, he had to admit that it was all in
his imagination and desire. In reality what confronts h im are
thirty-eight
figures which haven’t come out properly and which mortify the sight
rather
than give pleasure.
(The Forge, no.338)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday of the third week of Eastertide
Relying on the Holy Spirit in the midst of difficulties (Acts 6:8-15)
When it comes to the doing of good work for God, there is a pattern to be noticed. It is that there will be difficulties and opposition sooner or later. It was a pattern above all exemplified in the life of Our Lord. It is the pattern present in the activities of Stephen (Acts 6:8-15). We are told that he “was filled with grace and power and began to work miracles and great signs among the people.” He was doing very good work. But great opposition sprang up: "But then certain people came forward to debate with Stephen", and "they procured some men to say" falsehoods about him, and "in this way turned the people against him as well as the elders and scribes".
Stephen found himself surrounded by difficulties. If we aspire to do good work for God, we too must expect difficulties. But amid the inevitable difficulties we have a great counsellor and advocate. He is the Holy Spirit. Our Lord said to his disciples that when they were brought before kings and governors because of their doing what was right, they were not to worry. The Holy Spirit would be with them to speak through them. We see all this exemplified in Stephen. He was filled with grace and power - they could not get the better of him, “because of his wisdom, and because it was the Spirit that prompted what he said.”
Let us then be always ready for difficulties, if we
mean
to follow our Lord closely. Let us also live in confidence, for we have
the Holy Spirit as our friend and guide. Let us trust him.
(E.J.Tyler)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We have no right to claim that the Angels should
obey
us - but we can be absolutely sure that the Holy Angels hear us always.
(The Forge, no.339)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday of the third week of Eastertide
Being led by the Spirit (Acts 7:51-8:1)
In the scene before us involving Stephen, we have two sides, two classes of persons. On the one side there is Stephen, and on the other those who wish to he rid of him. Now, what is it that in this context distinguishes them? it is something altogether decisive for our spiritual life.
Stephen, we are told, was “filled with the Holy Spirit”. In these words there is surely evoked in our minds the image of our Lord himself so utterly filled with the Holy Spirit - who is his own Spirit. We think of our Lady who is full of grace. We think of St John the Baptist who received the Holy Spirit in the womb of her Blessed Mother. Stephen, in other words, is in the company of those to whom the Holy Spirit had come, and by whose grace he was testifying to Christ in our passage today.
On the other side there is a very different company, the company of those who St Stephen (speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) said were stubbornly resisting the Holy Spirit. And they had a long ancestry, and their ancestors persecuted the prophets. They now resisted the good news of Christ and proceeded to put St Stephen to death.
Let us resolve to take the side of those who strive
to
be led by the Holy Spirit. He will lead us from within our consciences
- and our consciences must be guided by the word of Christ as
proclaimed
and enunciated by the Church.
(E.J.Tyler)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allow God to lead you. He will lead you along “his
path”,
making use of innumerable adversities - possibly including your own
sluggishness
- so that it may be clearly seen that your work is being carried out by
him.
(The Forge, no.340)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday of the third week of Eastertide
Love is the key (John 6:35-40)
I remember watching an interview with the famous producer of nature films, Richard Attenborough. He was responding to a question as to whether his observation of nature helped him appreciate the reality of God. He responded that, on the contrary, much of what he observed in the animal kingdom posed a problem for him as to the character and existence of God. He seemed to be thinking of the savagery of much of the animal kingdom, the propensity of animals to be killers of one another, that led him in a direction opposite to theism. I remember thinking, no. Rather this pattern is a faint reflection of a much higher one, which is of high love - in which one’s life is sacrificed for the good of another.
Christ is the embodiment of this, and in this he reveals the life of the Godhead. In our passage today (John 6:35-40) our Lord describes himself as the bread of life. He is bread for our sake, bringing us life. In the Eucharist He makes himself available to be consumed by us so that we might life, and live with an abundant life. Our Lord’s whole life is given over for us. This is the Eucharist. Whoever comes to him will be safe, and his intent is that none of us be lost.
So we should never lose our confidence and trust in
the
total love of Christ for us. He has given himself over for us
especially
in the Eucharist, so that we may live. So we must steep our entire
being
prayerfully within this fundamental reality. It is the defining key to
the meaning of life and the universe.
(E.J.Tyler)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ask him without any fear, and insist. Remember that
scene
of the multiplication of loaves we read about in the Gospel. Notice how
magnanimously he says to the Apostles, how many loaves do you have?
Five?
.... How many are you asking for? And he gives six, a thousand,
thousands
.... Why? Because Christ sees all our needs with divine wisdom,
and
with his almighty power he can and does go far beyond our desires. Our
Lord sees much farther than our poor minds can discern and he is
infinitely
generous!
(The Forge, no.341)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday of the third week of Eastertide
The Holy Spirit the Evangelizer (Acts 8:26-40)
In the Gospels there are various references to the Holy Spirit and his action. For instance, Our Lord is led by the Holy Spirit into the desert at the start of his public ministry, there to be tempted by the devil. There are many other references to the Holy Spirit. But in the Acts of the Apostoles we are told time and again of his direct action on and in the midst of the infant Church, inspiring and guiding her members to bring the gospel of Christ to others.
One such instance is described in our reading from the Acts today (8:26-40). The Holy Spirit “tells” Phillip to go up and meet the chariot in which the Ethiopian is travelling, while reading (uncomprehendingly) the Scriptures. The Spirit thus places Phillip in the situation of being able to speak of Christ, leading his hearer to faith and baptism. Then he takes Phillip away to yet another opportunity to preach the good news. Just how he spoke to Phillip we are not told. The Holy Spirit is the great leader and inspirer of evangelization in the Church.
Now we have been given the gift of this same Holy Spirit. Inasmuch as we have been given a share in the Church’s mission to bring Christ to the world, we ought look to the Holy Spirit our great friend and guide to inspire and guide us in this daily call. Let us pray to be open to his inspirations and guidance.
(E.J.Tyler)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When we’re working for God we have to have a
superiority
complex, I told you. But isn’t that a sign of pride? you asked me. No.
It is a consequence of humility; the humility which makes me say: Lord,
you are who you are. I am nothingness itself. You have all the
perfections:
power, strength, love, glory, wisdom, authority, dignity ... If I unite
myself to you, like a child who goes to the strong embrace of his
father
or sits on his dear mother’s knee, I will feel the warmth of your
divinity.
I will experience the light of your wisdom, I will sense your strength
coursing through my veins.
(The Forge, no.342)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday of the third week of Eastertide
The conversion of St Paul (Acts 9:1-20)
Our passage from the Acts of the Apostles is one of the famous passages in world literature. It narrates the conversion of St Paul, one of the great events of the New Testament and in the history of religion. This conversion marked the transformation of one who was an implacable opponent of Christ to one who was an ardent lover of him. The question before us is, how are we to account for this transformation?
Of course, it was primarily due to the action of Christ and his grace. This should give us confidence in regard to ourselves and in regard to what is possible with others. Christ intervened and made himself heard. St Paul experienced the light from heaven and the heavenly voice. It told him that it was Jesus speaking, Jesus whom he was persecuting. Our Lord appealed to Paul, why was he doing this? Without Christ’s intervention the change would not have occurred.
But the fact that its effect was so immediate and profound indicates that something more was involved. Paul was clearly an instance of the good soil that our Lord had spoken of in one of his parables, the soil which after it received the seed produced a hundredfold. Paul had been profoundly mistaken about the person of Jesus, but we must assume that it had been an honest mistake and not the blindness that comes from refusing the light. Paul had loved God and had been doing what he had thought was pleasing to God, even though in fact it was very displeasing. Once the light, the true light came, Paul abandoned his course and became a Christian.
Let us follow the light that is given us and more
light
will be given. Obedience must be the foundation of our religious life.
(E.J.Tyler)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you live in the presence of God, high above the
deafening
storm, the sun will always be shining on you; and deep below the
roaring
and destructive waves, peace and calm will reign in your soul.
(The Forge, no.343)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday of the third week of Eastertide
Times of peace (Acts 9:31-42)
We are told that after the conversion of St Paul, the churches of “Judaea, Galilee and Samaria were now left in peace, building themselves up in the fear of the Lord, and filled with the consolation of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 9:31). This provides an important lesson for us.
For one thing it surely means is that when we are in good health, when we are not having to contend with unusual difficulties of whatever kind, that is the time to be building up our spiritual life. We are, as it were, on a plateau enabling us to make real progress. We here in Australia, for instance, are so very fortunate by comparison with many other countries near and far from us, in that in so many senses we enjoy relative peace. Our situation is therefore a wonderful opportunity that is squandered by so many people - by, indeed, ourselves all too often. Consider the degree of faith practice in our country. It is nothing to be proud of. The danger is that times of peace can be turned to times when we forget God.
And when difficulties come, they too will be
occasions
to turn to God alone as our true support. But it will not be easy, and
our past fidelity or infidelity will count at that point. It is sad to
see the number of people at the end of their lives who can scarcely
bring
themselves to turn to God at their moment of greatest difficulty. We
must
use our good times well.
(E.J.Tyler)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For a son of God each day should be an opportunity
for
renewal, knowing for sure that with the help of grace he will reach the
end of the road, which is Love. That is why if you begin and begin
again,
you are doing well. If you have a will to win, if you struggle, then
with
God’s help you will conquer. There will be no difficulty you cannot
overcome.
(The Forge, no.344)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fourth Sunday of Eastertide (World Day of Prayer for Vocations)
The priesthood and religious life
In our Lord’s words in today’s Gospel we are presented yet again with the biblical image, present not only in the New Testament but in the Old as well, of God as our Shepherd and we as his flock. Our Lord in today’s Gospel speaks of the one true sheepfold. He is the only gate. He is also the only shepherd whose voice the sheep recognise and they follow him because they recognise his voice. The path to safety and to abundant life is by following our good shepherd, and by passing through the one gate which is Christ, the door of the true fold.
One of the biggest mistakes of the modern world is that it tends to think of Christ as just one of several sources of life and salvation. A person imbued with a secular mentality, one which sees this world alone as the only one worth living for, will look on various temporal goals as the true paths to a fuller life. Christ is at most but one more option. Again, we are surrounded with a variety of religions in our society. In our schools religious studies is a subject for the higher school certificate. The danger is that Christ can come to be regarded as simply another religious leader, just another one offering a way to a fuller life.
But Christ is the only way to the Father. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He has come to offer us life in abundance, the life that comes from God. Now all of this is opened up to us when we are united with Jesus our Lord and come to know him personally. This then is the aim of life, to be united with our Lord and to come to know him personally. This is why every member of the Church has the mission to represent Christ and the Church in everyday life, so as to lead as many as possible to enter by the door of the one and only sheepfold which offers abundant life.
But in a special way, it is the ordained priest who makes present and represents the Good Shepherd, and the true gate of the sheepfold. That is why the Church today celebrates World Day of Prayer for Vocations. In having a day like this the Church is reminding all the faithful that all of us are responsible for the promotion of vocations to the priesthood and the religious life.
Let every family and every member of Christ's faithful consider regularly praying for vocations to come forth from the families of the faithful. Every parent ought pray for the gift of a vocation within his or her family. Every Catholic ought think and speak with respect and reverence about the priesthood. The priesthood comes from our Lord. It is his institution, and he has made so much of the spiritual life of the Church to depend on the priesthood, and on priests. If a whole parish respects and loves the priesthood, prays for priests, assists with its support the efforts of priests, praying all the while for vocations, that parish can expect vocations to the priesthood to come forth from within its midst. Let every young person to consider whether God might be calling you to give your life undividedly to him and to his work. It is a beautiful vocation.
Make your own Pope John Paul II’s prayer for vocations:
“Jesus, Son of God, in whom the fulness of
the
Divinity dwells, you call all the baptised to “put out into the deep”,
taking the path that leads to holiness. Waken in the hearts of young
people
the desire to be witnesses in the world of today to the power of your
love.
Fill them with your Spirit of fortitude and prudence, so that they may
be able to discover the full truth about themselves and their own
vocation.
Our Saviour, sent by the Father to reveal His merciful love, give to
your
Church the gift of young people who are ready to put out into the deep,
to be the sign among their brothers of your presence which renews and
saves.
Virgin Mother of the Redeemer, sure guide on the way towards God and
towards
neighbour, you who pondered his word in the depth of your heart,
sustain
with your motherly intercession our families and our ecclesial
communities
so that they may help adolescents and young people to answer generously
the call of the Lord. Amen.”
(E.J.Tyler)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Make your way to Bethlehem, go up to the Child, rock
him
in
your arms, say warm and tender things to him, press him close to your
heart
.... I am not talking childish nonsense, I am speaking of love! And
love
is shown with deeds. In the intimacy of your soul, you can indeed hug
him
tight.
(The Forge, no.345)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday of the fourth week of Eastertide
Our Lord’s love for his flock (John 10:11-18)
Long and prayerful meditation on the Gospel will enable us to know the heart of Christ, and this knowledge will be the basis of our love for him. It is especially the Gospel of St John that reveals the heart of Christ. It is a heart of boundless love.
Our Lord in describing himself draws from the real life of his hearers, and he also draws from the Scriptures. His hearers were familiar with the bond that existed between the shepherd and his sheep. We remember how the angels announced the birth of the Messiah to the shepherds. There were guarding their sheep by night. His hearers were also familiar with how the prophets depicted God as the Good Shepherd who would guard them and raise up one to look after his sheep.
Christ is that Good Shepherd. In fact he is the
embodiment
of God the Good Shepherd. Our Lord loves his sheep to the point of
laying
down his life to protect them. This is what he has done for each of us
whom he knows by name. The Father loves Jesus for this - and he will
love
us too if we strive to be like Jesus in this love for one another. Let
us resolve to be like Christ our Good Shepherd.
(E.J.Tyler)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We should let Jesus know we are children. And
when
children are tiny and innocent, what a lot of effort it takes for them
to go up one step. They look as though they are wasting their
time,
but eventually they manage to climb up. Now there is another step.
Crawling
on their hands and knew, and putting their whole body into it, they
score
another success - one more step. Then they start again. What an effort!
There are only a few more steps to go now. But then the toddler
stumbles,
and - whoops! - down he goes. With bumps all over and in floods of
tears,
the poor child sets out and begins to try again.
We are just like that, Jesus, when we are
on our own. Please take us up in your loving arms, like a big and good
Friend of the simple child. Do not leave us until we have reached the
step.
And then - oh then! - we will know how to correspond to your Merciful
Love,
with the daring of young children, telling you, sweet Lord, that after
Mary and Joseph, there never has been nor will there ever be a mortal
soul
- and there have been some who have been really crazy - who loves you
as
much as I love you.
(The Forge, no.346)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday of the fourth week of Eastertide
The laity in the world (Acts 11:19-26)
We are told at the beginning of our passage today that “those who had escaped during the persecution that happened because of Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, but they usually proclaimed the message only to Jews. Some of them, however, ... went to Antioch where they started preaching to the Greeks, proclaiming the Good News of the Lord Jesu to them as well.” The author of the Acts is referring to what the ordinary faithful, the laity, were doing to spread the knowledge of Christ. It was after this had happened that the leaders of the church were sent for.
As we read this we are surely reminded of the indispensable role of the laity if the knowledge of our Lord is ever to be brought to the world. In the laity, the Church is present to the world, the world of family, workplace, culture, whatever. But for this to happen the laity must be possessed of a genuine and correct knowledge of Christ - of doctrine - and be disposed to speak of and bear witness to him. The laity must be ready also to put interested people into contact with the Church’s pastors, ad did those in our passage from Acts today.
The triumph of the Church within the Roman Empire
depended
in large measure on the witness of the laity. So it will be in the new
evangelization. It is the laity who must bring Christ to the secular
world
of our century.
(E.J.Tyler)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don’t be ashamed of doing little childlike things, I
advised
you. As long as they are not done out of routine, they will not be
fruitless.
Here is an example. Imagine that a soul who is following the way of
spiritual
childhood is moved each night, during the hours of sleep, to adorn a
wooden
statue of the Blessed Virgin. Our intelligence would reject such an
action
as quite useless. But humble souls, touched by grace, understand very
well
that a child would indeed act like this out of love. And then the
strong
will, which all those who are little children spiritually have, insists
and moves the intelligence to give way ... And if that childlike soul
were
to continue each day dressing up the statue of our Lady, there would be
repeated each day a little act of childlike love which would be
fruitful
in the eyes of God.
(The Forge, no.347)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Eastertide
Christ and his unique claims (John 12:44-50)
One of the things we are very conscious of in our day is the variety of religions. Various historical personages have shaped human culture and society, especially the founders of man’s religions. Now apart from their very different teachings about salvation, one obvious difference among them, and in particular between our Lord Jesus Christ and the other founders of religions, is their claims about their own persons.
Mahomet claimed to be a prophet of God, and Islam claims he is the last and greatest of the prophets. His teaching, though, is so similar to that of Judaism and Christianity that much of it has to be regarded by the Christian as borrowed. But our Lord’s claims about himself are absolutely unique. He claims in today’s Gospel passage that the one who sees him sees the Father. Therefore it is no surprise that he claims to be the Light. He was attacked for claiming to be equal to God. Despite these claims - and because of them - he is so utterly convincing.
Let us strive to bear witness to this Jesus, utterly
unique,
utterly indispensable to our salvation.
(E.J.Tyler)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When you are genuinely a child and you follow the
ways
of childhood - if you are moved by God to follow this path - you will
be
invincible.
(The Forge, no.348)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday of the fourth week of Eastertide
Welcoming the Lord (John 13:16-20)
The Church has prayed that the Holy Spirit would ensure that the successor of Peter that God had chosen would be given to us. The Conclave was well prepared for, and its decision was swift. We have a Pope, God’s gift to the Church. Pope St Pius X once said it is impossible to be holy if we do not love the Pope.
There is a real danger that, bombarded as we are by the media, we might come to view the things of God after the manner of the secular media, which is to say with the mind of the world rather than with the mind of Christ. Our Lord says in today’s Gospel, “I tell you most solemnly, whoever welcomes the one I send welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me” (John 13:20).
Let us then welcome the new pope into our hearts as
we
would welcome Christ. Let us resolve to be open to his teaching, aiming
to be good soil open to receive the word of God as it comes to us from
the lips of our chief pastor. Thus will we bear fruit in abundance in
holiness
of life.
(E.J.Tyler)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The confident petition of a small child: Grant me,
Lord,
the sort of compunction which those who have pleased you most have had.
(The Forge, no.349)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday of the fourth week of Eastertide
A place awaits us (John 14:1-6)
There are many things that can cause us weariness in life, and perhaps a sense of futility. A dynamic use of time can as a result dissipate. But time is precious and is not to be squandered by inactivity. What then can give us constant motivation?
Once source of motivation is the thought of what finally awaits us. Our Lord in our Gospel passage tells us that he is going ahead of us to prepare a place for us, so that where he is we may be too. So our Lord has a place awaiting us in heaven. On one occasion James and John (together with their mother) asked our Lord to be placed at his right and left in his kingdom. He replied that those places belonged to those to whom they had been allotted. So a place in heaven has been allotted us. Our Lord wants us to use our time during life to get to that place.
Let us then often think of heaven our true homeland.
There
we shall attain our true rest and happiness, where every tear will be
wiped
away. We shall be with God and innumerable friends. Let us not waste
our
time. Let us use it for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
(E.J.Tyler)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Small child, you would cease to be one if anyone or
anything
came between you and God.
(The Forge, no.350)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday of the fourth week of Eastertide
A lively faith in who Jesus really is (John 14:7-14)
One of our biggest dangers in our spiritual life is that we will tend to take our Lord for granted. That is to say, we will tend through familiarity to lose sight of who our Lord really is. As people gazed on our Lord it was obvious that he was truly man. But here in our gospel passage our Lord tells his disciples that he who knows and sees hm knows and sees the Father. He implies that if one is properly disposed and truly open to reality it ought be evident that Jesus is the revelation and image of the Father: “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and still you do not know me?” The Father is in him, and is doing the work that Jesus is doing.
This same Jesus is the Eucharist. Our danger will be
that
we will tend to take the Eucharist for granted. Let us then daily in
our
prayer exercise our faith in Jesus and in what he has revealed about
himself.
He was put to death for bearing witness to the truth about himself. Let
us make sure that our whole life is filled with faith in our
Lord’s
revelation, and given over to bearing witness to it. Jesus, the
Eucharistic
Jesus, is the source and object of our whole life.
(E.J.Tyler)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I shouldn’t ask Jesus for anything. I will
concentrate
on pleasing him in everything and telling him things as though he
didn’t
know them already, just as a little child does with his father.
(The Forge, no.351)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fifth Sunday of Eastertide
The Pope: Christ’s representative
The whole world has been full of two recent events, the passing away of Pope John Paul, and the appearance on the scene of Pope Benedict XVI. We have heard in the first reading how the assembly of the infant Church elected Stephen and various others to be deacons. Perhaps this will remind us of the historic election by the cardinals this week of our new pope, Pope Benedict. There is one thing, though, we must be on guard against. Inasmuch as the great majority of Catholic people obtain their news and any commentary on the news from the secular media, the danger is that we will look on sacred things such as the person and the role of the pope with a secular mentality, the mentality at work in the media. That is to say, we can without quite realising it, look on the things of God in worldly way rather than with the mind of Christ.
Just the other day I was reading in the Sydney Morning Herald a brief article, and the author (who I am sure was not a Catholic) referred in passing to the Pope as the Vicar of Christ on earth. I feel sure that a large number of non-Catholic Christians would more or less regard the Pope as just that. He is the highest representative of Christ on earth and a number of other things besides, such as the highest and most authoritative voice of man’s conscience. Now, the question is, how should we regard him. We must take our cue from Catholic dogma, not from the world.
The pope is the father of Christ’s flock, our father in God, the holy father. The fourth commandment says, honour your father and your mother. The pope is our father in Christ, so we must honour and love him if we wish to put on the mind of Christ. Every priest is addressed as “Father” because he represents Christ and gives the life of God to Christ’s flock. But more than anyone in the Church, this applies to the pope. The word “Pope” comes from the word meaning ‘father’. He is the holy father, the father of all of Christ’s faithful. So we should love and honour him, and show this love and respect for him before others in the Catholic fold, and show it to those outside the Catholic fold so that they too come to respect and love the pope. For he is the representative of Christ for the whole world, even if there are many who do not recognise this. If we bear witness to our belief in this, others who do not have the faith may be helped to come to this belief.
Part and parcel of having a filial respect and love for the pope will be praying for him as we do every time we attend Mass. The Church encourages us to pray for the pope, and makes it a condition of receiving a plenary indulgence. We ought also make it our business to follow the pope’s ongoing teachings. It is possible to do this on the Internet and by purchasing the pope’s teachings when they are published. One of the reasons why I set up my own website was to make available the pope’s teachings on it, so as to make it easier for parishioners to have access to them. I have put on my website information about the new pope, and his latest homilies so that they can be read.
We are greatly blessed in that we have been given a great and distinguished man to us as Pope. For many decades he has been regarded as one of the Church’s leading theologians, and has written many books on important aspects of the Catholic Faith. He is one of our generation’s eminent intellectuals. I remember twenty eight years ago in 1977 reading in the papers how Joseph Ratzinger was appointed by Pope Paul VI as Archbishop of Vienna in Germany. I still remember it because I was very familiar with his name as a distinguished theologian. He has always been a very eminent intellectual and writer. We are lucky to have such a man as pope.
As we think of our Lord, who reveals himself
in
today’s Gospel as the image of the Father, and as being in the Father
and
the Father in him, let us resolve to live out our Catholic Faith with a
filial love and respect for our Lord’s highest representative on earth,
the pope. Let us resolve to go to some trouble to follow and study
carefully
the pope’s teachings as they begin flowing to us from his pen. In this
way our spiritual life will be enriched and we will be equipped to
bring
Christ to the world.
(E.J.Tyler)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Little child, say to Jesus: I will not be satisfied
with
anything less than You.
(The Forge, no.352)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday of the fifth week of Eastertide
The distinctiveness of the Christian spirit (Acts 14:5-18)
In the passage from the Acts of the Apostles in chapter 14: 5-18 we are presented with a few striking contrasts. The first relates to the response to the preaching of Paul and Barnabas. We are told that both pagans and Jews made attacks on them at Iconium. So Barnabas and Paul went to Lycaonia and there they cured someone of his crippled condition. They were in consequence hailed and treated as gods, a response which both of them vehemently repudiated. But at least the response of the Lycaonians is revealed as starkly in contrast with that of the Jews and pagans at Iconium. The Lycaonians were thoroughly open to see the presence and action of the supernatural in the ministry of Paul and Barnabas. Let us take our cue from them at least in this that we too ought be thoroughly open to the action of God in the ministry of the Church and the Church’s pastors.
Another contrast is suggested to us in the very
reaction
of Paul and Barnabas to this response of the Lycaonians. Ancient rulers
were very ready indeed to accept the honours due to God or that were
granted
to the gods. Paul and Barnabas would have nothing of it, of course. All
glory was to be given to God. Let us take our cue from this too, and
while
being open to the action of God in our daily life - especially in the
Church’s
ministry of word and sacrament, let us resolutely refer all honour and
glory to Him.
(E.J.Tyler)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In your prayer of spiritual childhood what childish
things
you say to your Lord! With the confidence of a child speaking to his
great
Friend of whose love he is utterly sure, you confided in him, saying,
May
I live only for your Glory! Thinking things over you admit in all
sincerity
that everything you do turns out badly. “But,” you add, “this can’t
surprise
you, Jesus. It is impossible for me to do anything right. You have to
help
me. Please do it for me and you will see how well it turns out.” Then,
with great daring, and without departing from the truth, you continue:
“May your Spirit thoroughly penetrate me and intoxicate me so that I
may
be able to do your Will. I want to do it. And if I don’t do it ... it’s
because you are not helping me. But you are helping me!”
(The Forge, no.353)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Feast of St Mark the Evangelist (Mark 16:15-20)
April 25: St Mark was the son of the Mary in whose house Peter sought refuge after being freed from gaol. He aided St Paul and St Barnabas in the evangelization of Cyprus. Mark became the companion and secretary of St Peter in Rome, and is the author of the second Gospel.
---------
There are a number of things we are surely reminded of by the Gospel passage of today, the feast of St Mark (Mark 16:15-20). To begin with, we are reminded of how dear and important to the heart of Christ is the mission he has entrusted to his Church, of which we are all members. For our Lord this mission was not just a pious option for his disciples. It was an absolutely essential component of discipleship. So we ought regard the apostolate of bringing others to belief in Jesus as essential to our daily Christian life. But is it? Or rather, do we regard it subconsciously as a pious option?
There is a further thing we are reminded of by this
feast.
St Mark is generally regarded as being the close associate and
assistant
to St Peter, the chief of the Apostles. The Gospel he wrote is
generally
understood as coming from the lips of Peter. Let us use that thought to
remind ourselves of how important to our spiritual life and daily
apostolate
that we subject ourselves spiritually to the guidance and teaching of
the
successor of St Peter. Let us master that teaching as did St Mark, and
bring it to others.
(E.J.Tyler)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You have to feel the urgent necessity to see
yourself
as small, weak and bereft of everything. You will then clamber on to
the
lap of our Mother in Heaven, with heartfelt aspirations and loving
glances,
Marian devotions .. which are such a vital part of your filial spirit.
She will watch over you.
(The Forge, no.354)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday of the fifth week of Eastertide
The cutting by the vinedresser (John 15:1-8)
One of the most profound of man’s problems is the problem of his own suffering, and the difficulty of seeing some sense in it, some point or meaning. Our Lord in our Gospel passage today reveals some light on the matter. He says that “every branch in me that bears no fruit he cuts away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes to make it bear even more.” There are two cases here: the one bearing no fruit and the one bearing fruit. In both cases there is a cutting process at work.
The branch that bears no fruit will ultimately be cut away from God. For those who do not live by God and by his life, suffering will come and it will result in death, spiritual death. Those wo live by the life of God will also be subject to suffering. Their suffering will be administered or allowed by God for their greater growth and fruitfulness. Just as the vine must be pruned to bear more fruit, suffering under the loving hand of God will be necessary for the one who wishes to be God’s friend, and serve God’s plan.
So then, our Lord tells us to make our home in him
as
he makes his home in us. This means ensuring that his words remain in
us
and that we keep them, no matter what the cost.
(E.J.Tyler)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Persevere along your way no matter what happens;
persevere,
cheerfully and optimistically, because the Lord is bent on sweeping
aside
all obstacles. Hear me well: I am quite certain that if you struggle,
you
will be a saint!
(The Forge, no.355)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday of the fifth week of Eastertide
Abiding in the love of Christ (John 15:9-11)
When man thinks of God, various thoughts and emotions come to him. He thinks of greatness and power, perhaps also of remoteness. He thinks too of goodness - that God is good, a good Spirit. He thinks of many other things besides. But our Lord in our Gospel passage today speaks of love. In simple language he tells us that the Father loves him.
We cannot possibly imagine this love with any degree of adequacy because everything about God is infinite. The almighty Father loves the almighty Son, and this limitless love has been and is the eternal life of God. Now, if we can gain an impression of the love of the Father for Jesus his Son, this impression may help us appreciate our Lord’s love for us. Our Lord says, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you” (John 15:9). What we must do, then, is contemplate at length the love of God and come to know it well, making it the basis of our life.
Our Lord asks us to remain in his love, just as he
remains
in his Father’s love. The key is obedience, obedience to Jesus and his
commandments: “If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.”
This
is why Cardinal Newman once wrote that obedience is of the essence of
religion.
Religion involves the loving fulfilment of our God-given duties, and as
Pope Benedict XV taught about ninety years ago, perfection in the
Christian
life is the perfect fulfilment of our God-given duties. Christ
was
obedient to his heavenly Father. We must strive to follow in his
footsteps.
(E.J.Tyler)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When Our Lord called the first Apostles they were
busy
mending their broken nets by the side of an old boat. Our Lord told
them
to follow him and immediately they left everything - everything! And
followed
him. Sometimes, though we wish to imitate them, we find we don’t manage
to leave everything, and there remains some attachment in our heart,
something
wrong in our life which we’re not willing to break with and offer it up
to God. Won’t you examine your heart in depth? Nothing should remain
there
except what is his. If not, we aren’t really loving him, neither you
nor
I.
(The Forge, no.356)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday of the fifth week of Eastertide
The essence of the Christian religion (John 15:12-17)
There are many ways of understanding religion, and
various
notions of what the practice of religion entails. And it ought be
obvious
that if we are to make progress in our religion we need to have an
understanding
of what our religion really consists in - or else we shall lose our way.
What then is the essence of the Christian religion? It
is friendship with Jesus, accepted as God and man. If we wish to grow
in
the Christian religion we must grow in a personal friendship with the
human
and divine Jesus and be faithful to the demands of this friendship
during
life.
And this is what our Lord refers to in today’s Gospel (John 15:12-17). Our Lord has loved each of us and because of this love has laid down his life for each of us. He wants us not just to be his servants but his friends whom he shares his mission and his plans. Out of love for us he has chosen us, invited us, to his friendship, a friendship that is essentially apostolic in the sense that it involves participating in his mission of bringing others into friendship with him.
Let us make our whole life a response to this choice
Christ
has made of us.
(E.J.Tyler)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tell our Lord constantly that you sincerely desire
to
be a saint and to do apostolate. Then the poor vessel of your soul will
not get broken. And should it do so, it will be put together again and
acquire an added attractiveness, and it will continue to be of use for
your sanctity and the apostolate.
(The Forge, no.357)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday of the fifth week of Eastertide
The divine freedom (Acts 16:1-10)
On one occasion when Our Lord cast out many devils from a person, that fully recovered person pleaded with our Lord to be allowed to follow him physically. But our Lord said no. Rather, he was to return to his own people and tell them the good things God had done for him. This he did. Now, why did our Lord not allow him to follow him? We do not know - it was not his will. But not so with, say, Mary Magdalene, from whom he cast out seven devils. Our Lord willed her to follow him right to the empty tomb. Why the difference? We do not know. It was his will.
This mysterious divine freedom is evident too in today’s passage from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 16:1-10). Paul and his party travelled through Phrygia and Galatia and were told by the Holy Spirit they were not to preach in Asia. Why? After all, would it not have been a good thing to do this for the sake of the Gospel? We are not told. It was God’s will. Moreover, the Spirit of Jesus would not let them go into Bithynia. Why? We are not told. But through a dream, a vision, they were summoned to Macedonia. Why? We are not told.
Let us remember that whatever be the plans we
ourselves
have, the important thing is to seek and find God’s will - and then to
do it. Nothing else matters. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us.
(E.J.Tyler)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your prayer should be that of a child of God, and
not
that of the hypocrites who will hear from Jesus’ lips: “Not every one
who
says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.” Your
prayer,
your clamour of “Lord, Lord.”should be linked in a thousand different
ways
throughout the day to a desire and an effective effort to fulfil the
Will
of God.
(The Forge, no.558)