My husband Jay, my sister Diane and I attended a Catholic seminar with Jeff Cavins a few weeks ago . . . a dynamic speaker with a great sense of humor! My sister had experienced Jeff's Great Bible Adventure series years ago and raved her knowledge of the Bible grew into a yearning to learn more about our faith and Our God. There were so many "pearls" we walked away with that day, one of them being his recommendation to read the daily Gospel, decipher what word jumped out at you, write it down and contemplate what God is trying to teach you with that word. Part of my Lenten journey is to put this into practice. So today, the word jumping out at me is "hypocrites." As I sat to contemplate this word, immediately my thoughts went to my loved ones. How many times do I pray they become holier? That they love Jesus and demonstrate it in their actions? I'm thinking Jesus needed me to see where I was being hypocritical in thinking I know what they lack and where they need to improve! I can only control my own holiness journey. I am not walking in anyone else's shoes but my own. The word hypocrite today means, for me, to pray more . . . and to focus on my own journey toward eternity.
In today's Gospel (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18), Jesus is very clear . . . the internal journey toward salvation is what He asks us to concentrate on:
Jesus said to his disciples: "Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
"When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
"When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you."
In today's Gospel (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18), Jesus is very clear . . . the internal journey toward salvation is what He asks us to concentrate on:
Jesus said to his disciples: "Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
"When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
"When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you."
The quote below from Anne a lay apostle's book Lessons in Love connected the Gospel and my "word" perfectly, further defining my contemplation:
"Jesus will connect the one who seeks Him to holy fellowship when the time is right and persuade the searcher that while all Christians are human, all Christians are not hypocrites. This strategy for truly understanding what one is rejecting, seeks Christ in three ways: in Holy Scripture, in the Eucharist and ongoing life of the Church, and in other faithful Christians. These are good places to look for Jesus because He truly lives and ministers to us from these three places each day if we seek Him. What is the Lord’s experience of this time? I believe
that the Lord sees many of His children living outside of the safety of His Church and He is sorrowful. Why is He sorrowful? Is it because Jesus wants to control people? Is it because Jesus wants to be justified and powerful? Is He concerned about His glory? Hardly. Jesus is sorrowful because He wants to provide safety for His children and He cannot protect us when we reject Him. I believe that the Lord sees the spiritual and emotional and even physical danger of life lived in rebellion and He mourns our denial of these realities. What will help? Do we need more people preaching the Gospel? Yes. We do. At once. We need more truth tellers and fewer hypocritical representations of Christ. Do we need those preaching the Gospel to be humble? Yes. We require an increase in humility and a decrease in arrogance. The fact that those living in rebellion can be aggressive and hurtful is no excuse for us to respond with aggression and hurtfulness. We are called to be different. We should be different. Do we need greater obedience to the Magisterium of the Church? Yes. Only God knows how damaging the level of disobedience has been. Those serving in the Church who openly reject the teaching of the Church are hurting the Lord’s cause terribly. We are called to put on the mind of Christ, not the mind of the world. We just cannot all be leaders. Some of us have to follow. That is the point of the whole exercise ... to follow Christ as He manifests Himself through the teachings of the Church. Do we need more prayer? Yes. This is a compelling need for every Catholic. Less talk, more listening to heaven. We need all kinds of prayer in our days. If we learn to pray, we will learn to listen to the Holy Spirit and serve as He wills, not as we will."
Lay apostles, how are you planning to grow closer to Our Lord this Lent? What has worked for you in the past? I love suggestions on increasing holiness! I am excited to get back on track with writing my daily blog and contemplating the "word" Jesus is trying to highlight to open my heart and mind to what He wants for me!
Thank you, Lord, for all the beautiful men and women You have brought into my life to educate and enrich my spiritual journey.
God bless,
Bonnie
No comments:
Post a Comment