Spiritual vs. Material Wealth

“Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”  Mark 12:43-44 All she put into the basket was two small coins worth only a few cents.  Yet Jesus declares that she put in more than all the rest.  Are you buying that?  It’s hard to accept that it’s true.  Our tendency is to think of the monetary value of the large sums of money being deposited before this poor widow’s.  Those deposits are far more desirable than the two small coins she put in.  Right?  Or not? If we take Jesus at His word then we should be far more grateful for the widow’s two coins than the large sums of money deposited before her.  That’s not to say that the large sums of money were not good and generous gifts.  They most likely were.  God took those gifts also and used them.  But here Jesus is highlighting a contrast between spiritual wealth and material wealth.  And He’s saying that spiritual wealth, and spiritual generosity, is of far greater importance than material wealth, and material generosity.  The poor widow was materially poor but spiritually rich.  Those with the large sums of money were materially rich, but spiritually poorer than the widow.  In the materialistic society we live in, it’s hard to believe this.  It’s very hard to make the conscious choice to embrace spiritual wealth as a far greater blessing.  Why is this hard?  Because in order to embrace spiritual wealth one must give up everything.  We must all become this poor widow and contribute all we have, our “whole livelihood.”  Now, some may immediately react to this statement as extreme.  It’s not extreme.  There is nothing wrong with being blessed with material wealth, but there is something wrong with being attached to it.  What is essential is an interior disposition which imitates the generosity and spiritual poverty of this poor widow.  She wanted to give and she wanted to make a difference.  So she gave all she had. Each person must discern how this looks practically in their lives.  This doesn’t mean that everyone must literally sell all they have and go become a monk.  But it does mean that everyone must have an interior disposition of complete generosity and detachment.  From there, the Lord will show you how to use the material things within your possession for your greatest good, as well as the good of others. Reflect, today, upon the contrast of these two forms of wealth and choose that which lasts for eternity.  Give all you have and all you are to our Lord and allow Him to direct the generosity of your heart in accord with His perfect will. Lord, please give me the generous and selfless heart of this poor widow.  Help me to look for ways that I am called to give completely of myself to You, holding nothing back, seeking above all the spiritual riches of Your Kingdom.  Jesus, I trust in You. https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/2020/06/05/spiritual-vs-material-wealth-2/?utm_source=mailpoet&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=catholic-daily-reflections-my-catholic-life_2596

Avoidance of Sin

“If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.  It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.”  Matthew 5:29-30a Does Jesus really mean this?  Literally?  We can be certain that this language, which is shocking, is not a literal command but is rather a symbolic statement commanding us to avoid sin with great zeal, and to avoid all that leads us to sin.  The eye can be understood as a window to our soul where our thoughts and desires reside.  The hand can be seen as a symbol of our actions.  Thus, we must eliminate every thought, affection, desire and action that leads us to sin. The true key to understanding this passage is to allow ourselves to be affected by the powerful language that Jesus uses.  He does not hesitate to speak in a shocking way so as to reveal to us the calling we have to confront with much zeal that which leads to sin in our lives.  “Pluck it out…cut it off,” He says.  In other words, eliminate your sin and all that leads you to sin in a definitive way.  The eye and the hand are not sinful in and of themselves; rather, in this symbolic language they are spoken of as those things that lead to sin.  Therefore, if certain thoughts or certain actions lead you to sin, these are the areas to target and to eliminate. Regarding our thoughts, sometimes we can allow ourselves to dwell excessively upon this or that.  As a result, these thoughts can lead us to sin.  The key is to “pluck out” that initial thought that produces the bad fruit. Regarding our actions, we can at times put ourselves in situations that tempt us and lead to sin.  These occasions of sin must be cut off from our lives. Reflect, today, upon this very direct and powerful language of our Lord.  Let the forcefulness of His words be an impetus for change and avoidance of all sin. Lord, I am sorry for my sin and I ask for Your mercy and forgiveness.  Please help me to avoid all that leads me to sin and to surrender all my thoughts and actions to You every day.  Jesus, I trust in You. https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/2020/06/11/avoidance-of-sin-2/?utm_source=mailpoet&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=catholic-daily-reflections-my-catholic-life_2596

Four Types of People You Need in Your Life

“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.”

Proverbs 13:20 (NIV)

You and I can never be the kind of people God wants us to be on our own. We were never intended to do life that way. We all need people who are teaching us, sharing their lives with us, investing in us, and encouraging us to grow.

The Bible tells us, “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm” (Proverbs 13:20 NIV).

In fact, to be all that God calls you to be, you need to learn from at least four kinds of people:

Mentors. These are your coaches. I’ve had nine different mentors in my life. No one can teach you everything you need to know. One person will teach you in one area. Another person will teach you about something else.

Role models. These are people who are already doing or have already done what you want to do. Many of the skills you’ve learned in your life, you’ve learned by watching others.

Partners. You need co-workers and colleagues who are in your profession, people to support and challenge you on what God wants to do through your life.

Friends. Friends don’t necessarily help you with your goals. They’re just friends. They love you no matter what you do. You can mess up, and they still love you. A friend walks alongside you when everyone else walks out. That’s when you know who your true friends are.

Trying to live life solo isn’t just lonely. It works against God’s design for us.

Find your people, and make yourself available and vulnerable to them and how God wants to use them in your life.

https://pastorrick.com/four-types-of-people-you-need-in-your-life-2/?roi=echo7-37359118415-55595424-a729d2326e18fb43c59680b4fe8a15b8

The stone rejected will becone the cornerstone

The stone rejected will becone the cornerstone by frtonys The parable in today’s gospel is a tragic one, about rejection, violence and murder. A vineyard owner sent his servants to collect his share of the fruits of the vineyard; all of them were rejected. He then sent his son who was not only rejected but killed. At the end of the story, the stone rejected by the builders goes on to become the keystone, the most important stone that holds the arch together. The parable is a veiled reference to what had happened to the prophets in the past and what would soon happen to Jesus himself. His mission would lead to him being rejected and put to death, but God would raise him from the dead and make him the keystone of a wholly new situation for mankind. Rejection is a painful human experience, experienced by many. Jesus invites us to join our times of sadness and rejection to his passion. He is the living sign that the rejected stone can become the keystone. God can work in a life-giving way in and through all any hardships we struggle with in life. What we might judge to be misfortunes can turn out to be moments of grace. He will support us to the end with all we need. https://cacina.wordpress.com/2020/06/01/the-stone-rejected-will-becone-the-cornerstone/

Jesus said to Peter what concern is it of yours

In today’ Gospel, we see Jesus’ gently correcting Peter, who seemed more interested in John’s fate than in following Jesus at that moment. This is a lesson for all of us.  We all need to get our own lives in order before being preoccupied with the concerns of others. We want to make sure that we are being treated fairly and equally, or if there is any inequality, we expect it to be in our favor, not the other person. We also tend to compare our lives to others either to legitimize our commitment to Christ or to question the justice of God. So, Jesus tells us today not to preoccupy ourselves with things or issues that are beyond our mandate. We are not to condemn anybody because that’s not our work but God’s work on the last day. Our mandate is to go to the whole world preaching the Good News and bringing souls closer to God. Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for Your call to serve You. We pray that You help us avoid straying away from our call to serve You. Help us not judge others but bring them closer to You. Amen. https://cacina.wordpress.com/2020/05/30/jesus-said-to-peter-what-concern-is-it-of-yours/

Baptized in the Holy Spirit

Come experience a Baptism of Renewal and be Born Again. Pentecost was not just for those of the bible.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says,

According to the Apostle Paul, the believer enters through Baptism into communion with Christ’s death, is buried with him, and rises with him: Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Rom 6:3-4) The baptized have “put on Christ.” (Gal 3:27) Through the Holy Spirit, Baptism is a bath that purifies, justifies, and sanctifies (1 Cor 6:11). Hence Baptism is a bath of water in which the “imperishable seed” of the Word of God produces its life-giving effect. (CCC 1227-1228)

This quote from the Catechism then moves us beyond the merely Theological answer to the question, “What does it mean to be baptized with the Holy Spirit?”  and opens also, the “experiential” question: What is it “like” to be baptized with the Holy Spirit?

Experientially, It means knowing what we have received in Baptism and Confirmation. But here, “knowing” does not mean mere intellectual knowing (οἴδα – odia in the Greek New Testament). Rather it means experiential knowing (γινώσκo – ginosko in the Greek New Testament). It is one thing to “know about” God and to be able to pass a religion test. But to be Baptized with the Holy Spirit is to “know” the Lord, personally, deeply, intimately. It is to be in a life changing, transformative relationship with the Lord. It is experiential faith.

Too many people are satisfied with with living their faith by inference, rather than by experience. In other words, they are content to go along saying what they heard some one else say. “Jesus is Lord and risen from the dead” because my mother says so, or my preacher says so, (or even), the Bible says so. All of this is fine, for faith first comes by hearing. But there comes a point when YOU have to say so, because you personally know it to be true.

And this is what it means to be Baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire. It is to be able to say, “In the laboratory of my own life I have tested the Word of God and found it to be true. I have personally met and know the Lord, I know Him for myself.”

In other words, it is having faith come alive! Faith that is real, tested and certain. It is knowledge that is personal. It is to be a first hand witness to the power of Jesus Christ to change my life, for I am experiencing it in the laboratory of my very own life. He is changing and transforming me. I am seeing sins put to death and wonderful graces come alive. I am more serene, confident, loving, generous and chaste. I am more forgiving, patient, trusting and patient. I love the poor more, and I am less attached to this world. My prayer is becoming deeper as I sense his presence and power in my life. Yes, God is working in my life and He is real. This is my testimony. What is yours?

But this is what it means, experientially, to be baptized with the Holy Spirit (and with fire).

And this is also at the heart of evangelization. How are you going to convert anybody if you’re not convinced yourself? Parents, you want your kids to go to Church? Great, and proper. But why do you go? Because it’s Church law? Alright, fine, but shouldn’t there be a deeper reason? To be Baptized with the Holy Spirit is to go to Mass and make the Christian walk because you know and love Jesus Christ yourself, and you want to bring your children into that living, powerful and life transforming experience of the Lord in prayer, the Mass, the Liturgy, and the Sacraments. That’s what you’re after. And that’s what it means to be baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Pay attention to these word of St. John the Baptist. He, through the Holy Spirit, is teaching us about the “normal Christian life,” which is to be alive, joyful, confident, serene and thrilled at what God is doing in my life, at to know (not just know about) the Lord. “I baptize you with water, BUT HE, will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” And he will light a fire in your life, a fire that never dies away, but that grows in intensity as it transforms your very self.

Let he who has ears to hear, heed what the Spirit is saying. Baptism is not a tedious ritual, it is a transformative reality.

https://cacina.wordpress.com/2020/05/27/baptized-in-the-holy-spirit/