One must not think that a person who is suffering is not praying. He is offering up his sufferings to God, and many a time he is praying much more truly than one who goes away by himself and meditates his head off, and, if he has squeezed out a few tears, thinks that is prayer.
--St. Teresa of Avila
One must not think that a person who is suffering is not praying. He is offering up his sufferings to God, and many a time he is praying much more truly than one who goes away by himself and meditates his head off, and, if he has squeezed out a few tears, thinks that is prayer.
--St. Teresa of Avila
November 17, 2020
Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of
Hungary, Religious
Lectionary: 498
I, John, heard the Lord saying to me:
“To the angel of the Church in Sardis, write this:
“‘The one who has the seven spirits of God
and the seven stars says this: “I know your works,
that you have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
Be watchful and strengthen what is left, which is going to die,
for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.
Remember then how you accepted and heard; keep it, and repent.
If you are not watchful, I will come like a thief,
and you will never know at what hour I will come upon you.
However, you have a few people in Sardis
who have not soiled their garments;
they will walk with me dressed in white,
because they are worthy.“‘
The victor will thus be dressed in white,
and I will never erase his name from the book of life
but will acknowledge his name in the presence of my Father
and of his angels.
“‘Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”“
"To the angel of the Church in Laodicea, write this:
“‘The Amen, the faithful and true witness,
the source of God’s creation, says this:
“I know your works;
I know that you are neither cold nor hot.
I wish you were either cold or hot.
So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold,
I will spit you out of my mouth.
For you say, ‘I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,’
and yet do not realize that you are wretched,
pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich,
and white garments to put on
so that your shameful nakedness may not be exposed,
and buy ointment to smear on your eyes so that you may see.
Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise.
Be earnest, therefore, and repent.
“‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
then I will enter his house and dine with him,
and he with me.
I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne,
as I myself first won the victory
and sit with my Father on his throne.
“‘Whoever has ears ought to hear
what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
Responsorial Psalm PS 15:2-3A, 3BC-4AB, 5
R. (Rev. 3: 21) I will seat the victor beside me on my throne.
He who walks blamelessly and does
justice;
who thinks the truth in his heart
and slanders not with his tongue.
R. I will seat the victor beside me on my throne.
Who harms not his fellow man,
nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;
By whom the reprobate is despised,
while he honors those who fear the LORD.
R. I will seat the victor beside me on my throne.
Who lends not his money at usury
and accepts no bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
shall never be disturbed.
R. I will seat the victor beside me on my throne.
Alleluia 1 JN 4:10B
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God loved us, and send his Son
as expiation for our sins.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel LK 19:1-10
At that time Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.
Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house.”
And he came down quickly and received him with joy.
When they saw this, they began to grumble, saying,
“He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.”
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
“Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over.”
And Jesus said to him,
“Today salvation has come to this house
because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.
For the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save what was lost.”
*****************************************
How Enthusiastic are You?!
The word "enthusiasm" comes from ancient Greek and means "in God" (from entheos). If we're really and truly in the Lord, we're enthusiastic about it! In fact, we become enthusiastic about everything we do that's good and worthwhile. There's no mediocrity in us. We become enthusiastic about our relationships, our work, our involvement in the parish - whatever we do with God and in God and through God.
That's the point of the messages for both groups in today's first reading. Without enthusiasm, "you have the reputation of being alive, when in fact you are dead." Without enthusiasm, "your faith is no faith; a lukewarm relationship with God is blecchie, ikky, yukky, pukey."
Why is it better to be cold toward God than lukewarm? Because when people are cold toward something that bothers them, the reason it bothers them is because they care. Jesus can work with cold-hearted people to humble them and set them on fire for his love, but lukewarm people don't care. Those who hate God care - it's why they get so angry - but those who prefer to be disinterested are unreachable. They are the living dead.
There is no stimulation for spiritual growth when our relationship with God is lukewarm. Where growth is lacking, life withers. When such a person reaches the time of physical death, there is nothing in their spirit that yearns to spend eternity in God's love.
Be glad for those who are fighting the truth, who are fighting against God and his ways, who are fighting against you and your faith. At least they still have the energy to fight! In every battle there is hope for a victory in Christ. But when they don't care anymore, we must pray for a crisis that will awaken them and stir up their need for God.
Let's bring this closer to home. What in our own lives is lukewarm? Whom have we stopped caring about? How have we grown lazy? Where has our spiritual life become lethargic?
Spiritual energy is the hallmark of an alive Christian. Sometimes, we lose energy because we're tired, but instead of becoming lukewarm, we need to recover our enthusiasm. Sometimes, the lack of energy means we've been working harder than God wants us to, to the point of burn-out. Sometimes it means we're no longer doing what God wants us to devote our energies to. We need to be like Zacchaeus, who in today's Gospel reading was so determined to see Jesus that he found a way over the obstacles. We need to redirect our energy to more fruitful works.
Notice that once Zacchaeus climbed the tree, Jesus did the follow-up. Jesus zeroed in on him and gave him personal attention and affirmation. How did Zacchaeus respond? He quickly descended from the tree and welcomed Jesus with delight. He had so much enthusiasm - so much presence of God within him - that he wanted to quadruple the penance for his sins!
Can we pray more fervently? Sing in Mass more loudly? Serve more eagerly? Immerse ourselves in scripture more hungrily? Donate our treasures more generously? The higher our level of enthusiasm, the more we're living "in God."
Today's Prayer
Lord Jesus: Give me a deep awareness of my sins, and may this throw me to a savior-encounter with You. Amen.
---------------------------------------------------------
God Bless You.....
No comments:
Post a Comment