Daily Retreat 02/19/08
2008 Feb 19 Tue: Lenten Weekday
Is 1: 10. 16-20/ Ps 49(50): 8-9. 16bc-17. 21.23/ Mt 23: 1-12
From today’s readings: “Come now, let us set things right, says the LORD: Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; Though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool.... I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.... Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
"If you are willing and obey...."
Since the Word of God unmasks the Devil's deceptions, thereby enabling us to see the brutal, contagious ugliness of sin, choosing good and refusing evil is a pretty straightforward choice, at least in theory. In practice, however, you and I too often continue to choose the ugliness of sin, mostly because we "refuse and resist" God's saving revelation.
Remember, God's grace in leading us to conversion is never imposed upon us - we must be willing and accepting of it, and as a prerequisite, we must commit ourselves to obeying His commandments and instructions. The Devil attempts to cast God as a mad dictator who imposes his will on us for his own glorification and our own consternation. In reality, God's very rational directions for life are more like those of a traffic cop: when we obey such orders, we protect ourselves and others from getting hurt and stay on the right road; when we disobey, we get ourselves and others in trouble and danger.
Is 1: 10. 16-20/ Ps 49(50): 8-9. 16bc-17. 21.23/ Mt 23: 1-12
From today’s readings: “Come now, let us set things right, says the LORD: Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; Though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool.... I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.... Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
"If you are willing and obey...."
Since the Word of God unmasks the Devil's deceptions, thereby enabling us to see the brutal, contagious ugliness of sin, choosing good and refusing evil is a pretty straightforward choice, at least in theory. In practice, however, you and I too often continue to choose the ugliness of sin, mostly because we "refuse and resist" God's saving revelation.
Remember, God's grace in leading us to conversion is never imposed upon us - we must be willing and accepting of it, and as a prerequisite, we must commit ourselves to obeying His commandments and instructions. The Devil attempts to cast God as a mad dictator who imposes his will on us for his own glorification and our own consternation. In reality, God's very rational directions for life are more like those of a traffic cop: when we obey such orders, we protect ourselves and others from getting hurt and stay on the right road; when we disobey, we get ourselves and others in trouble and danger.
posted by FrPitstick | 2/16/2008
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