Daily Retreat 09/06/08
2008 Sep 6 Sat: Ordinary Weekday/ BVM
1 Cor 4: 6b-15/ Ps 144(145): 17-18. 19-20. 21/ Lk 6: 1-5
From today’s readings: “But if you have received it, why are you boasting as if you did not receive it? ... The Lord is near to all who call upon Him.... The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath....”
A Spectacle to the World
Paul's first letter to the Corinthians presents a number of his musings on the vicissitudes of apostleship and discipleship of Christ. Paul does not at all ignore the fact that Jesus did not promise an easy life to His followers. On the contrary, all Christians are called to share in the Cross of Christ. For some, this means physical suffering. For others, ridicule from the world. In all cases, there is sacrifice involved in conforming one's life to the standards of the Gospel.
If the sacrifice engenders bitterness and resentment (or even mere stoicism), the Christian transformation is woefully incomplete. Only when the Christian's personal cross is converted instead into fuel for ardent zeal and charity is the power of the Gospel fully realized. And what a beautiful and indisputable witness for the world to see us Christians putting into practice the full power of the Gospel, so that, as Paul noted, "when ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we respond gently."
1 Cor 4: 6b-15/ Ps 144(145): 17-18. 19-20. 21/ Lk 6: 1-5
From today’s readings: “But if you have received it, why are you boasting as if you did not receive it? ... The Lord is near to all who call upon Him.... The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath....”
A Spectacle to the World
Paul's first letter to the Corinthians presents a number of his musings on the vicissitudes of apostleship and discipleship of Christ. Paul does not at all ignore the fact that Jesus did not promise an easy life to His followers. On the contrary, all Christians are called to share in the Cross of Christ. For some, this means physical suffering. For others, ridicule from the world. In all cases, there is sacrifice involved in conforming one's life to the standards of the Gospel.
If the sacrifice engenders bitterness and resentment (or even mere stoicism), the Christian transformation is woefully incomplete. Only when the Christian's personal cross is converted instead into fuel for ardent zeal and charity is the power of the Gospel fully realized. And what a beautiful and indisputable witness for the world to see us Christians putting into practice the full power of the Gospel, so that, as Paul noted, "when ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we respond gently."
posted by FrPitstick | 9/02/2008
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