Daily Retreat 07/20/09

2009 Jul 20 Mon:Ordinary Weekday/ Apollinarius, bp, mt Ex 14:5-18/ Ex 15:1bc-2. 3-4. 5-6/ Mt 12:38-42 From today's readings:"Fear not! Stand your ground, and you will see the victory the LORD will win for you today.... Let us sing to the Lord; He has covered Himself in glory.... At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and there is something greater than Jonah here...." Why Did You Bring Us Out of Egypt? Think of the joy of the Israelites as they departed the slavery of Egypt - how their hearts must have sung with exultation as they left behind their bondage! And yet, as soon as Pharaoh's army appeared on the horizon, their joy melted into dismal panic as they turned to Moses and complained, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt? .... Far better for us to be the slaves of the Egyptians than to die in the desert!" We've seen how the Passover and the liberation from the slavery of Egypt foreshadowed the Passion of Jesus and His loving act of redemption which liberates us from the slavery of sin. Such liberation from sin brings incomparable joy to the human heart, and yet, at times that joy is soured and becomes a dismal panic as the Devil madly pursues a soul escaping his enslavement. As the Israelites learned, it can be so terrifying to break with the bondage of the past, that the former slavery can even start to seem more bearable than the unrelenting demand for courage to continue following Christ's way of salvation. But, as Moses answered the people, "Fear not! Stand your ground, and you will see the victory the LORD will win for you today!" Turning one's back completely to sin and the Devil does require the utmost courage and unshakeable faith - but not faith in ourselves and our own weaknesses, but faith in our God and His saving power!