You will shine in the world like bright stars
because you are offering it the word of life. PH 2:15-16
1 KINGS 19:9, 11-16
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
We all have preconceived ideas of You and we try to fit You in that mold but You cannot be conceived by finite beings for You transcend anything we can ever imagine. You told Elijah to stand on the mountain before You. One would think that the all-powerful God would be present in the mighty wind that tore the mountain and shook the rocks but You were not in it. Then came an earthquake - and it would seem fitting that You would be in the earthquake that shakes the very ground but You were not in it either. Then came a fire and one would think, Elijah would certainly find You here just as Moses did in the Burning Bush, but You were not in the fire. And then came the sound of a breeze and there You were, You came softly, gently and tenderly, Elijah, hearing Your hushed approach, covered his face.
Elijah was on fire with zeal for You. He was filled with righteous anger on Your behalf. But he was a wanted man afraid for his life and thought it best to flee the land of his enemies. But he found out, as we all do, that Your ways are not our ways, Your thoughts not our thoughts. You desired him to return the same way he had come. You had a mission for him. So in obedience to Your command, he returned to do all that You asked him to.
It is always more important to obey You than to seek to preserve our life.
PSALM 27:7-9, 13-14
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
As long as we live on earth we must live by the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. But when we come to the end of our journey and are called to live with You eternally heaven, our faith and hope will be realized and all we will need is love.
Thank You for being ever-present with us. Thank You for answering us when we call. Thank You for being yoked to us so the burden never gets heavy. Thank You for Your Presence in the Holy Eucharist and Your assurance that You will remain with us until the end of time.
If we are unable to see You then it is not You who have left us but we who have left You. This is the time to examine our conscience, repent of our sins, and trace our steps back to You again. Thank You for the awesome gift of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and for making provision for Your wayward children to come home no matter how far they have strayed.
MATTHEW 5:27-32
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
There never has been a time in the world when we have not been slaves to carnal desires. The roots of sins are found in hedonism and as long as we permit our baser inclinations to take hold of us we will find it a great struggle to hold to the true, the good, and the beautiful.
It is interesting to note how every Christian group condones what You have explicitly forbidden. When a text has to be taken literally they find vague and ambiguous reasons not to do so. The whole world is hell-bent on pursuing and promoting everything that will entice us from the path of virtue. The Catholic Church alone has stood bravely and alone on the side of Truth and against the tidal wave of immorality. Yes, many of her members have sinned and continue to sin shamefully, many have caved to the prevalent sinful culture, but she will neither bend nor break in her stance on divinely revealed truths.
What You have said, You have said and no power on earth can twist Your words to mean anything but exactly what You said when You said it. "If a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
You use exaggeration to tell us how deadly such sins are:
"If your right eye should cause you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body thrown into hell. And if your right hand should cause you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body go to hell."
In many parts of the world, one needs no reason to divorce one's wife or husband, but Your word on divorce is unequivocal no matter what the world says: "Everyone who divorces his wife, except for the case of fornication, makes her an adulteress; and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery."
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