I
find it awkward and embarrassing but it was already too late when I discovered
that I was wearing my collared-shirt reversed. I noticed it when I knelt down
as the priest did the Consecration. My goodness! I did not know if somebody at
the back noticed my body shudder in spite of my effort biting my tongue to
control a laugh. To be comfortable out of that discomfort, I pretended to
myself that I wore a shirt with a reversed-look design which is anyway one of
the trends today just to condition myself that I was alright. But then I could
not have the power over laughing with the tongue bitten. As if I'd like to push
the queue to finish the communion. But as I knelt down again to pray, I've
realized and told myself, "It's alright, it will not stain my name anyway.
At least that day was totally different because my foolishness cropped up out
of bucking up to catch the liturgy on time as a zealous response on God's work.
It's alright to be silly for the Lord, than to be nutty brought by
transgression wherein I have been enslaved for long years.
1 Corinthian 1:27-29 Rather God chose the foolish of the world to
shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong and God
chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing , to
reduce to nothing, those who are something, so that no human being might boast
before God.
As we journey in this life, it’s seemingly that holiness is easier than sinning[1] because of being immersed in the hardest way for long years brought by deception of gratification of sin than short years of innocence. Going back to the easiest way on our innocent days could be tough because it’s like an ailment which has not been diagnosed for long years for early medical treatment.
No matter how difficult it is, we continue to endure all the complexity because we would like to erase those impure memories that corrupted our souls, because we don't want to be embarrassed facing God with innumerable filthiness, because we would like to present ourselves with a good character, because we would like to claim that our names are written in heaven, because we would like to see the Loving Father who created us, the Compassionate God who's been patient in molding us to be whole, the Gentlest God who believes and hopes in us, the Omnipotent God who loves us not because we are worthy of it but simply because He made us out of love and for love.
Luke 10:20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.
We’re
not just aware of it but God’s ultimate goal is for everyone’s betterment to be more holy people inside
and out.
Romans 12:2 Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,
that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and
perfect.
It’s
not surprising but sometimes we could bump into some brethren who would say,
“I’d like to reform but the pleasure of sin keeps haunting me.”
Transformation
can never be attained alone because no one is self-sufficient, but by the help
of a Community
whom we could share with on our struggles, who are there ready to impart their
coping mechanisms, where spiritual strength is constantly nourished.
As
a starting point, transformation can be observed in 3 major steps:
1. Knowledge of the Word. Since God’s presence is not physical in nature for us to commune with Him face to face, sanctification-transformation is impossible without the aid of the Scripture where our covenant with the Lord is conversed, which is our spiritual food, which is communicated to our brain, heart and conscience. At first, absorption of the Word may be complex no matter how eager we are which may cause us to be sleepy but when appreciation starts and the striking points begin to confront our inner self, the more we become addicted into it until realization that God’s word indeed is as sweet as honey.
Peter119:103 How sweet to my tongue is your promise, sweeer than honey to my mouth!
Psalm 19:10-1 The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The statutes of the Lord are true, all of them just; more desirable than gold than a hoard ofpurest gold, sweeter also than honey or drippings of the comb.
2. Put on positive qualities. It’s a personal choice to “put on” good and godly qualities and “put away” all the bad and negative qualities into our lives. It’s not as easy as lip service but once its fruits (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control) are embraced, we would desire God’s word than World’s word. You should wonder, why there are people in the community (like Friends of the Divine Mercy) who remain its zeal for their involvement rain or shine, whether in scarcity or in profusion, this is because of this spiritual grasp.
Galatians 5:19-23 Now
the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness,
idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, act of
selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies,
and the like. I warn you, as I warned
you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of
God. In contrast, the fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
3. By the power of the Holy Spirit. Once these fruits of the Holy Spirit are already operating in our personality, you will no longer feel being bad-tempered, disheartened, and dejected just like the old days. Look at the people inside the community, it is seldom that you could witness one's aura that looks worn-down because true happiness can only be, established on the inside of our being, in our connection and communion with the Lord. All of the material provisions are good and part of one’s happiness but this could not acquire us the genuine inner peace, happiness and fulfillment.
Millionaires[2] like Peter Duff and his wife Penny who are a leading wine expert, Reijane Huai who was CEO of Falconstor, Howard Worthington who was into steel company, Wayne Pai who was the chairman of Taiwanese brokerage of Polaris Securities, John Lawrenson who was a successful businessman and retired as a director of the publishing company, Paul Castle who was a close friend of Prince Charles and run a multi-million pound empire, Jonathan Wraith who owned a business worth 30-million pounds, Peter Smedley who was a scion of the tinned food empire, Michael Marin who was an ex-street trader, and Eli M. Black who was a Jewish-American businessman, would never be into suicide if money could buy real peace and happiness.
1. Knowledge of the Word. Since God’s presence is not physical in nature for us to commune with Him face to face, sanctification-transformation is impossible without the aid of the Scripture where our covenant with the Lord is conversed, which is our spiritual food, which is communicated to our brain, heart and conscience. At first, absorption of the Word may be complex no matter how eager we are which may cause us to be sleepy but when appreciation starts and the striking points begin to confront our inner self, the more we become addicted into it until realization that God’s word indeed is as sweet as honey.
Peter119:103 How sweet to my tongue is your promise, sweeer than honey to my mouth!
Psalm 19:10-1 The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The statutes of the Lord are true, all of them just; more desirable than gold than a hoard ofpurest gold, sweeter also than honey or drippings of the comb.
2. Put on positive qualities. It’s a personal choice to “put on” good and godly qualities and “put away” all the bad and negative qualities into our lives. It’s not as easy as lip service but once its fruits (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control) are embraced, we would desire God’s word than World’s word. You should wonder, why there are people in the community (like Friends of the Divine Mercy) who remain its zeal for their involvement rain or shine, whether in scarcity or in profusion, this is because of this spiritual grasp.
Galatians 5:19-23 Now
the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness,
idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, act of
selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies,
and the like. I warn you, as I warned
you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of
God. In contrast, the fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.3. By the power of the Holy Spirit. Once these fruits of the Holy Spirit are already operating in our personality, you will no longer feel being bad-tempered, disheartened, and dejected just like the old days. Look at the people inside the community, it is seldom that you could witness one's aura that looks worn-down because true happiness can only be, established on the inside of our being, in our connection and communion with the Lord. All of the material provisions are good and part of one’s happiness but this could not acquire us the genuine inner peace, happiness and fulfillment.
Millionaires[2] like Peter Duff and his wife Penny who are a leading wine expert, Reijane Huai who was CEO of Falconstor, Howard Worthington who was into steel company, Wayne Pai who was the chairman of Taiwanese brokerage of Polaris Securities, John Lawrenson who was a successful businessman and retired as a director of the publishing company, Paul Castle who was a close friend of Prince Charles and run a multi-million pound empire, Jonathan Wraith who owned a business worth 30-million pounds, Peter Smedley who was a scion of the tinned food empire, Michael Marin who was an ex-street trader, and Eli M. Black who was a Jewish-American businessman, would never be into suicide if money could buy real peace and happiness.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 There is an
appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens. A
time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the
plant. A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to
build. A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to
dance. A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them; a time to embrace,
and a time to be far from embraces. A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time
to keep, and a time to cast away. A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to
be silent, and a time to speak. A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of
war, and a time of peace.
This
is not to pre-empt one’s freedom but simply a way of sharing the thing that
I’ve been enjoying with the assistance of a community. To be human, "man's response to God by
faith must be free, and. . . therefore nobody is to be forced to
embrace the faith against his will. The act of faith is of its very nature a
free act." "God calls men to serve Him in spirit and in truth.
Consequently they are bound to him in conscience, but not
coerced. . . This fact received its fullest manifestation in Christ
Jesus." Indeed, Christ invited people to faith and conversion, but
never coerced them. "For He bore witness to the truth but refused to use
force to impose it on those who spoke against it. His kingdom. . .
grows by the love with which Christ, lifted up on the cross, draws men to
himself."[5]
Jesus
invites sinners to the table of the kingdom: "I came not
to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mark 2:17; 1 Timothy
1:15) He invites them to that conversion without which one cannot enter
the kingdom, but shows them in word and deed his Father's boundless mercy for
them and the vast "joy in heaven over one sinner who repents"(Luke
15:7; 7:11-32). The supreme proof of his love will be the
sacrifice of his own life "for the forgiveness of sins".[6]
After
His Resurrection, Christ sent his apostles "so that repentance and
forgiveness of sins should be preached in His name to all
nations." The apostles and their successors carry out this
"ministry of reconciliation," not only by announcing to men God's
forgiveness merited for us by Christ, and calling them to conversion and faith;
but also by communicating to them the forgiveness of sins in Baptism, and
reconciling them with God and with the Church through the power of the keys,
received from Christ:
"The Church has received the
keys of the Kingdom of heaven so that, in her, sins may be forgiven through
Christ's blood and the Holy Spirit's action. In this Church, the soul dead
through sin comes back to life in order to live with Christ, whose grace has
saved us."[7]
The
affirmations of Sacred Scripture and the teachings of the Church on the subject
of hell are a call to the responsibility incumbent upon man to make use of his
freedom in view of his eternal destiny. They are at the same time an urgent
call to conversion: "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and
the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who
find it are few."
Since
we know neither the day nor the hour, we should follow the advice of the Lord
and watch constantly so that, when the single course of our earthly life is
completed, we may merit to enter with Him into the marriage feast and be
numbered among the blessed, and not, like the wicked and slothful servants, be
ordered to depart into the eternal fire, into the outer darkness where
"men will weep and gnash their teeth."[8]
Christ's
call to conversion continues to resound in the lives of Christians. This second
conversion is an uninterrupted task for the whole Church who,
"clasping sinners to her bosom, is at once holy and always in need of
purification, and follows constantly the path of penance and renewal."
This endeavor of conversion is not just a human work. It is the movement
of a "contrite heart," drawn and moved by grace to respond to the
merciful love of God who loved us first.[9]
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment