Mattt 16:15-20 - PETER’S CONFESSION ABOUT JESUS
Luke 1:39-56 Visitation of the Blessed
Virgin Mary - Mary Visits Elizabeth
Matt 2: 7-11 - The Three Wise Men
Matt 1:18-24 – The Birth of Christ
Scripture –
Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amit'tai, saying, "Arise, go to Nin'eveh,
that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness has come up before
me." But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the
presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went on board, to go
with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the
LORD. But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty
tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.
Comment
That's why
I am excited to share with you the latest Bible study on the Book of Jonah,
which I've just finished teaching in my home on Sunday evenings. When I first
announced that our next Bible study would be on Jonah, someone responded : 'But Scott, we already know about Jonah, he's
the cowardly prophet that got swallowed by a whale. Right?'
Not exactly.
For one
thing, Jonah wasn't a coward, but a patriot. For another, nowhere is the
"great fish" identified as a whale. In fact, a few other
misconceptions were corrected as well. As a result, all of us came to a much
deeper appreciation of Jonah, who probably is , after all, the best-known --
but least understood -- of all the Old Testament Prophets! "
In this series, "we discover how this famous prophet only uttered
one single prophecy, covering just one verse -- and it never even came true!
Why not?
Well, hold
on to your Bibles and get out your highlighters and notebooks because I am
going to show you how the Book of Jonah is not just a parable with elements of
satire, and it's not just an allegory. It's also "prophetic history,"
as demonstrated by several converging strands of evidence: from the OT
historical books and the words of Jesus, through the writings of the rabbis and
the Church Fathers. And like the prophets before him like Hosea, Ezekiel, and
Jeremiah, Jonah prophesied through his actions as well as his words. The
elements of the Jonah story--the fish, the plant that dies, the worm the east
wind--are a prophecy "acted out."
In this
series we'll look at why Jonah ran away when God sent him to
Your Brother in Christ,
Scott Hahn
(my theme this week is on Jonah. I came across the above
article and it led me on an exciting search. I don’t have Scott Hahn’s Bible
Study on Jonah but I hope you like what I found out.)
Scripture –
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, "Teacher, we
wish to see a sign from you." But he answered them, "An evil and
adulterous generation seeks for a sign; but no sign shall be given to it except
the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in
the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights
in the heart of the earth.
The men of Nin'eveh will arise at the judgment
with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of
Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is
here.
And the Pharisees and Sad'ducees came, and to
test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them,
"When it is evening, you say, `It will be fair weather; for the sky is
red.' And in the morning, `It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and
threatening.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you
cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation
seeks for a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of
Jonah." So he left them and departed.
Comment
Jonah was
sent up to
So Jonah
goes up to
That is a
critical point for understanding Jonah.
Jonah as a
prophet undoubtedly knew Gods plan. The plan was to use
Now Jonah
is a patriotic Israelite. He loves his people even though he knows they are
sinful.
So when he
gets the message from God “Go to
How would
Jonah as a patriotic Israelite respond to a call from God? “Go preach to
Jonah knows
if they survive God will use
He is not a
cowardly prophet. He is a patriot! He hops on the next ship to Tarshish moving in the opposite direction from
Here comes
the storm and the sailors are wondering why, Jonah tells them and so they throw
Jonah overboard. The great fish swallows him, it
doesn’t say a whale by the way. A lot of people have trouble understanding or
appreciating the message of Jonah because they wonder how can
a man live in the belly of a great fish for three days. Some defenders
of the faith point out that people in fact have survived inside a large fish
for two or three days.
I think
people miss the point because in Matthew 16 Jesus speaks of the sign of Jonah.
What is the sign of Jonah?
The sign of
Jonah is being in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights like
the Son of Man will be in the earth for three days and three nights. But I
think there is something more to it than that. I think that in fact there is a
lot more to it than that.
How would
Jesus have understood His own usage of the sign of Jonah when speaking to His
own contemporaries?
When you go
back to Jonah you realise of course he wasn’t really a cowardly prophet, he was
a patriotic prophet who is willing to lay down his own life for his countrymen
because in effect by fleeing in the opposite direction and not going to
Nineveh, Assyria but heading for Tarshish, he was in
effect saying throw me overboard. I would rather die than go to
He is
prophet who is willing to lay down his life. So when he is thrown overboard he
is swallowed by the great fish.
I don’t
think we have to solve the problem of how could he have survived in the fish
for so long.
How could
the fish have gotten indigestion and coughed him up there in
I think
what happens is more miraculous and I think the Book of Jonah suggests as much.
This is my
own interpretative opinion but when you read Jonah’s prayer prayed from the
belly of the fish in Jonah 2, he doesn’t speak about the belly of the fish in
verse 2 he says ‘out the belly of Sheol I cried’. That is the
underworld, the netherworld. He goes on to talk about in verse 6 how he prayed
to the Lord to bring up my life from the pit. In other words, there are some
suggestions here that what Jonah experiences are not
just the indigestion of a big fish but a sort of death.
Then coming
up out after three days wouldn’t just be indigestion it would be a kind of
resurrection or a resuscitation. So when he comes out again he finds himself
there in
Well why
would he be angry if they repented?
Now we
understand because Jonah knows their repentance means their survival and their
survival points to the usefulness by God in chastising
And he
prayed to the Lord and he said “I pray thee Lord, is this not what I said
when I was in my country” That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish for I knew that you were a gracious God and
merciful, slow to anger.” In other words, I knew you were going to do this.
I was
afraid your mercy might extend beyond the Jews and
Even to the
Assyrians who were in a sense the most terrible people of the day.
They knew
shock tactics in destroying people. Decimating populations.
Jonah had
every reason humanly speaking to make
And within
40 years
So what do
we have? A perfect sign of Jonah for Jesus!
Because
Jesus does in effect what Jonah did.
That is,
Jesus preaches a gospel not just to his countrymen who he wants to spare.
He lays his
life down for his countrymen but he also goes and proclaims the Gospel to the
gentiles.
And so the
wicked Romans hear it, they repent so that God spares them even in spite of
their wickedness and 40 years after Jesus death and resurrection, Rome is used
by God in a way that is remarkably similar to how God used Nineveh and Assyria
to bring covenant judgement and punishment upon the Jews in 70 AD with the
destruction of the Temple.
That is so
significant. I believe we need to understand it much better.
Source:
Scott Hahn
“Our Fathers Plan” Bible Study
Scripture
He
said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" (footnote
1) Simon
Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living
God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of
Jonah. For flesh and blood (footnote 2) has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so
I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, (footnote 3) and the gates of the
netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the
kingdom of heaven. (footnote 4) Whatever you bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven." (footnote 5) Then he strictly ordered his disciples
to tell no one that he was the Messiah.
The Faith of Peter: A Gift and Task - from 365 Days With The Lord, published by St
Speaking
in behalf of the other disciples, Peter declares the transcendence of Jesus in
his faith-confession. His answer differs radically from public opinion: “You
are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Peter has received the revelation
of Jesus’ messiahship and become its spokesperson.
Jesus recognises the confession and blesses its divine provenance. His words to
Peter echo the privilege of the Son: “All things have been handed over to me by
my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father
except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him” (Mt
Jesus
then gives Peter a new name and mission. To his old name Simon is added : Peter (Greek Petros,
Aramaic Kephas - for “rock”) He will be the
rock-foundation of the new assembly of believers, the new people of God
gathered by Jesus. By virtue of his confession of Jesus as the Messiah, Peter
becomes the rock upon which Jesus builds his Church. He is the first to believe
and he won’t be the last. Being first it is fitting that Jesus makes him the
first of the building material for his Church: as rock, he insures the Church’s
stability.
Aramaic was the language
Jesus and the apostles and all the Jews in
"And what does Kepha mean? It means a rock, the same as
Above excerpts taken from
<<http://www.catholic.com/library/Peter_the_Rock.asp>>
Peter
likewise assumes the responsibility of the gatekeeper who opens or closes the
gates of the heavenly city. With the keys, he is given the authority “to bind”
and “to loose”, that is, to forbid and to permit.
Peter’s
tremendous authority and responsibility are grasped by him only after a period
of suffering, trials, failures-and recovery. Peter stands solid because Jesus
prays for him. He stands firm after the Messiah, whom he confesses, undergoes
his passion and death in
Additional commentary - from www.catholic.com/library/Peter_and_the_Papacy.asp
<http://www.catholic.com/library/Peter_and_the_Papacy.asp> <<http://www.catholic.com/library/Peter_and_the_Papacy.asp>>
NIHIL OBSTAT: I have concluded that the materials presented in
this work are free of doctrinal or moral errors.
Bernadeane Carr, STL, Censor Librorum, August 10, 2004
IMPRIMATUR: In accord with 1983 CIC 827 permission to publish this work is
hereby granted.
Robert H. Brom, Bishop
of
Two important things
were told the apostle. "Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matt.
Peter alone was promised
something else also: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of
heaven" (Matt.
Jesus is installing
Peter as a form of chief steward or prime minister under the King of Kings by
giving him the keys to the kingdom. As can be seen in Isaiah
22:22, kings in the Old Testament appointed a chief steward to serve under them
in a position of great authority to rule over the inhabitants of the kingdom.
Jesus quotes almost verbatum from this passage in
Isaiah, and so it is clear what he has in mind. He is raising Peter up as a
father figure to the household of faith (Is.
Finally, after the
resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples and asked Peter three times,
"Do you love me?" (John 21:15-17). In repentance for his threefold
denial, Peter gave a threefold affirmation of love. Then Christ, the Good
Shepherd (John
There is ample evidence in the New Testament
that Peter was first in authority among the apostles.
Whenever
they were named, Peter headed the list (Matt. 10:1-4, Mark
Why The Name Change
The
Jewish listeners would immediately understand the import of Jesus’ words,
richly couched in their Jewish heritage. The parallels were drawn between
Abraham and Peter: name changes to designate new statuses, the designations of
both as “rock”, and both standing at the fountainhead of the two major
covenants of God with his people. In each case God began with one person to
achieve a much larger goal.
-taken from Is Peter the Rock, or is
the Rock only his Confession of Faith?
What do the Bible and the Early Fathers
Teach?
Steve Ray’s Response to an Eastern Orthodox
Christian <<http://www.catholicconvert.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=34>>
The startling thing was that-aside from the
single time that Abraham is called a "rock" (Hebrew: Tsur; Aramaic: Kepha) in Isaiah
51:1-2-in the Old Testament only God was called a rock. The word rock was not
used as a proper name in the ancient world. If you were to turn to a companion
and say, "From now on your name is Asparagus," people would wonder:
Why Asparagus? What is the meaning of it? What does it signify? Indeed, why
call Simon the fisherman "Rock"? Christ was not given to meaningless
gestures, and neither were the Jews as a whole when it came to names. Giving a
new name meant that the status of the person was changed, as when Abram’s name
was changed to Abraham (Gen.17:5), Jacob’s to Israel (Gen. 32:28), Eliakim’s to Joakim (2 Kgs. 23:34), or the names of the four Hebrew youths-Daniel,
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah to Belteshazzar,
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
(Dan. 1:6-7). But no Jew had ever been called "Rock." The Jews would
give other names taken from nature, such as Barak
"lightning," (Judg. 4:6), Deborah ("bee," Gen. 35:8), and
Rachel ("ewe," Gen. 29:16), but never "Rock." In the New
Testament
Taken from www.catholic.com/library/Peter_and_the_Papacy.asp
THINK!
1. Can you
perceive the presence of God in your heart and mind, in your life and in the
lives of people around you, in the midst of the suffering and pain of a loved
one?
2.
Do you believe Jesus wanted to create a leader for His Church on Earth?
Footnotes - from the New American Bible
1. The Son of the living
God: see Matthew 2:15;
2. Flesh and blood: a Semitic expression for human beings,
especially in their weakness. Has not revealed this . . . but my heavenly
Father: that Peter's faith is spoken of as coming not through human means but
through a revelation from God is similar to
3. You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church:
the Aramaic word kepa - meaning rock and
transliterated into Greek as Kephas is the name by
which Peter is called in the
4. The keys to the kingdom of heaven: the image of the keys is
probably drawn from Isaiah 22:15-25 where Eliakim,
who succeeds Shebnah as master of the palace, is
given "the key of the house of David," which he authoritatively
"opens" and "shuts" (Isaiah
5. Cf Mark 8:30. Matthew makes
explicit that the prohibition has to do with speaking of Jesus as the Messiah;
see the note on Mark 8:27-30.
Scripture
During those days Mary set out and travelled to
the hill country in haste to a town of
where she entered the house of
Zechariah and greeted
When
cried out in a loud voice and
said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your
womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord (footnote 1) should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting
reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed (footnote 2) that what was spoken to
you by the Lord would be fulfilled."
And Mary said: (footnote 3) "My soul proclaims the greatness of
the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God
my saviour.
For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness;
behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.
The Mighty One has done great things for me, and
holy is his name.
His mercy is from age to age to those who fear
him.
He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the
arrogant of mind and heart.
He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones
but lifted up the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things; the
rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped
according to his promise to our
fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."
Mary remained with her about three months and then
returned to her home.
The Word
Today
"The infant
in my womb leaped for joy" - The evangelist's language in describing the
visitation scene recalls David's action when the Ark of the Covenant was
transferred from Baalah to Jerusalem (2 Sm 6:16; 1 Chr 13:8). David leapt
and danced for joy in welcoming the
The point of the
episode is Christological: Jesus' presence among human beings spells tidings of
messianic joy (Lk
Think
Like Mary, does
your presence bring joy to people you come to visit?
from 365 Days With The Lord, published by St
****************************
Footnote
1. The sign
given to Mary in confirmation of the angel's announcement to her is the
pregnancy of her aged relative
2. Even before
his birth, Jesus is identified in Luke as the Lord.
3. Blessed are
you who believed: Luke portrays Mary as a believer whose faith stands in
contrast to the disbelief of Zechariah (Luke
Scripture
Then Herod summoned the wise
men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; and he sent
them to
Comment
The Magi came from the East. How did they know about Christ?
Probably from the prophecy of Daniel concerning the seventy weeks of years;
they counted the revolution of the stars. In any case, they knew, and bought
gold because he was king, incense because he was a priest, but also myrrh.
That’s the way he was buried, with a hundred pounds of spices and myrrh. What
would our mothers have thought if the neighbours bought in embalming fluid when
we were born? Everywhere there was the shadow of suffering.
The
Exiled from the earth, our Lord is born under the earth, for
the stable was a cave. He was the first caveman of recorded history, and there
he shook the earth to its very foundations. Because he’s born in a cave, all
who wish to see him must bend, must stoop, and the stoop is the mark of
humility. The proud refuse to stoop. Therefore they miss divinity. Those,
however, who are willing to risk bending their egos to go into that cave, find
that they are not in a cave at all; but they are in a universe where sits a
babe on his mother’s lap, the babe who made the world.
Source: Through the Year with
And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped
him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place
for them in the inn. And in that region there were shepherds out in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to
them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with
fear. And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid;
for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the
people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is
Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped
in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."
Meditation
The only-begotten Son of the Father, Almighty God, is
born as man, born of the Virgin Mary. He comes not as a mighty King, he chooses neither the capital city of a kingdom nor a
palace. He finds no place to stay, not even at the inn. He cannot yet speak.
And yet he is the living Word of the Father, the visible proof of his merciful
love. God has become a child, no-one can fear him.
Poor shepherds are the first people he calls. He is the great joy of the Father
for our world.
Prayer
Father in Heaven, for millions of the
homeless, of refugees from war and disaster, there is no room at the inn this
night. Many children are born into this world in conditions unworthy of our
human dignity. Jesus in his poverty lives in them. Show us how to welcome them
into the peace of
Amen.
Source
The Rosary booklet from Aid to the Church in Need
Scripture
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother
Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to
be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and
unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he
considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream,
saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to
take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit;
she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his
people from their sins." All this took place to fulfil
what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel" (which means, God
is with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord
commanded him; he took his wife into his home.
Point of
Interest:
Jesus: in
first-century Judaism the Hebrew name Joshua (Greek Iesous)
meaning "Yahweh helps" was interpreted as "Yahweh saves."
(Source:
New American Bible)
Comment
Familiar as
we are with the Lucan version of the annunciation, we
sometimes forget that in Matthew, it is to Joseph that the mystery of the
Messiah is revealed. The angel says further that Mary’s conception of the child
fulfils the prophecy of Isaiah (Is
Source: 365
Days With The Lord.
Scripture
So also,
the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands
Reflection
Looking
into the future
Isn’t it
strange to know the future of a child? Each time we visit a crib of
We know
little of the future when we watch a new-born baby, but we can presume that
every life will have its mixture of joy and sorrow, suffering and pleasure.
The God
made human is no different.
We touch
the full reality of life in the baby of Mary and in the care of Joseph. We hope
for the best for our children, and know that God cares as much for every child
as he cared for Jesus, in birth as well as in death. We hope to introduce them
to knowledge of Jesus with his message of hope in good times and bad.
Prayer
Jesus, Lord
of life, give us hope.
Jesus,
carrier of hope, give us joy.
Jesus, joy
of God, make our hearts like yours
A prayer
today for parents,
our own and parents we care for.
Source: Praying in Advent by Donal Neary SJ
Scripture
Many will
eat from the east and the west, and will eat with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in
the kingdom of heaven.
Reflection
Inclusiveness
with God
The heart
of God is big, and the table of God is wide. All are included in the love of
God: there are neither insiders nor outsiders. Some religion likes to narrow
down who is included and who is excluded. There are people who feel their only
place is in the back corner of the church, and feel excluded from the front
seats, maybe because of lifestyle, sin or just feeling ashamed of who they are.
Religion can encourage an ‘us and them’ mentality. Jesus offers an open door to
his house and a chair a t the top of his table to everyone – and an honoured
chair to men and women others may look down on. That encourages us to offer and
open our hearts to all.
Prayer
Christ of
the welcomes, have mercy on us.
Christ,
open to all in love, have compassion for us.
Christ of
the compassionate heart, make our hearts like yours.
A prayer today for refuges and asylum seekers.
Source: Praying in Advent by Donal Neary SJ
Advent
begins this year on Sunday 3rd December (my next turn is on Monday
25th Dec )
This book
my family will be reading for Advent contains a prayer a day.
Extract
from Introduction
It is a way
of ensuring that the mystery of Christmas doesn’t get lost in the bustle of
Christmas preparations, and freshens our way of thinking of Christmas for
another year. It ensures also that we don’t cease to be amazed anew at the
great event, now and then, in
Scripture
“When you
see this, your heart will rejoice”.
Reflection
If you ask
most people what December is about, they are likely to say, “Getting ready for
Christmas.” But go one step further and ask what this means. They will mention
buying presents, preparing for guests, or visiting family for the holidays. If
you say, “What about celebrating the mystery of the birth of the Son of God?”
they will eye you suspiciously and with a tinge of embarrassment say, “Of
course. That too.” It was not always this way. Older
people can remember when there was real excitement. As children, we fasted from
candy and made little sacrifices for the Christ Child. We saved what little we
had to buy presents but also to give something to the poor or to the Church.
And we were excited.
We all knew
of course that Christ was born long ago, but somehow this remembrance made it
seem that He was coming again to us. I recall serving Midnight Mass at the
Dominican Sisters’ motherhouse and, looking up on Christmas Eve on the way to
the chapel, there was a large bright star. I do not now know whether it was the
planet Jupiter or Venus in the clear, cold sky. I literally jumped when I saw
it. Jesus was coming to our town. Some call this the magic of Christmas. It’s
not magic, of course. Magic is a trick—the appearance of something that
actually is not there. Christmas is a mystery: that which is intangible,
unseen, is really there. Christ is with us every day whenever we decide to turn
to Him.
Prayer
Lord Jesus,
increase our faith. Draw our eyes away from unimportant things and our hearts
from what is shallow. Help us to feel the joy of the shepherds or the Magi.
Give us a taste of the wonder of Mary and Joseph. Help us to share with those
we love and all those we know the truly good news: The Lord comes. Amen.
Source: Behold, He Comes
Meditations on the Incarnation: Daily
Scripture:
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a city of
And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the
Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from
her.
for he has
regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all
generations will call me blessed;
Reflection
“The virgin mother bore him in her womb with love beyond all
telling.”
Unquestionably
it is my favorite sentence prayed during the season
of Advent, and it has provided the inspiration for these reflections. Advent
attends to two important figures in salvation history:
Mary and Jesus. Its spirituality centers
upon the faith and courage of a young woman who opened wide the doors of her
life to the invitation of God, welcomed the Word into her heart, nourished that
Word “with love beyond all telling”—and then gave birth to the incarnate Word
of God, Jesus of Nazareth. Indeed, what Mary bore with love beyond all telling,
was in fact divine love beyond all telling.
We
can only wonder what Mary experienced as she accepted the invitation of God and
agreed to bear God’s son with a love beyond all telling. With a single “yes,”
she went from maiden to mother. Such a transition might have been a source of
confusion when, having placed her life at God’s disposal, she discovered people
gossiping about her and Joseph, her fiancé, considering divorce.
As
we journey together this Advent with the Word of God, let us do what Mary has
done: offer hospitality in our hearts to the Word, contemplate it amidst our
daily comings and goings, and nurture it with love beyond all telling. And
then, come Christmas Day, let us go tell it on the
mountain that God’s love beyond all telling has taken on flesh in Jesus of
Nazareth.
Source: Daily Reflections for Advent 2006
Love Beyond All Telling
– by Albert Haase, O.F.M.
Scripture
As you go,
proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near”
Reflection
God is
Near
Advent
means God is close, God is near, God is on the way.
People and places are environments in which we find God. There can be a density
of the divine in some holy places and in some holy people, of all nations and
all faiths. Christmas is a season of the density and closeness of God. God is
on his journey to us in Mary and the son she is carrying. Is our journey too
fast, too complicated, too rushed so that we miss God on God’s journey?
We can pass
like planes in the night sky, commuters on a bus, people
on a traffic island. Something new can happen for each of us each Christmas,
because God makes the journey anew in the simplest way we know – a mother and
her child. If only we take the time.
Prayer
May I bring
forth the kingdom of justice,
may I
bring forth the kingdom of peace,
may I
bring forth the
A prayer
today for those who
work for peace
Source:
Praying in Advent by Donal Neary
SJ
Scripture
[1] Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of
Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to
[2] "Where is he who has been born king of
the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship
him."
[3] When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all
[4] and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he
inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
[5] They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by
the prophet:
[6] `And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least
among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my
people Israel.'"
[7] Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them
what time the star appeared;
[8] and he sent them to
[9] When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star
which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the
place where the child was.
[10] When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy;
[11] and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother,
and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they
offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
[12] And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed
to their own country by another way.
Reflection
Lessons we
can learn from these verses.
Lesson One
The Magi
were considered star gazers.
We can
learn from them as we need:
Lesson Two
They moved.
They saw a
star and moved toward it
Once we
know what God wants we must act.
The
greatest tragedy is to know what to do but then not acting on it.
Lesson Three
The Magi
were way laid by Herod
When you respond
to God’s call expect opposition.
God’s call
should affect our private and public life
When you go
public, as you must, expect opposition
How do you
face this opposition? With love!
Be a
warrior but a happy one
Lesson Four
They meet
the Christ child, bow low and present gifts
Our society
tells us to lift ourselves up – to be proud – that pride is a tremendous virtue
Humility is
the heart of the spiritual life
We give
Christ gifts but they are puny and insignificant.
We give a
little bit of our mind
We give a
little bit of our will
We give a
little bit of our time and attention
Bend down
before Him and resolve to give Him the best of you.
Give Him
the best you can.
Lesson Five (I love this one )
The angel
warned them to go back a different way
No one
comes to Christ goes back the same route
I refer to
Fulton Sheens commentary,
Of course
they go back by a different route.
No one ever
comes to Christ goes back the same way he came.
The road
has changed.
Source:
Conversion: Following the Call of Christ
Fr. Robert Barron
- Priest – Professor of Theology – Author
www.wordonfire.org
Scripture
"Now his elder son was in the field; and as he
came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of
the servants and asked what this meant. And he said to him, `Your brother has
come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him
safe and sound.' But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and
entreated him, but he answered his father, `Lo, these many years I have served
you, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends. But when this
son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed for
him the fatted calf!' And he said to him, `Son, you are always with me, and all
that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your
brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'"
Comment
The ‘Mass
attendance issue’
Many attend
Mass only for Christmas and Easter.
We are
happy they are there during those times but I think those of us who take our
faith a little bit more seriously, thanks be to God, may want to nudge them in
the direction to go to Mass a little more frequently. And they would attend
Mass twice a year as if nothing is wrong.
One priest
friend made this point when he said “I’m surprised at the number of people who
get angry at these twice a year attendees.”
They would
say:
“They’re taking up our seats.”
“We are the loyal sons, they are the prodigals.”
“You know this son of yours. You throw a feast for him.”
The priest
then said: What we need to do is to let them sit up front.
Let them
have those places, even if they are culturally coming to mass.
They may
hear something there.
They may
smell the incense and go ‘you know I have been away for way too long’.
Many have
said I went to
There are
many people who also have said that they don’t go to church because nobody has
invited them.
Source: Christmas Day Special – Catholic Answers Live radio show
with Dr Ray Guarendi.
Scripture
And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped
him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place
for them in the inn.
Comment
Perhaps
no story or image is more recognizable to Christians than the Nativity scene of
the birth of Jesus.
With
the help of St. Francis of
In its present form the custom of displaying
figures depicting the birth of Jesus Christ owes its origin to Saint Francis of
However, as early as the fourth century
representations of the nativity of the Lord were painted as wall decorations
depicting not only the infancy narrative accounts of Christ's birth, but also
the words of the prophets Isaiah and Habakkuk taken to mean that the Messiah
would be born in the midst of animals in a manger. (source
EWTN)
It
was the year 1223. Saint Francis went to
About
15 days before Christmas, Saint Francis said to him: “If you want to celebrate
the feast of the Divine birth in Grecio make haste to
prepare what I indicate to you.
“So
that we can properly remember the circumstances in which the Divine Child was
born and all the inconveniences he endured as he lay in the manger on straw
between an ox and an ass, I would like to re-create this in a palpable way, as
if I had seen it with my own eyes.”
Francis,
recalling a visit he had made years before to
For
Francis, the simple celebration was meant to recall the hardships Jesus
suffered even as an infant, a savior who chose to
become poor for our sake, a truly human Jesus.
God’s
choice to give human beings free will was, from the beginning, a decision to be
helpless in human hands.
With
the birth of Jesus, God made the divine helplessness very clear to us, for a
human infant is totally dependent on the loving response of other people.
Our
natural response to a baby is to open our arms, as Francis did, to the infant
of
Source:
AmericanCatholic.com
Scripture
[1] The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abraham.
[6] and Jesse the father of David the king. And
David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uri'ah,
[11]
and Josi'ah the father of Jechoniah
and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to
Comment
“The Son of David”
While
many names are mentioned in the genealogy, David and Solomon stand out together
as one of the highest points in this family tree. A first-century Jew reading
about “David the king” and his son Solomon certainly would recall the glory
days of the
The Land
The
Promised Land was more than a place for God’s people to dwell. It was like a
new
The King
The
Davidic kingdom, however, was much more than a political and military entity
leading the Israelite people. The kingdom was based on a covenant God made with
David’s family, and it had a universal scope. God promised David and his
descendants an everlasting dynasty. And the Scriptures foretold that this
kingdom would extend to the ends of the earth. In fact, a glimpse of the
kingdom’s international influence already can be seen in the time of David and
Solomon. At that time foreign nations became servants of Israel, made covenants
with Israel and even came to the Israelite king to learn of the wisdom God had
given to him (see 2 Samuel 8; 2 Samuel 10:14; 1 Kings 9–10; Psalms 72, 89 and
132).
The
For
the ancient Israelites, the temple in
There
he wanted to build a permanent sanctuary—a magnificent temple—to house the ark
and God’s presence. David’s son Solomon carried out these plans. He had the ark
brought into the innermost chamber of the temple, known as “the Holy of
Holies”. When Solomon dedicated the temple, God’s glory-cloud filled the
sanctuary, signifying that the God of the universe dwelt in a special way among
the Jews in
The Downfall of
However,
the genealogy in Matthew 1 does not stop with David and Solomon. The subsequent
verses introduce their many wicked successors, who led the kingdom to its
downfall: Rehoboam, Abijah and so forth (see Matthew
1:7-10). The painful memories of these unfaithful Jewish rulers reach their
lowest point in verse 11, which says that Josiah was “the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the
deportation to
This
line represents the most somber note in the
genealogy, recalling the tragic events of 586 B.C. Matthew does not mention
“the time of deportation to
This
was the moment when
First, the exile represented the loss of the land. The
Jews were driven off the Promised Land and sent to
Second, the events of 586 B.C. marked the end of the Davidic kingdom.
When
Third, one could argue that the destruction of the temple
represented the most devastating blow to the Jewish people.
Source: Dawn of the Messiah - The Coming of Christ in Scripture -
Dr Edward Sri
Scripture
[12] And after the deportation to
[13] and Zerub'babel the father of Abi'ud,
and Abi'ud the father of Eli'akim,
and Eli'akim the father of Azor,
16] and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus
was born, who is called Christ.
[21] she will bear a son, and you shall call
his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
[23] "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name
shall be called Emmanuel" (which means, God with us).
Comment
The Hope of Zerubbabel
Nevertheless,
God offered the Jewish people hope in the midst of their sufferings. Through
the prophets he announced that one day he would send a new royal descendant of
David, a new anointed king called “the Messiah” (meaning “anointed one”). This
Messiah-King would usher in a new era in which the Jews would regain the land,
the kingdom would be restored to its former glory, and God’s presence would
return to
Matthew’s
Gospel calls upon those hopes when it introduces a man named Zerubbabel, who stands as a turning point in the genealogy.
As one of the leaders in the rebuilding of
This
is what would make verses 13-16 so exciting to the original hearers of
Matthew’s Gospel: The royal line has continued for many generations after Zerubbabel! With each new name—Abiud,
Eliakim, Azor and so
on—Matthew’s genealogy introduces another Davidic descendant previously unknown
in the Hebrew Scriptures. The genealogy thus picks up momentum in these verses,
building hope that at the end of this family tree we might find that ultimate
son of David whom the prophets foretold would return
The Return of the King
Finally
the genealogy’s rushing crescendo reaches its peak in verse 16, which resounds
with the joyful presentation of “Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was
born, who is called Christ.” Here the royal line culminates with the child who
will bring
The
significance of this child can be seen in the three titles he receives in this
opening chapter of Matthew’s Gospel: Jesus, Christ and Emmanuel.
Perhaps
one could see in these three names hope that the three Jewish symbols that were
shattered in the exile now would be restored: the land, the king and God’s
presence in the temple.
First, in Hebrew the name Jesus itself means
“Yahweh saves.” And Matthew highlights that the child is given this name for a
specific reason: “for he will save his people from their sins” (
It
is also significant that the child’s name, “Jesus,” is a shortened form of the
name “Joshua.” This might recall the famous Old Testament Joshua, Moses’
successor who brought the Exodus story to its climax by guiding the people into
the Promised Land. Just as the Joshua of old led
The word Jesus is the Latin form of the Greek Iesous, which in turn is the transliteration of the
Hebrew Jeshua, or Joshua, or again Jehoshua, meaning "Jehovah is salvation."
(Source: Newadvent.org)
Second, Jesus is given the royal title “Christ” (
Finally, perhaps the most profound title given to Jesus comes at
the end of Matthew’s opening chapter. In Matthew
Source: Dawn of the Messiah - The Coming of Christ in Scripture -
Dr Edward Sri
Scripture
For many deceivers have gone out into the world, men
who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh; such a one is
the deceiver and the antichrist.
Reflection
Elijah: Don Matteo
suggested we make a detour to the cathedral at Orvieto.
Billy: What for? There are a dozen
cathedrals on the way south, most of them just as impressive. Did he say why
you’re supposed to go there?
Elijah: He wants me to see something. But I
didn’t have time to find out what it is.
Elijah and
Billy reached Orvieto by mid morning and once inside
the cathedral it took to a moment to adjust to the darkness of the interior.
The interior was beautiful but did not differ notably from the numerous other
cathedrals that dotted
Billy: Well, where’s the big secret?
Elijah: It’s here. Whatever it is, Don Matteo thought it important enough for us to make a detour
to find it.
They
entered a side chapel. Four monumental frescoes, representing the end of the
world, had been painted on the walls in vivid colours, in a style of epic
grandeur that must have been innovative at the time of it’s
execution.
Elijah: These frescoes are by Luca Signorelli painted in 1499. He was a disciple of the
painter Piero della
Francesco. Michelangelo admired his work.
Billy: He has made an apocalypse and a
jolly unattractive one it is! This mural here is the Damned Cast into Hell.
Ugh! I wouldn’t trade my mind for this man’s imagination, not for a million
pounds. It’s horrible.
Elijah: Yes, I think that must be what he
wanted to teach us. The horror of damnation.
Billy: Looks like all the deadly sins are
here. Let’s see, I’m going to try to find drunkenness. Sure enough, there it
is, right beside lust. Let me look into the drunkard’s face. I knew it! He
looks just like me.
Elijah went
over to another mural. His eyes were drawn to the central figure of the image,
a figure of Christ. How strange, he thought, to see a representation of the
Lord with the figure of satan
whispering in His ear, and his arm penetrating His robes. Is that Christ’s hand
or the devil’s that emerges from the folds of cloth?
It was not
a literal depiction of a scriptural scene, he concluded. But there was
something out of character in the way Christ leaned into satan’s embrace and listened with such attention.
He stared
at it for a long time. Suddenly, the meaning of the mural became clear. The
figure held in the devil’s embrace was not Christ but Antichrist. Don Matteo had wanted Elijah to discover the secret of the
mural himself, and in the process, to observe the mechanics of perception.
Elijah: The painting seems to operate on a
number of level’s,
On the
surface, it tells a dramatic tale, a narrative.
On another
level, it is a moral lecture about sin and betrayal.
On still
another level, the artist is reaching for the deepest organs of perception in
the soul.
The artist
wants us to hear a soundless cry, an alarm, a warning.
Billy: That might be stretching it a bit.
Were those fifteenth century painters such sophisticated theologians?
Elijah: Some of them were. Life was short, eternity was always just a breath away. Salvation and
damnation saturated the normal atmosphere of life. I think the painter’s saying
that if we can be so easily deceived by a few strokes of the brush, by art,
which by it’s very nature is a medium of illusion, how
vulnerable are we to the power of the senses?
Source:
Father Elijah - An Apocalypse by Michael D. O'Brien
(fiction)
p.s. if you would like to see the painting referred to here – google (using the images search not the web search)
frescoe Orvieto Luca Signorelli
or just
click here
http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=99014&rendTypeId=4
and here
to see thew whole painting
Scripture
Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your
brother?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?"
And the LORD said, "What have you done? The voice
of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.
Reflection
“Where is
Abel, your brother?
This
question is addressed not only to the murderers, but to us all.
We lose
credibility, as humans and Christians, if, like Cain, we try to talk our way
out of our responsibility and act as though we were not our brother’s keeper.
Source
Father Werenfried (1913 – 2003)
Founder of
Aid to the Church in Need
Scripture
But Jesus answered them, "My Father is working
still, and I am working." This was why the Jews sought all the more to
kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath but also called God his Father,
making himself equal with God.
Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you,
the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father
doing; for whatever he does, that the Son does likewise.
God's Apprentice
Jesus
tells the Jews who question Him that He sees and does the work that God the Father sees and
does. Jesus goes on with feeding, healing and forgiving people despite the laws
because His Father does likewise.
If
we follow our call to be imitators of Christ, then we too are apprentices of
God.
We
may not be able to physically heal someone, but we can heal their spirits with
our words and love. We can feed the hungry and forgive others. And, of course,
we can live our faith by staying true to its tenets.
Being
God's apprentice has great benefits, too: It leads to eternal life.
Prayer: Lord, show me in what way I can imitate You this day.
Source:
Daily Prayer online
Scripture
Psalm 23:4 and Mark 5:2-3, 9
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they
comfort me.
And when he had come out of the boat, there met him
out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who lived among the tombs; and
no one could bind him any more, even with a chain;
And Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He
replied, "My name is Legion; for we are many."
Reflection
News headline -
A SURVIVOR of a suicide attack on
AS I read
the above news headline I am sure I speak for everyone reading this that we can
all thank God for our lives and the relative harmony that surrounds us.
This news
headline reminded me of an interview I saw.
This
incredible true story occurred over a decade ago. The text below has been taken
from a review and the book.
The
story - Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, by Immaculee Ilibagiza - has
inspired thousands.
No one can
doubt that Immaculée has encountered evil in its most
terrifying form and lived to tell about it.
In this
graphic case of faith under fire, Immaculée found
herself in a give-and-take dialogue with God throughout the genocide,
particularly as she discovered the truth about its extent.
Upon
finishing the book the common response is you are left with a single question:
“Where in my life do I need to forgive people?”
The
following is an excerpt from her book as it relates to the above scripture
verses.
***
When we
awoke the next day, we took turns stretching our aching muscles. Moving even an
inch was a major production because we couldn't talk to one another. We quickly
worked out forms of sign language that would become our silent shorthand for
the remainder of our stay in the bathroom. We spent three months inside this
bathroom. I grimaced at the pain in my cramped legs, thinking I'd have quite a
tale of hardship to tell after the war.
It was my
turn to stretch when a commotion erupted outside. There were dozens, maybe
hundreds, of voices, some yelling, others chanting. We knew immediately that
the killers had arrived. "Let us hunt them in the forests, lakes, and
hills; let us find them in the church; let us wipe them from the face of the
earth!"
I stood on
my tiptoes and peeked out the window through a little hole in the curtain. The
other ladies grabbed at me, trying to pull me down. Athanasia shook her head
wildly, silently mouthing, "Get down! They're looking for us! Get down
before they see you!"
I ignored
them, knocking their hands away and peering through the hole. I immediately
regretted my decision because I was petrified by what I saw.
Hundreds of
people surrounded the house, many of whom were dressed like devils, wearing
skirts of tree bark and shirts of dried banana leaves, and some even had goat
horns strapped to their heads. Despite their demonic costumes, their faces were
easily recognizable, and there was murder in their eyes. They whooped and
hollered. They jumped about, waving spears, machetes, and knives in the air.
They chanted a killing song of genocide while doing a dance of death: "Kill
them, kill them, kill them all; kill them big and kill them small! Kill the old
and kill the young. . .a baby snake is still a snake,
kill it, too, let none escape! Kill them, kill them, kill
them all!"
It wasn't
the soldiers who were chanting, nor was it the trained militiamen who had been
tormenting us for days.
No, these
were my neighbours, people I'd grown up and gone to school with--some had even
been to our house for dinner.
I
recognized dozens of Mataba's most prominent citizens
in the mob, all of whom were in a killing frenzy, ranting and screaming for
Tutsi blood. The killers leading the group pushed their way into the pastor's
house, and suddenly the chanting was coming from all directions. "Find
them, find them, kill them all!"
My head was
spinning. I fell backward onto the ladies. I couldn't breathe. "Dear God,
save us. . ." I whispered, but couldn't remember the words to any of my
prayers.
A wave of
despair washed over me, and I was overwhelmed by fear.
That's when
the devil first whispered in my ear.
Why are you calling on God? Look at all of them out there. . .hundreds of them looking for you. They are legion,
and you are one. You can't possibly survive-- you won't survive. They're inside
the house and they're moving through the rooms. They're close, almost here. . .they're going to find you, rape you, cut you, kill
you!
My heart
was pounding. What was this voice? I squeezed my eyes shut as tightly as I
could to resist the negative thoughts.
I grasped
the red and white rosary my father had given me, and silently prayed with all
my might:
God, in
the Bible You said that You can do anything for
anybody. Well, I am one of those anybodies, and I need You
to do something for me now. Please, God, blind the killers' eyes when they
reach the pastor's bedroom--don't let them find that bathroom door, and don't
let them see us! You saved Daniel in the lions' den, God. You stopped the lions
from ripping him apart. . .stop these killers from
ripping us apart, God! Save us, like you saved Daniel!
The rosary
beads helped me concentrate on the Gospel and kept the words of God alive in my
mind.
Even as my
body shrivelled, my soul was nourished through my deepening relationship with
God.
I prayed
more intensely than I ever prayed before, but still the negative energy wracked
my spirit. The voice of doubt was in my ear again as surely as if Satan himself
were sitting on my shoulder. I literally felt the fear pumping through my
veins, and my blood was on fire.
You're going to die, Immaculee! the voice taunted. You compare yourself to Daniel? How conceited you are. . .Daniel was pure of heart and loved by God--he was a
prophet, a saint! What are you? You are nothing. .
.you deserve suffering and pain. . .you deserve to die!
I clutched
my rosary as though it were a lifeline to God. In my mind and heart I cried out
to Him for help:
Yes, I
am nothing, but You are forgiving. I am human and I am
weak, but please, God, give me your forgiveness. Forgive my trespasses.
. .and please send these killers away before they find us!
My temples
pounded. The dark voice was in my head, filling it with fearful, unspeakable
images.
Dead bodies are everywhere. Mothers have seen their babies chopped
in half, their fetuses ripped from their wombs. . .and you think you should be spared? Mothers prayed
for God to spare their babies and He ignored them--why should He save you when
innocent babies are being murdered? You are selfish, and you have no shame.
Listen, Immaculee. . .do you
hear them? The killers are outside your door--they're here for you.
My head was
burning, but I did hear the killers in the hall, screaming, "Kill them!
Kill them all!"
No! God
is love, I told the
voice. He loves me and wouldn't fill me with fear. He will not let me die
cowering on a bathroom floor. He will not let me die in shame!
Whenever I
found herself overwhelmed with thoughts of hate and
revenge, I reflected anew upon Jesus’ sufferings.
If Jesus
was dying for everybody, he was dying for even the killers. As the killers
continued to stalk her and her friends, she latched on to the recorded words of
Jesus before his death on the cross: “Father, forgive them, they know not what
they do” (Luke
I struggled
to form an image of God in my mind, envisioning two pillars of brilliant white
light burning brightly in front of me, like two giant legs. I wrapped my arms
around the legs, like a frightened child clinging to its mother. I begged God
to fill me with His light and strength, to cast out the dark energy from my
heart: I'm holding on to your legs, God, and I do not doubt that You can save me. I will not let go of You
until You have sent the killers away.
The
struggle between and prayers and the evil whispers that I was sure belonged to
the devil raged in my mind. I never stopped praying. .
.and the whispering never relented.
In the
evening, the pastor opened the door and found us all in a sort of trance. . . .
The pastor called our names, but not one of us heard him. Finally, he shook us
to awaken us from our stupor. I looked up at him, blinking, confused, and
completely taken aback when he began laughing at us. "What are you ladies
doing? For heaven's sake relax. The killers left seven hours ago.
Scripture
Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall
be saved; for thou art my praise.
Conversion of
Success
came to him early and the world of rock-and-roll bathed him in a culture of
alcohol, drugs, and irresponsibility. He was soon an addict, with everything in
his life other than his music spinning out of control. Eventually grace
intervened and, during a second trip to an alcoholic clinic, he found grace and
sobriety. Here are his own words:
"Nevertheless,
I stumbled through my month in treatment much as I had done the first time,
just ticking off the days, hoping that something would change in me without me
having to do much about it. Then one day, as my visit was drawing to an end, a panic
hit me, and I realized that in fact nothing had changed in me, and that I was
going back out into the world again completely unprotected. The noise in my
head was deafening, and drinking was in my thoughts all the time. It shocked me
to realize that here I was in a treatment center, a
supposedly safe environment, and I was in serious danger. I was absolutely
terrified, in complete despair.
At that moment, almost of their own accord, my legs gave way and I fell to my
knees. In the privacy of my room, I begged for help. I had no idea who I
thought I was talking to, I just knew that I had come to the end of my tether, I had nothing left to fight with. Then I remembered
what I had heard about surrender, something I thought I could never do, my
pride just wouldn’t allow it, but I knew that on my own I wasn’t going to make
it, so I asked for help, and getting down on my knees, I surrendered.
Within a few days I realized that something had happened for me. An atheist
would probably say it was just a change of attitude, and to a certain extent
that's true, but there was much more to it than that. I had found a place to
turn to, a place I'd always known was there but never really wanted,
or needed, to believe in. From that day until this, I have never failed to pray
in the morning, on my knees, asking for help, and at
night to express my gratitude for my life and, most of all, for my sobriety. I
choose to kneel because I feel I need to humble myself when I pray and with my
ego, this is the most I can do.
If you are asking me why I do all of this, I will tell you ... because it
works, as simple as that. In all this time that I have been sober, I have never
once seriously thought of taking a drink or a drug. .... In some way, in some
form, my God was always there, but now I have learned to talk to him."
"You are never more of a mature adult than when you get down on your knees
and bend humbly before something greater than yourself."
Source: (
Taken from website http://www.ronrolheiser.com/
