"We are travellers…not yet in our native land" – St. Augustine
Being in the image of God the human individual possess the dignity of a person, who is not just something, but someone.
He is capable of self-knowledge, of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with other persons.
And he is called by grace to a covenant with his Creator, to offer him a response of faith and love that no other creature can give in his stead.
– Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph 357
A lot of Christians choose a “life verse”, a favourite verse from the Bible which is a source of encouragement and inspiration. If I had to pick one passage from the Bible I guess I’d choose the following text from 2nd Corinthians:
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Here’s what Tim Hawkins has to say about his favourite Bible verse…
In addition to being the Seventh Sunday in Easter, this Sunday is also Ascension Sunday. This has been an insanely busy week – sorry I didn’t get this posted earlier.
This Sunday we hear a glorious mystery! The Second Glorious Mystery to be precise! Yes, this Sunday we celebrate Jesus’ Ascension into Heaven.
In recent weeks, life among the Apostles had been, to put it mildly, a bit rocky (and not “rocky” in the good, “Peter” kind of way). In fact, things had been pretty awful. The Master had been betrayed, beaten and then killed on a cross. Dark times.
But then, something happened… He rose from the dead! For several weeks He had been appearing to His disciples! Life was good again! But then…what?…He left?
Huh? Things were finally starting to look up! Why did He leave? Did the Lord abandon His Church?
In our First Reading last week we read about the giving of the Ten Commandments and this week we continue our Lenten tour through the high points of Old Testament Salvation History.
Our First Reading begins on a rather somber note. The Kingdom of Judah had abandoned God’s Law and, as a result, the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed and the people led into captivity. All of God’s promises to King David seemed to be lost! We hear the people’s song of lament in today’s Psalm.
However, because of God’s mercy and through His divine providence, the pagan King Cyrus decides to grant the Jews their freedom, releasing them from bondage.
In the light of the New Testament, we know that God’s promises to King David were not forgotten, but that they all found their fulfillment in Jesus of Nazareth, both Son of David and Son of God! The freedom granted to God’s people by King Cyrus was simply a foreshadowing of Jesus’ work of salvation. It is through the King of Kings that we are released from the bondage of death and brought to new life.
In our Second Reading, St. Paul tells use that “because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, [He] brought us to life with Christ”. These words of St. Paul are themselves only an echo of the Master’s teaching. In this week’s Gospel Reading, during His discourse with Nicodemus, Jesus reveals the heart of the Father: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life“.
Full of confidence, therefore, in God’s mercy and love, let us approach this week’s Eucharistic liturgy with the joy of those who have been granted new life 🙂
I’m going to finish this today, I promise! This is the final part of a series responding to a comment which was left on a post I wrote about the Mother of God. This was the comment:
“‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.’ If Mary were sinless, why did she need a Savior? Wouldn’t she be lying?
Did she realize Romans 3:23 All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God? When she compared herself to the law of a holy God, had she realized she had formerly, lied, coveted, dishonored her parents by not always obeying them, etc. and like every single person needs a Savior? There are none good, no not one (Romans 3), except Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:21 For He (God the Father) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Also see Romans 11:6. Thank you Jesus, my Savior.”
Today I’m going to conclude my exploration of Kelley’s comments and offer some closing thoughts…
As I mentioned earlier, I was on retreat this past weekend. This meant that I didn’t have the usual amount of time to spend on the Lectionary Notes this week, so sorry if they appear a bit rushed again…
The readings this week speak of God’s mercy and generosity. We so often scorn God’s goodness, but in today’s Readings we learn that God is gracious and generous to all who return to Him.
“Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you… You were with me, but I was not with you… You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more” – St. Augstine, The Confessions
This Reading from Isaiah is part of Chapter 55’s invitation to “Come to the water, all you who are thirsty…”. Isaiah exhorts his listeners to not delay, but come and enjoy the Lord’s goodness.
Seek the LORD while he may be found, call him while he is near. Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked his thoughts; let him turn to the LORD for mercy; to our God, who is generous in forgiving. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.
Possible Questions:
Commentary:
“Seek the LORD while he may be found, call him while he is near”
This is an invitation to return to friendship with God. Do not delay! Seize the opportunity!
“Let the scoundrel forsake his way”
Returning to friendship with God means leaving behind your old way of life.
“…turn to the LORD”
This is essentially what repentance is – turning away from sin and towards God.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways”
We are not the same as the Lord. His ways are not are ways. Scripture often describes God in an anthropomorphic (“human-like”) language, but it must always be remembered that God is soooooooo much greater than we are.
In the Gospel Reading we will hear of a particular area where God’s ways are unlike our own. God is infinitely more generous.
There are many words of Jesus to which I find myself returning time and again, finding in them yet another dimension οr shade of meaning. Today I would like to share with you a little “God moment” I had last week related to a certain passage of Scripture.
Recently, I had a few days vacation in Las Vegas. A friend of mine from England was visiting Arizona and we agreed to meet in Las Vegas since it’s sort-of-but-not-really half way between Phoenix and San Diego. This was my first time visiting Las Vegas. Hopefully I’ll write about my impressions of that city sometime soon but, for now, I would just like to share something that happened on the last day.
Now, I’m pretty sure Hell will be hotter than Nevada, although I don’t exactly see how that’s possible! Man, it was baking! Since the weather was like an oven, we decided to take it easy on our final day and just hang out at the hotel’s pool for a little while…
While I was sunbathing I saw a father and his little girl playing in the pool. The child would climb out of the pool and, with a huge grin and cheeky laugh, she would jump into the pool, into the parent’s waiting arms.