Live your love, Love your life

Wednesday, October 31, 2007
I found this reading online from madonna magazine. Published by Jesuit Orde in Australia (www.madonnamagazine.com.au). I'd like to share with ya'll cuz it gives us strength and hope, to know that when we are living in Him, everything will be fine, nothing will turn bad.

Romans 6:19-23

Paul says that a disciple of Jesus can have no master but God. A Christian is a person who has surrendered to God in Christ, a person who has given complete control of his/her life to Christ, holding nothing back.

Grace is God’s gift. God’s Grace is not an excuse for sin!

The old life was characterized by lawlessness, uncleanness, sin. The new life is characterized by righteousness, by right relationships. New life is a life that gives God God’s proper place and respects the rights of other human persons.

The new life leads to sanctification……it is the road to holiness. A person who has given himself/herself to Christ has begun the process of sanctification, is on the road to holiness, and is on his life-long journey to holiness.

Luke 12:49-53

The Jews waited for the Messiah, conqueror and King. To them, Jesus spoke of the terrible experience he was to go through - the cross was before his eyes. How different this is from the idea of conqueror King! Jesus came not with avenging armies, but giving His life! His coming meant division and it still could mean division because loyalty to Christ has to take precedence over the dearest loyalties of this world.

To choose Christ could mean denial of other things and other loyalties!

Walking Faithfully: "He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much” (Luke 16:10).

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Good News Reflection

All things are working for your good

When you walk to your mailbox, into church, through a parking lot, down the street, or anywhere else that your feet take you, what do you usually look at? Are you watching your feet? And the ground go by? Or is your head up? Are you observing how beautiful the clouds look and appreciating the way the tree branches intermingle and raise their leaves toward heaven? Do you watch other people, in admiration of God's handiwork as you recall that he loves them all?

Directing your sight upward is great spiritual exercise. It helps us to understand and live in the truth of today's first reading. As Saint Paul points out, instead of focusing on our weaknesses, instead of noticing how our prayers are NOT being answered, instead of paying attention to our insufficiency and powerlessness when praying for big needs, we should remember the love and power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God partners with us, leads us, and prays with us. In whatever we're lacking, whatever's missing or not yet accomplished, God's Spirit within us can fill up the gaps and provide peace.

Look at that! Look at the goodness of God! Keep your eyes on Jesus!

No matter how bad a trial has been, no matter how destructive it seems, if we give it to Jesus, he redeems it. Redemption means that something bad is converted into something good. Jesus always uses everything for the good of those who love him. We can benefit from even the worst of hardships. The benefit might be more inner strength, or fuller compassion, or special blessings and graces. There is no evil that God cannot or will not defeat by bringing good from it.

There is no victimization without victory if we turn it over to Jesus.

Of course, asking God to redeem a bad situation isn't enough. We have to keep our eyes on Jesus, looking upward to see the good that he raises from the bad. We have to embrace what the Father gives us instead of turning away and pouting, "But that's not what I want! Why won't You give me what I've been praying for? Why won't You do it my way?"

When we have difficulty seeing the good that God is doing in a bad situation, we can pray what the psalmist did in today's responsorial Psalm: "Give light to my eyes... let my heart rejoice in Your salvation; let me sing that the Lord has been good to me."

We experience joy in the midst of suffering when we stop watching the dirty ground beneath us and look up to observe the beauty and the blessings that God has placed around us. This is when we can genuinely proclaim: "All my hope, O Lord, is in Your loving kindness!"