By Beth DeCristofaro
Brothers and sisters: You are no longer strangers and
sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the
household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with
Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held
together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord (Ephesians 2:19-21)
Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, and he spent the
night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself (Luke 6:12)
Piety
Lord Jesus, help me
to see that all that I experience is a call to live life more deeply with you,
to help grow your sacred temple in the love of neighbor, and to commit myself
more fully as a member of your Father’s household, a fellow citizen with your
Holy Ones.
Study
Fr. Jacques Phillippe
writes powerfully of our challenge and struggle to free ourselves from the real
prison of our own expectations, predispositions, fears, and unexamined
aspiration of “freedoms” which hold us back from fully accepting God’s love and
being a disciple (Interior Freedom, Scepter
Publishers, 2002). As an example he refers
to the writings of Etty Hillesum, a Dutch Jew who learned about and then began
to live by Christian, Gospel values.
Under German occupation, Etty wrote:
“But above the one narrow path still left to us stretches the sky,
intact. They (the Nazis) can’t do
anything to us, they really can’t. … I believe in God and I believe in man and
I say so without embarrassment. Life is
hard but that’s no bad thing.” (pg 23)
Etty believed that we must not be complicit in evil and that love brings
true peace. One year after this passage,
young Etty died in Auschwitz.
God invites us in so
many ways to be fellow citizens among the holy ones. Jesus asked twelve men to follow him in his
journey; he called Mary and Martha and they served him in Bethany. Our latest Men’s team and our new
Cursillistas heard the call of the Spirit and a weekend of celebration and
pilgrimage was held. We speak of life
vocations – for me as a chaplain, for my husband as a fund raiser and writer. My mother says once a nurse, always a nurse. With Jesus as capstone we are disciples with
our own unique voices and abilities raising a temple sacred in the Lord.
Action
Jesus, like us, found
that he could hear God more clearly through prayer. Etty found the divine speaking to her while
riding her bike. Where is my mountain on
which to commune with God? Ask God to
help you find the interior freedom to be always cognizant of being the beloved,
standing in God’s presence. Keep the new
Cursillistas and all Cursillistas prayer.
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