May 25, 2010
Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
By Beth DeCristofaro
Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, for it is written, “Be holy because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16)
But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first. (Mark 10:31)
Piety
The more we call on God the more we can feel God's presence. Day by day we are drawn closer to the loving heart of God. Lord, may I never take the gift of freedom for granted. You gave me the great blessing of freedom of spirit. Fill my spirit with Your peace and Your joy. (From www.sacredspace.ie )
Study
On Sunday we celebrated the liberation of Pentecost when, as Fr. Joe McCloskey put it in his tripod reflection: “With Pentecost the Apostles burst forth from the closed doors of their fears that what happened to Christ might happen to them.” We sang and rejoiced that with Christ, we too are graced with the courage to face life.
But then we come to the readings today which show us, clearly, just what kind of courage we will need if we seek to follow Christ. Don’t just follow like sheep (even as Jesus told us that he is our shepherd) but use the gifts of the spirit to follow in holiness. The footnote in the NAB says that this call to holiness is “by reason of (our) redemption through the blood of Christ” and is “call to the knowledge and love of God” which results in mutual love – not love and life for self alone.
The chapter from Mark is a series of Jesus’ rigorous teachings, beginning with his answer to trick questions from the Pharisees. Regarding the law allowing divorce he admonishes them: Because of the hardness of your hearts (Moses) wrote you this commandment. He astonishes his followers, for whom the belief that wealth in life was a sign of God’s favor, by telling them: It is easier for a camel to pass through (the) eye of (a) needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. Later he warns the disciples, who are arguing about their place on his right and left: The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, signifying the trials they would face in his name. He turns the social order and the understanding of their place as chosen people by explaining: But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first.
What happened to the bursting forth, the songs and joy of Pentecost? As the prayer above says: “The more we call on God, the more we can feel God's presence.” We need to put ourselves into God’s presence in piety, study and action in order to be invigorated and directed by God’s will over our own former ignorance.
Action
On May 21, Pope Benedict addressed the Pontifical Council for the Laity. The theme of the meeting was "Witnesses of Christ in the Political Community." The Pope made clear that the mission of the church is not to form politicians but politics gives Christians the opportunity to practice charity through “a strong commitment to the citizenry, for the construction of a good life in nations, as also for an effective presence in the headquarters and programs of the international community." He said membership in associations and ecclesial movements could be a good context for learning these values.
Are you taking full advantage of Cursillo for formation and evangelization?
Benedict welcomed the assembled who “together with the pastors, a majority of lay faithful work from the whole world and from the most different situations and experiences, offers a significant image of the organic community that is the Church, whose common priesthood, proper of the baptized faithful, and the ordained priesthood, sink their roots in the one priesthood of Christ, according to essentially different modalities, but ordered one to the other…
.. The Church concentrates particularly on educating the Disciples of Christ, so that, increasingly, they will be witnesses of his presence, everywhere. It is up to the laity to show concretely in personal and family life, in social, cultural and political life, that the faith enables one to read reality in a new and profound way and to transform it; that Christian hope extends the limited horizon of man and points him to the true loftiness of his being, to God; that charity in truth is the most effective force to change the world; that the Gospel is guarantee of liberty and message of liberation; that the fundamental principles of the Social Doctrine of the Church, such as the dignity of the human person, subsidiarity and solidarity, are very timely and of value for the promotion of new ways of development at the service of every man and of all men.”
(For a full reading of the text: http://www.zenit.org/article-29337?l=english)
