October 11, 2010
Monday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Therefore, brothers, we are children not of the slave woman but of the freeborn woman. For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. Galatians 4:31-5:1
While still more people gathered in the crowd, he said to them, "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation." Luke 11:29-30
Piety
“Prayer makes visible the right, and reveals what is hampering and false. In its radiance, we behold the worth of our efforts, the range of our hopes, and the meaning of our deeds… However, prayer is no panacea, no substitute for action. It is, rather, like a beam thrown from a flashlight before us into the darkness. It is in this light that we grope, stumble, and climb, discover where we stand, what surrounds us, and the course which we should choose."
—Abraham Joshua Heschel
Study
Freedom. Christ set up free. The yoke of slavery is sin and temptation in the world. Yet Jesus came to show us a different way. He showed us a better way than the alternatives. However, he never claimed that it was an easier way.
What has you enslaved?
Is it your pride – a pride that refuses to admit error and refuses to build bridges?
Is it an overindulgence in the temporary pleasures of this world rather than the fulfilling love that Christ offers to us?
Is it illness that brings you pain, isolation and fear?
From these and more, Christ comes to set us free. But it is hard to hear him above the din of our culture. When His message breaks through the clutter around us, it remains hard to understand his message. So, like the Ninevites, we continue to grasp for signs that will free us when all we have to do is look around for the signs of the gifts of God’s love.
Action
From what has Christ set you free? What must you do to gain this freedom?
Think back to different times in your life when you have been trapped by different temptations. How did you break out of those traps? Did you quit smoking? Get in shape? Avoid alcohol?
Jesus told that crowds that we must listen and obey his word. He is the only sign that we need.
Sometimes we can break bad habits without knowing we are getting His help. However, many programs to help people break addictions encourage people to realize that their life is influenced by a Divine Power.
By accepting His word, we have the Divine Presence that will fill up the space and time in our lives which was occupied by old addictions and bad habits. The Word will then reveal the direction which we should pursue instead of our former ways.
