His Handiwork
October 22, 2012
Monday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
For by grace you have
been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it
is not from works, so no one may boast. For
we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works that God has
prepared in advance, that we should live in them. Ephesians 2:8-10
"Take care to
guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not
consist of possessions." Luke
12:15
Piety
Take Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. Thou hast given all to me. To Thee, O lord, I return it. All is Thine, dispose of it wholly according to Thy will. Give me Thy love and thy grace, for this is sufficient for me. (Ignatius Loyola)Study
"Saved through faith…Created in Christ Jesus for good
works." The endless debate is solved so simply with just a little study of
scripture.
Faith comes first. Without it, our action is just social
work. With faith, we know that we are the
only hands Christ has remaining to work in this world. Therefore, we have to pick up not only the
Rosary, but we must put it on as well. We
must imitate what it contains in order to obtain what it promises.
What do we find that it contains? It contains the faith of a young girl who
accepts the announcement of the angel and agrees to sacrifice her simple life
for God and the world. It contains the
holy hospitality of Elizabeth. It
contains the humility of the Lord who gave up heaven in order to live with us
on earth. Each mystery of our faith is
there preaching, teaching, presenting, baptizing, changing, doing, praying --
stories of a faith that leads to action.
We pray that we can imitate what it contains -- imitate the life of
Jesus which includes picking up our cross daily and carrying it wherever it may
lead.
As we heard in the Good News on Sunday, we must be prepared
to be immersed in the baptism of Jesus and drink the cup that he drinks in
service to others.
Action
What good works are in your plan of action for this
week? Charitable giving, volunteer work,
donating blood? Check out your "To
Do" list. If it is light on these
action, add one to the list.
What acts of faith are in your plan of action for this
week? An active prayer life lays the groundwork
for renewal and re-commitment to a life of piety, study and action. Make a special effort to attend your group
reunion and be strengthened for the encounter with Christ and the world that is
ahead of you this week.
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