( A PDF copy of this article is attached)
Five Important Spiritual Thoughts from the Liturgy of the Word
…and follow up for the Secular Franciscan
January 19 – January 25
1 – “I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Heb 8:10)
…the Solemn Promise of our God. Are we the type of person who keeps a promise to God?
2 – “ That there be no divisions among you.” (1 Cor 1:10)
…Do I deliberately problems for others for no good reason?
3 — “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Mt 4:17)
…Have I taken the time to confess my sinfulness to the Lord?
4 – “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mk 3:35)
WILL OF GOD
One way of looking
at what
Jesus did as he redeemed us is to consider Jesus following the will of God
perfectly in his life. He was following
his chosen way of living which was nothing less than the good of humankind, as
best as he could. Jesus says in the
Gospel: Here are my mother and brothers (pointing to those in the
circle)—that is all of us and all of humankind.
That was what he was called to do—touch every human being with his
redeeming power.That notion of the will of God is
important for us as well and for us, what is will of God?Each of us have chosen a way of life. A number of factors went into the choice, but
whatever we have become, we are choosing some way of spending our time on this
earth. We are called to live that way of
life following the principles of Jesus Christ.
So the concept of following the will of God means nothing more or less
than actually following Jesus’s directives as we are living the way of life
that we have chosen for ourselves.The student follows what Jesus taught
as she/he studies. The retired person
accepts the virtues that Jesus set up as she/he sets her/his own pattern of
living in retirement. The married person
lives the message of Jesus as she/he interacts with her/his spouse, indeed
something that is quite difficult at times.
The person involved in her/his chosen work in order to make money does
so using the guidelines that Jesus taught us during his time on earth. In short, doing the will of God means that as
we direct the line of activity in our lives that we have chosen–that we do it
with the directives of the Lord as guidelines.The will of God was uppermost in
Jesus mind, leading him to redeem us The will of God should likewise be
uppermost in the follower of Jesus’ minds—you and me, leading us to truly live
our different chosen careers with Christian principles.
5 – “I asked, ‘What shall I do, sir?’” (Acts 22:10)
…Asked of our spiritual lives, Paul’s question is what we should ask of the Lord in our own set of circumstances.
