+++++++++++++++++++++God's timing is not our timing, but He is never late.+++++++++++++++
"If we're open to it, God can use even the smallest thing to change our lives." Donna Van Liere, The Christmas Shoes


Layers - in the knowledge of God and the path to holiness

Learning about God is like unwrapping a head of lettuce, pealing back one leaf at a time. Always there is another leaf below. We will eventually reach the center of the head of lettuce; but we will never unwrap everthing there is to know about God.

The path to holiness is like pealing an onion. God shows us what is sinful and convicts us that we have sinned. No matter how sweet the onion, there are always tears in the peeling. No matter how sweet the grace of repentence, there are always the pain of letting go of the sin. As the peeling of the onion reveals another layer, so God shows us what we lack in holiness, drawing us ever closer to "be(ing) perfect even just as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:48



What I Believe

Why I am and always will be a Catholic. "So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. Tthe living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever." John 6:53-58 The words and actions of man cannot sanctify. Only the priest, empowered by his ordination, can invoke the Holy Spirit to transform the bread and wine into Jesus so we can receive Him - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity into our bodies and souls. This is the core of the Catholic Church; without this there is no purpose or meaning to the Catholic Church. There are other ways to holiness, to grow in grace; there is no better way than union with Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.

Visitation Catholic Church

Visitation Catholic Church

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Returning

It is my thinking, without any scripture or theology to argue about, that when one dies it is one’s disposition towards God which determines judgment.  This thinking relies entirely upon God’s mercy.  I keep thinking of the story of the prodigal son (Luke 125:11-32).  He was for most of his life a recipient of his father’s love and his father’s gifts/possessions.  But, he rebelled, wanting to live his life his way, out from under his father’s love and roof/discipline/expectations.  Once away, all that he had received from his father wasted away.  Living life his way, away from his father’s love and guidance, the son ended up with nothing.  The son thought that if he went back as a servant at least he could have the benefits of living under his father’s roof, like food.  The father would have none of that, welcoming his son back completely. 

We have been baptized into God’s family.  We have all of the love and benefits of being in God’s family.  Yet, we still must try to live our lives our way - in rebellion to God’s will for our lives.  When we turn away from God, what happens to the love and other gifts God has given us?  They waste away in our sin.  We can become spiritually bankrupt; and like the prodigal son, we can realize that anything with God is better.  We may be sincere in our repentance of acts against God’s love and goodness; or, we may be sorry because of the bad consequence of our actions.  God in His mercy will meet us where we are at.  The parable does not say where the father met up with the son, only that he saw the son “a long way off” and ran to him.

What if we don’t make it back to God before we die?  What would have happened if the prodigal son didn’t make it home?  The son made the choice to return.  The father did the rest.  So, what if on our faith journey we die before we are home yet?  Are we crying out in our hearts, our souls, “Abba”?  I think that that soul will continue towards God and that God in His mercy will embrace the soul.

But, why wait?  Why continue to live outside the Father’s house, just because we have the freedom to live “our way”?  The father said to the son who never left, “Everything I have is yours.”  Why squander our lives living away from our Father when He has so much to give us?  The Father is waiting for us to cry, “Abba.”   It is so simple - take the first step and allow God to do the rest.
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