The Scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102320.cfm
In our first reading for today St Paul is reminding
the Ephesians and us of our call to follow Jesus Christ. He says we must follow
this call with “all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love…” Ephesians 4:2
Love is central to who we are as followers of Jesus
Christ. All throughout his ministry here on Earth, Jesus was teaching the two
central commandments: Love of God and love of neighbor. It is through this love
towards God and towards others in our lives that we can live, as St. Paul says,
“to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace.”
Mother Theresa of Calcutta understood this as she was
ministering to those in need in Calcutta. Mother Theresa once said, “The fruit of love is service, which is
compassion in action.”
Every day we can be
with the Lord at Mass and to receive His love through reception of the Blessed
Sacrament. It is through this daily listening to Scripture and the reception of
Holy Communion that we can do what St. Paul and Mother Theresa teaches us: we
can take the love that God has for all of us, and bring it to the world that is
so hungry for love and the peace that can only come through the love God has
for all of us.
Another saint of our
time, Pope John Paul II says of love, “Open your minds and hearts to the beauty of all that God
has made and to His special, personal love for each one of you.” God loves each
one of us, and loves all those that He has put into our lives. We are called to
bring that love to all those we encounter. St. Paul reminds us that we have
“one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all.” Ephesians 4:5-6
Lord Jesus, thank you for the love you had for each of
us as you died for us on the cross. Help us to bring that love into the world
to bring that peace that can come only from you. Amen.
A Scripture passage that is very special to me is Romans 5:1-5, and according to Romans 5:5, "the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." As believers in JESUS CHRIST and as Catholics who have been baptized and confirmed, we have the Holy Spirit living within us. Through our relationship with the LORD, nourished by prayer, Christian community, our obedience in following the LORD, God's Word, the Eucharist & the other sacraments the life of the Holy Spirit is renewed within us & we are more able to love God & love others & demonstrate the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
ReplyDeleteWhen we find it difficult to love someone or demonstrate humility & live in peace & unity we need to call on the LORD to help us through His Holy Spirit living within us.
In an email from Nilda: Tom, in the following you have rightly quoted yesterday’s 1st Scripture Reading, followed by your interpretation of St. Paul’s reminder of what the Lord expected in behavior from the Ephesians; as well as, how it is applied to us in the present:
ReplyDelete1- In our first reading for today St Paul is reminding the Ephesians and us of our call to follow Jesus Christ. He says we must follow this call with “all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love…” Ephesians 4:2
You, proceeded by giving samples of interpretation on the meaning of Jesus’ words:
~ Love is central to who we are as followers of Jesus Christ.
~ All throughout his ministry here on Earth, Jesus was teaching the two central commandments: Love of God and love of neighbor.
~ It is through this love towards God and towards others in our lives that we can live, as St. Paul says, “to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace.”
~Mother Theresa of Calcutta understood this as she was ministering to those in need in Calcutta. Mother Theresa once said, “The fruit of love is service, which is compassion in action.”
As a solution on how to follow these statements, you also point out that:
1. Every day we can be with the Lord at Mass and receive His love through reception of the Blessed Sacrament.
2. It is through this daily listening to Scripture and the reception of Holy Communion that we can do what St. Paul and Mother Theresa teach us: "we can take the love that God has for all of us and bring it to the world that is so hungry for love and the peace that can only come through the love God has for all of us.”
3. In addition, you wrote, "Another saint of our time, Pope John Paul II says of love, "Open your minds and hearts to the beauty of all that God has made and to His special, personal love for each one of you.”
4. God loves each one of us, and loves all those that He has put into our lives. We are called to bring that love to all those we encounter.
5. St. Paul reminds us that we have “one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all.” Ephesians 4:5-
All well and true, Tom. I agree in everything you have presented.
However, I find the following words of Jesus, (taken from the Gospel Reading, LK 12:54-59, that followed), to be a perfect reply in admonishment not just to those people of His time; but, also applicable to us in the present time:
Jesus said to the crowds,
“When you see a cloud rising in the west
you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does;
and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south
you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is.
You hypocrites!
You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky;
why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
“Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
In essence, I repeat your previous quote, "St Paul is reminding the Ephesians, and us as well, of our responsibility to follow the call of Jesus Christ. He says we must follow this call with “all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love…” Ephesians 4:2”.
Therefore, if we are meant to truly follow Jesus’ words as, also, stated in the gospel, Lk 12:54-59; the Lord expects us to rightfully practice our common sense of differentiating right from wrong in our relationship with each other. But, in doing the opposite, as ‘hypocrites’, treating and alienating groups of people over others in matters of: social class, cultural, race and national differences; effecting such sentiments as loathing, discrimination, greed and power, in the name of ‘justice’; we can never reach the Kingdom of God or even dream to live Heaven on Earth, at any moment.
Nilda V., OCDS