In our first reading from St. Paul's letter to the Romans, St. Paul encourages us not to give up our hope and faith in the glory of God. Through this faith and hope as Christians and followers of Jesus Christ we will have the peace that can come through faith in God. Paul is encouraging us not to be so wrapped up in our cares and troubles that we forget that Jesus is present to us in all our troubles. Our Lord is always there waiting for us to ask for His help in whatever problems we are facing.
Central to Paul's teaching in today's reading is that of hope: "For in hope we were saved." (Romans 8:24) Part of living our day to day lives means to deal with issues with health, financial problems, and problems with family and friends. In all these problems we face, we are to place our hope and concerns in the loving hands of Jesus Christ. Once we place our cares into the loving hands of Jesus, the problems become lighter, knowing that Jesus is helping us to carry our daily crosses. Will the problems go away? No, they'll still be there, but if we place Jesus in the center of all our concerns, we can have that peace that can only come through faith and hope in Jesus Christ.
Amen. And our trials serve to purify us, if we cooperate with GOD in the midst of them all, they aid in the process of sanctification so that GOD's glory shines through us, & they help to prepare us for the glory we will experience in heaven when we are finally seeing the LORD face to face!
ReplyDeleteFrom Nilda: I appreciate your comment to today’s scripture Reading and I find it to be a good follow-up to the word of God we heard on Sunday’s Reading.
ReplyDeleteDeacon Tom, you have stated that in today’s 1st Scripture Reading,
"St. Paul's letter to the Romans 8: 18-25, St. Paul encourages us not to give up our hope and faith in the glory of God. Through this faith and hope as Christians and followers of Jesus Christ we will have the peace that can come through faith in God."
In addition, you state:
"Central to Paul's teaching in today's reading is that of hope: "For in hope we were saved." (Romans 8:24) Once we place our cares into the loving hands of Jesus, the problems become lighter, knowing that Jesus is helping us to carry our daily crosses. You add: "... if we place Jesus in the center of all our concerns, we can have that peace that can only come through faith and hope in Jesus Christ.”
With your permission, I would like to go back to, Sunday’s Gospel Reading, Luke 13:18-21, in which Bishop Barron’s Reflection for the Day, acclaims to:
“... making a comparison between, 'the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed', which, accordingly, 'seems to be a law of the spiritual life that God wants good things to start small and grow over time’."
Bishop Barron continues and cites the following circumstance:
'It is a commonplace of the Bible that God rejoices in our cooperation. He wants us to involve ourselves—through freedom, intelligence, creativity—in what he is doing. And so he plants seeds, and he wants us to cultivate them.
"Francis, rebuild my Church."
Now, God could have rebuilt his Church, but he wanted St. Francis to get involved. God could have renewed the spiritual life of Christianity through a great infusion of grace, but he inspired St. Antony the Great to leave everything behind and go live alone in the desert. "
Bishop Barron concludes in his reflection to Sunday’s gospel Reading:
'There’s something else. When things start small, they can fly under the radar for a time while they gain strength and heft and seriousness. And those involved can be tested and tried.’