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Sometimes life is so hard you can only do the next thing. Whatever that is just do the next thing. God will meet you there.
- Elisabeth Elliot
(A good way to live no matter what is going on.)
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Is 49:8-15; Psalm 145:8-9, 13cd-14, 17-18
Jn 5:17-30
Jesus answered the Jews:
“My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.”
For this reason they tried all the more to kill him,
because he not only broke the sabbath
but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.
Jesus answered and said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own,
but only what he sees the Father doing;
for what he does, the Son will do also.
For the Father loves the Son
and shows him everything that he himself does,
and he will show him greater works than these,
so that you may be amazed.
For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life,
so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes.
Nor does the Father judge anyone,
but he has given all judgment to the Son,
so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.
Whoever does not honor the Son
does not honor the Father who sent him.
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word
and believes in the one who sent me
has eternal life and will not come to condemnation,
but has passed from death to life.
Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here
when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God,
and those who hear will live.
For just as the Father has life in himself,
so also he gave to the Son the possession of life in himself.
And he gave him power to exercise judgment,
because he is the Son of Man.
Do not be amazed at this,
because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs
will hear his voice and will come out,
those who have done good deeds
to the resurrection of life,
but those who have done wicked deeds
to the resurrection of condemnation.
“I cannot do anything on my own;
I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just,
because I do not seek my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.”
USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture
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“He not only was breaking the sabbath but, worse still, was speaking of God as His own Father, thereby making Himself God’s equal.” —John 5:18
It seems that for the last few years the renewal of the baptismal promises has not been successful for the Catholic Church throughout the world. The evidence for this is the continued proliferation of the culture of death, including abortion, contraception, unforgiveness, vengeance, denominations, racism, starvation, and other injustices. Our Baptisms are such great works of God that if millions of Christians
renewed their Baptisms, the world could not help but be changed according to God’s will.
The key to renewing our Baptisms is believing that Jesus is God. Jesus is the only Way to the Father (Jn 14:6) and the One Who baptizes us in the Spirit (Mk 1:8). When we believe in the Trinity with all our hearts, we are compelled to reject Satan, all his works, and all his empty promises. We believe Jesus is God and His revelation of the Trinity because of Jesus’ Resurrection and because of the Church’s
authoritative revelation of Jesus’ divinity in her teachings, especially in the Scriptures. His divinity is corroborated by the fact that He does the works of God (Jn 5:36).
“Just as the Father raises the dead and grants life, so the Son grants life to those to whom He wishes” (Jn 5:21). I have seen Jesus give new life to myself and countless others through Baptism. I have seen Jesus do the works of God. I have good reason to believe that the risen Jesus, proclaimed by His infallible Church, is God. I will profess this on the first day of Easter with all my heart.
Prayer: Father, may I renew my Baptism by Your standards.
Promise: “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.” —Is 49:15
Presentation Ministries
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Growing in Inner Freedom: A Guide for Today
- by Philip St. Romain. Liguori Publ., 1986.
34. Live a Simple Life
What profit does anyone show who gains the whole world and destroys himself in the process? What can anyone offer in exchange for life? (Mark 8:36-37)
Leo Tolstoy parable tells of a man who was assured that he would be given all the land he could circumscribe by walking in a single day. He set out in early morning, determined to make a large circle, but was nowhere to be found when the evening deadline came. He had died of exhaustion from walking too much.
In yesterday’s reflection we considered the case of people who work at dehumanizing jobs for the basic necessities of life. There are also many who work at demeaning jobs in order to sustain their materially high standards of living.
Our material needs are really very few; our financial wants are another matter altogether—endlessly growing, like the desire of Tolstoy’s character. Many of us do not simply want food, shelter, clothing, and education; we want these needs met in luxury. Is it bad that many of us live in luxury? Yes, it is, if~we are not generous with our gifts, and if we must work at jobs that hurt us and the world in order to pay for our lifestyle.
Think of the many new occupational choices we would have if we could live on less money! We might be able to make fuller use of our talents, or even have more time away from the job to be at home with our family. We could not afford a luxury car, or a boat, or a house in the country, but the trade-off would be worth it in terms of more satisfying work and relationships. With a little creativity and madness, we might even learn simple ways to find true happiness. Remember,
most of the good things in life are free.
Suggested Practices
- How do you differentiate between your wants and your needs? Are you living as simply as you can? Make a list of possessions you could live without, or else could sustain more inexpensively.
- Pray: “God, help me to want only what I need.”
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