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The spark of seed of Light, however, is not confined to human self-consciousness. the whole of creation in varying degrees can shoot forth bright rays, surprising evidences of the gratuitous glory of things bearing traces of their creator, traces on which the human intelligence can seize in a kaleidoscopic variety of momentary illuminations whereby the inner being of things and the inner human self are grasped
as a unity.
- Patrick Grant [20th C], A Dazzling Darkness
(" The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork." Ps. 19:1. And we are privileged to perceive and experience this, at times!)
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Acts 8:1b-8; Psalm 66:1-3a, 4-5, 6-7a
Jn 6:35-40
Jesus said to the crowds,
“I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
But I told you that although you have seen me,
you do not believe.
Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day.”
USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture
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“Saul, for his part, concurred in the act of killing. That day saw the beginning of a great persecution of the Church.” —Acts 8:1
We can be witnessing for the risen Christ by preaching (Acts 2:14ff), healing (Acts 3:7), rejoicing (Acts 3:8; 8:8), worshiping (see Jn 20:28), suffering (Acts 5:40), and dying (Acts 7:60). We can also witness for the risen Christ by continuing to serve the Lord, especially during hard times. For example, “devout men buried Stephen, bewailing him loudly as they did so. After that, Saul began to harass the
Church. He entered house after house, dragged men and women out, and threw them into jail. The members of the Church who had been dispersed went about preaching the word” (Acts 8:2-4). In terrible times, the Church continued to focus on its work of preaching the good news of the risen Christ.
Our natural reactions to hard times are to shut down or to compensate. When things are bad, we tend to lose our motivation or busily exhaust ourselves on escapist activities. Only disciples of Jesus can witness, preach, forgive, and love from the cross. When we persevere and even accelerate our service to the Lord in difficult times, we witness to the love and power of the risen Christ. Paradoxically, the cross is
the prime place from which to proclaim Jesus’ Resurrection. Make hard times good times. Keep keeping on.
Prayer: Jesus, pour out Your love in my heart (Rm 5:5) so that I will never reject You but constantly worship You.
Promise: “I Myself am the Bread of Life. No one who comes to Me shall ever be hungry, no one who believes in Me shall ever thirst.” —Jn 6:35
Presentation Ministries
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Growing in Inner Freedom: A Guide for Today
- by Philip St. Romain. Liguori Publ., 1986.
39. Practice Humility
What you should do when you have been invited [to a wedding party] is go and sit in the lowest place so that
when your host approaches you he will say,
“My friend, come up higher”(Luke 14:10).
Just as we do not have to seek out our crosses, so we do not have to seek out occasions for practicing humility. Our families, friends, and coworkers do not always treat us with the esteem that we think we deserve. Probably not a day goes by that we do not feel slighted, ignored, unappreciated, or maybe even insulted and bullied by another person.
There are two extreme responses to God’s call that we live a humble life. One extreme is to “fight for our rights,” the other is to become a “doormat.” In the first case, we take matters into our own hands, exalting ourselves by calling attention to our credits and to the injustices done against us. Any rewards gained from this approach are empty, however, since they are probably given simply to calm us down. “Doormats” gain no real respect from others either, and
generally spend their quiet hours seething in resentment.
The cross of Jesus Christ is a summons to the middle ground. When there is a call for humility, we must take a stand, but not so much for our own glory as to further the interests of truth, love, justice, and peace. When we look to Jesus, our rejected, misunderstood, tortured, and abandoned Lord, we see that sometimes the only course of action is to surrender to the situation while waiting on the Father. Acceptance will bring us treasure in heaven, the experience of God’s glory
in our hearts.
Suggested Practices
- At your next chance to practice humility, prepare yourself by saying:
“If I can be happy here, I can conquer the whole world!”
- Learn the real difference between “fighting for your rights” and being a “doormat.” Then choose the middle ground.
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