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Our good Lord, the Holy Spirit — endless life dwelling in our souls — always protects us and gives us peace. Through grace, God’s Spirit brings each soul to tranquility and makes it obedient and reconciles it to God. Our good Lord constantly leads us on this path of mercy while we’re in this unpredictable life.
- Julian of
Norwich, Revelations
(Come, Holy Spirit, come . . . ) |
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Col 3:1-11; Ps 145:2-3, 10-11,
12-13ab Lk 6:20-26 Raising his eyes toward his disciples Jesus said:
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is
yours.
Blessed are you who are now hungry,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who are now weeping,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude and insult you,
and denounce your name as evil
on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice
and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.
For their ancestors treated the prophets
in the same way.
But woe to you who are
rich,
for you have received your consolation.
But woe to you who are filled now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will grieve and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this
way."
USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture |
“Woe to you rich, for your consolation is now.” —Luke 6:24
Most of you who read this live in dwellings with running water, indoor plumbing, electricity, and heating. Many of you have smartphones, automobiles, refrigerators, and TVs. Some of you have dishwashers, computers, and air conditioning. A few of you have second homes, boats, and millions of dollars.
Jesus says: “Woe to you rich” (Lk
6:24). It’s so easy to shrug off His words and think, “He can’t be talking about me. I don’t have a dishwasher, and I don’t have a summer home.” Forget those comparisons. If we must compare, let’s compare ourselves to those Jesus addressed. Every one of those people walked a long distance to the “level stretch” by the mountain (Lk 6:17). No one had coolers full of ice and drinks. They had no bathrooms or vending machines. Nearly all of them slept on mats on the floor of what we would consider
huts. Even the rich in the crowd and in that society couldn’t imagine in their wildest dreams the lifestyle most of us live today. Yet Jesus felt it was important for His first-century hearers to be warned of the woes of riches. “I am about to give you some advice on this matter of rich and poor” (2 Cor 8:10). Jesus is the same today as on that day (Heb 13:8). By His standards, we are rich — and in
danger of woe (Lk 6:24). Don’t disregard Jesus’ words. He is Lord and Judge. We must tremble at His word (Is 66:2). We must judge our lives by His words and standards, not by those of our culture. Repent of not using your resources for the kingdom of God. Simplify your lives. Tithe and give alms, and “all will be wiped clean for you” (Lk 11:41). Prayer: Jesus, though rich, You made Yourself poor for my sake (2 Cor 8:9). I give my finances, my lifestyle, my all to You. Promise: “When Christ our Life appears, then you shall appear with Him in glory.” —Col 3:4 Presentation Ministries
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-Readings from Jesus Alive in Our Lives, by Philip St. Romain. Ave Maria Press, 1985. Contemplative Ministries, Inc. 2011. Part Two, Encountering the Risen Christ Chapter 4: Christian
Community - Selected quotes What I’ve been sharing here is at the level of teaching, rather than a personal sharing as was the previous chapter. You can imagine the
experiential implications, however, and I will share some from my own life. One is that I have observed many times a relationship between the exercising of my charisms (spiritual gifts) and my involvement in community. I have also come to greater awareness of my charisms because of community. When I am active in Christian community, it seems as though these charisms are more easily activated than when I’m not. I wonder if you’ve noticed the same in your own
life?
Another observation is the blessing that comes from exercising a charism. As you have probably guessed, one of my charisms is spiritual writing, which is a form of teaching and encouraging, but in a very specific modality. When I am writing letters to family members about what’s going on in my life, it has a very different feel and energy than when I write a piece like this,
which is for the building up of the Body of Christ. It might feel the same when I get started . . . sometimes just staring at my computer screen and wondering what to say. Even if I have an outline for a piece of spiritual writing, it can be slow getting started. But once I make a movement to write, the teaching often seems to come of its own. The words almost seems to be “given” to me intuitively—like they just come into my mind without me thinking
them. I do not say that what I write should therefore be received uncritically, only that the experience of working with the grace of a charism is different from sharing words out of my own inner resources. When writing or teaching out of a charism, I hardly feel depleted. In fact, I often feel more energy, and a closeness to God that wasn’t there before.
Discovering our charisms
helps us to come to understand something of our role in Christian community; implied in the Spirit’s giving a charism is something of a call to use it for the good of the Body. The point I’m making here is that this dimension of Christian identity and mission just isn’t realized very deeply when we hold ourselves apart from the Body of believers. The preacher might be boring, the community might be kind of dead—all the more reason the Spirit nudges us to exercise our charisms.
This Spirit wants the Body of Christ to be fully alive, as Jesus himself was on earth and is even now in his glorified Body. And the Spirit wants to use you and me to invigorate the Body. Now that’s what I call a plan of action! Paperback and eBook versions
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