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God always gives us strength enough, and sense enough, for every thing that He wants us to do.
- John Ruskin (1819-1900)
(What do you need from God at this time?)
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Lenten Webinar Series Four Conversions and Spiritual
Freedom by Carla Mae Streeter, OP March 6, 13, 20, 27, 2018 Free-will donation for registration and information.
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1 KGS 8:1-7, 9-13; PS 132:6-7, 8-10
MK 6:53-56
After making the crossing to the other side of the sea,
Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret
and tied up there.
As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him.
They scurried about the surrounding country
and began to bring in the sick on mats
to wherever they heard he
was.
Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered,
they laid the sick in the marketplaces
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;
and as many as touched it were healed.
USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture |
"Go and wash seven times." —2 Kings
5:10
Elisha told Naaman to wash seven times to be healed. Likewise, the Church has seven sacraments she offers for us to be healed. Naaman considered the waters of the Jordan River to be ordinary (2 Kgs 5:12). Some Catholics likewise may consider the sacraments ordinary. Yet the sacraments are based on the miraculous. Yes, the sacraments use ordinary materials — bread, water, oil, wine,
laying on of hands, human words, and so on. The sacraments involve ritual and can seem somewhat impersonal at first sight (cp 2 Kgs 5:11). Yet the sacraments are deeply personal; it is just that in our pride we may think we are special and deserve extraordinary, "personalized" treatment, as Naaman thought.
We have to receive the Sacraments — to immerse ourselves in them, not just take part in
them by rote. The sacraments work whether we go through the motions or surrender ourselves to them. Those who receive them in humility and gratitude are likely to remain in them. "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord" (see 1 Pt 5:6) and live a sacramental life in Jesus and His Church.
Prayer: Father, I will live to do Your will in Your way, not my will in my way.
Promise: "So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean." —2 Kgs 5:14
Presentation Ministries
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What is Christian Love? - Reprinted from Freedom from Codependency, by Philip St. Romain - The Nature of Christian Love -
While we may be unable to define love or pin it down, this does not mean that we are ignorant of its ways. Jesus of Nazareth shows us, in human form, how love thinks and acts. He reveals the inner nature of God. By reading in Scripture about his life, we come to a better understanding of the meaning of love. The best way to learn to love is to follow the example of Christ.
In reflecting on the life of Christ, we learn several important lessons about love. The first is that God’s love is unconditional; there is nothing we can do to earn God’s love. The terms for our relationship with God are not like those in dysfunctional families. We do not have to do good works and act perfectly to earn God’s approval. God loves us exactly as
we are because God is love. God can do nothing but love because that is who God is. The realization that God already loves us regardless of what we do is the key to entering eternal life. There is nowhere to go and nothing to do to earn this love.
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