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From the very first, the conviction that Jesus had been raised from death has been that by which [the Christians’] very existence has stood or fallen. There was no other motive to account for them, to explain them... At no point within the New Testament is there any evidence that the Christians stood for an original philosophy of life or an original ethic. Their sole function is to bear
witness to what they claim as an event—the raising of Jesus from among the dead... The one really distinctive thing for which the Christians stood was their declaration that Jesus had been raised from the dead according to God’s design, and the consequent estimate of him as in a unique sense Son of God and representative man, and the resulting conception of the way to reconciliation.
... C. F. D. Moule (b.1908), The Phenomenon of the New Testament
[1967] (Christ risen from the dead -- present to us this day.) |
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EZ 24:15-23; DEUTERONOMY 32:18-19, 20, 21
MT 19:16-22
A young man approached Jesus and said,
"Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?"
He answered him, "Why do you ask me about the good?
There is only One who is good.
If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."
He asked him, "Which ones?"
And Jesus replied, "You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
honor your father and your mother;
and you shall love your
neighbor as yourself."
The young man said to him,
"All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?"
Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go,
sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me."
When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad,
for he had many possessions.
USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture |
That evening my wife died, and the next morning I did as I
had been commanded. —Ezekiel 24:18
The Jewish people mourned the death of those they loved by crying and groaning, by taking off their turbans and sandals, by covering their beards, and by eating a special kind of bread (Ez 24:16-17). The Lord told Ezekiel not to do these customary things when his wife died. God told Ezekiel not to react normally for the purpose of showing His people
that they did not react normally to the desecration of their sanctuary and the destruction of their children (Ez 24:21).
Prayer: Father, restore me to normality.
Promise: "Go, sell your possessions, and give to the poor. You will then have treasure in heaven. Afterward, come back and follow Me." —Mt
19:21
Presentation Ministries
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Abandonment to Divine Providence - by Jean-Pierre de Caussade Section
VI: On the use of mental faculties
The exercise of mental and other faculties is only useful when instrumental of the divine action. ___________
Whether it be meditation,
contemplation, vocal prayer, interior silence, or the active use of any of the faculties, either sensible and distinct, or almost imperceptible; quiet retreat, or active employment, whatever it may be in itself, even if very desirable, that which God wills for the present moment is best and all else must be regarded by the soul as being nothing at all. Thus, beholding God in all things it must take or leave them all as He pleases, and neither desire to live, nor to improve, nor to hope, except
as He ordains, and never by the help of things which have neither power nor virtue except from Him. It ought, at every moment and on all occasions, to say with St. Paul, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts ix, 6) without choosing this thing or that, but “whatsoever You will. The mind prefers one thing, the body another, but, Lord, I desire nothing but to accomplish Your holy will. Work, contemplation or prayer whether vocal or mental, active or passive; the prayer of faith or of
understanding; that which is distinguished in kind, or gifted with universal grace: it is all nothing Lord unless made real and useful by Your will. It is to Your holy will that I devote myself and not to any of these things, however high and sublime they may be, because it is the perfection of the heart for which grace is given, and not for that of the mind.”
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