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The kingdom of God is simply God's power enthroned in our hearts. Faith in the kingdom of God is what makes us light of heart and what Christian joy is all about.
- John Main
(God's loving power in your heart . . . feel it and act on it this day.)
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EPH 4:1-7, 11-13; PS 19:2-3, 4-5
MT 9:9-13
As Jesus passed by,
he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, "Follow me."
And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners came
and sat with Jesus and his disciples.
The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples,
"Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
He heard this and said,
"Those who are well do not
need a physician, but the sick do.
Go and learn the meaning of the words,
I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."
USCCB Lectionary
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Praying the Daily Gospels: A Guide to Meditation, by Philip St. Romain,
2018 (3rd ed.) ____________
When the Pharisees challenged Jesus' unorthodox behavior in eating with public sinners, Jesus' defense was quite simple. A doctor doesn't need to visit healthy people; instead he goes to those who are sick. Jesus likewise sought out those in the greatest need. A true physician seeks healing of the whole person - body, mind, and spirit. Jesus came as the divine physician and good shepherd to care for his people and to restore
them to wholeness of life. The orthodox were so preoccupied with their own practice of religion that they neglected to help the very people who needed spiritual care. Their religion was selfish because they didn't want to have anything to do with people not like themselves. Jesus stated his mission in unequivocal terms: I came not to call the righteous, but to call sinners. Ironically the orthodox were as needy as those they despised. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
(Romans 3:23).
On more than one occasion Jesus quoted the saying from the prophet Hosea: For I desire mercy and not sacrifice (Hosea 6:6). Do you thank the Lord Jesus for
the great mercy he has shown to you? And do you show mercy to your neighbor as well?
"Lord Jesus, our Savior, let us now come to you: Our hearts are cold; Lord, warm
them with your selfless love. Our hearts are sinful; cleanse them with your precious blood. Our hearts are weak; strengthen them with your joyous Spirit. Our hearts are empty; fill them with your divine presence. Lord Jesus, our hearts are yours; possess them always and only for yourself.” (Prayer of Augustine, 354-430)
(from dailyscripture.net today, Feast of St.
Matthew)
Paperback, Kindle and eBook
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God and I: Exploring the Connections between God, Self and Ego, by Philip St. Romain, 2016 (2nd
ed.) ____________ Chapter 8: Mystical Union: Self and God
The Intuition of Being
There is another way in which the Ego can be led to absorption in the Self-God ground of consciousness, but it is far less relational than the contemplative
journey described above. It is called the intuition of being, and it is a more metaphysical, or philosophical approach, in which one comes to the intuitive realization that one’s own existence, and also that of other things, is a participation in pure Existence Itself. Catholic philosopher Jacques Maritain described two dispositions for coming to this intuition.
The first is a sensitivity to the actual existing world around us. This means an immersion in the concrete world of things by means of our senses, for through them we have a “blind existential perception” of the mystery of existence. . . The second necessary disposition for attaining this intuition is to be still enough to listen to the mystery of being that is whispered
by all things. This intuition demands, not intricate intellectual technique, but rather an “active attentive silence” and a “degree of intellectual purification” by “which we become sufficiently disengaged, sufficiently empty to hear what all things whisper and to listen instead of composing answers.”
(quoted from God, Zen, and the Intuition of Being, by James Arraj)
Hardback, paperback, eBook and free preview versions.
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