God has been very good to me, for I never dwell upon anything wrong which a person has done, so as to remember it afterwards. If I do remember it, I always see some other virtue in that person.
- Teresa of Avila (1515-1582), The Complete Works of St. Teresa of Jesus, V. I
(If that is true for a Saint, then how much moreso for God? Give thanks for the mercy of God!)
|
2 Tim 1:1-8; Psalm 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10
Mk 3:31-35
The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house.
Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
“Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you.”
But he said to them in reply,
“Who are my mother and my brothers?”
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
“Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother.”
Shalom Place Covid-19 resource page
- Practical, inspirational and spiritually formative writings and podcasts
see http://shalomplace.com/covid-19.html and check back often as we're frequently adding more.
Reflection on the Scriptures
In today’s first reading St. Paul models how to show care for a friend as he expresses his affection for his dear and trusted friend Timothy. Paul writes: “As I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day. I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears, so that I may be filled with joy, as I recall your sincere faith.” Paul also tells Timothy: “For God did not give us a
spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.”
These words from Paul challenge me. While it will be fun to reconnect with some old friends and let the friends I see frequently know how much I appreciate them, I wonder how I can take the gifts from God to support these friends in living their faith. Paul’s charge to Timothy inspires me: “ I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God.” Just the other day I was talking with a colleague about daily
challenges of practicing prayerful discernment when making important decisions in our roles at work. There were aspects of that conversation which initially felt risky and then I embraced the flame of the gift of God and allowed myself to be open to whatever God was showing me. Supporting one another in serving the kingdom of God helps put the tasks at work in perspective and helps build a trusting friendship.
Paul also inspires me to ask myself these questions: How am I a trustworthy friend? Do I create the opportunity to do as the Psalm calls to “Announce God’s salvation day after day?” How can I be present to a friend, colleague or family member who views things differently than I do? What can I do to remind those in my life to appreciate the gifts of grace, mercy and peace from God the Father?
When am I open to an abiding friendship in God as Paul and Timothy shared?
- by Jeanne Schuler
The Son of God Became Human
From The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Part One, Section Two, Chapter Two
Article 3: He Was Conceived by the Power of the Holy Spirit, and Born of the Virgin Mary
Paragraph 1: The Son of God Became Man
III. TRUE GOD AND TRUE MAN
464 The unique and altogether singular event of the Incarnation of the Son of God does not mean that Jesus Christ is part God and part man, nor does it imply that he is the result of a confused mixture of the divine and the human. He became truly man while remaining truly God. Jesus Christ is true God and true man.
During the first centuries, the Church had to defend and clarify this truth of faith against the heresies that falsified it.
465 The first heresies denied not so much Christ's divinity as his true humanity (Gnostic Docetism). From apostolic times the Christian faith has insisted on the true incarnation of God's Son "come in the flesh".87 But already in the third century, the Church in a council at Antioch had to affirm against Paul of Samosata that Jesus Christ is Son of God by nature and not by adoption. the first ecumenical council
of Nicaea in 325 confessed in its Creed that the Son of God is "begotten, not made, of the same substance (homoousios) as the Father", and condemned Arius, who had affirmed that the Son of God "came to be from things that were not" and that he was "from another substance" than that of the Father.88
(Footnote references in the Catechism.)
|
|
