One Bread One Body

THE WORD: Kneel Down and Decide for Christ

September 5, 2010

Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time





Luke 14: 25-33

Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them, "If any one comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, 'This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.' Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple."




Introductory Prayer

Lord Jesus, I come to you once again in prayer. Even though I cannot see you, my faith tells me that you are present. You are ready to listen and desire to speak with me. Your presence gives me hope, because you are the all-powerful God, the creator of heaven and earth. You are the source of all that is good in my life. Nothing happens to me without your knowing and permitting it. My hope leads me to love. I want to be one with you in mind and heart, identifying myself with your will and your standards.



Petition

Lord, help me to pick up my cross and follow you.

1. The Crowd and the Disciples
“Great crowds” followed Jesus. His popularity increased. The time was ripe to win over the crowds with some promise of well-being. However, Jesus does not act like a politician. It’s not about winning votes, but about winning souls with a message of salvation. It’s not about empty promises, but about promises of eternal fulfillment for those who follow him. He calls me to be one of his few faithful disciples, who esteem all things as rubbish to attain Christ.

2. Hate and Love
St. John tells me that “God is love.” Jesus himself tells me that the greatest commandments are to love God above all else and to love my neighbor as myself. Why then does he ask me to “hate” so many lovable people and things? Perhaps the better expression is to “renounce.” Jesus asks me to love only one thing — rather, one person — absolutely. Only God should be the absolute center of my life. All other loves come after and are at the service of this supreme love. Is there something or someone that competes with God for first place in my life?

3. Opt for the Cross 
If Jesus’ message is not softened, it is a difficult message. Carrying one’s own cross, shouldering the instrument of torture and death is the equivalent of cooperating in one’s own death. That’s what Christ asks me to “sit down and decide” if I am willing to do. It is the condition for becoming his disciple and for making it to the end of my life as a faithful friend and follower of my Lord.



Conversation with Christ

Lord Jesus Christ, you lead me by example. I thank and praise you, because you go before me and show me the way. You also give me strength to carry my cross every day. So, as I kneel down and consider what you ask of your followers, I decide to undertake this arduous task out of love for you.



Resolution

Looking ahead to what this day holds for me, I can identify my cross. I will resolve to carry it, asking God’s help in prayer and striving to bear it with spiritual joy.



Challenge

Ask God’s help to bear your cross with spiritual joy.





Father Patrick Butler, LC
Catholic.net


♥ ♥ ♥

Bkg. Courtesy of :
Christian Backgrounds

Here I Am Lord

THE WORD: Luke 6: 1-5

Luke 6: 1-5 While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath, his disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. Some Pharisees said, "Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?" Jesus said to them in reply, "Have you not read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry? How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering, which only the priests could lawfully eat, ate of it, and shared it with his companions." Then he said to them, "The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath." Introductory Prayer Lord, I worship you because I came from you. I long for you because you made me for yourself. I praise you as my ever-present helper. I call on you as my powerful protector. (Universal Prayer of Pope Clement XI) Petition Lord, purify my heart. 1. The Pharisees’ Heart Sometimes a short phrase reveals so much about what is happening inside a person’s mind and heart. One can get a glimpse into Hitler’s corrupt heart with his famous phrase: “I do not see why man should not be just as cruel as nature.” His actions were of the cruelest. Thirty years ago, when John Paul II was elected pope, the simple phrase, “Be not afraid”, indicated the attitude he would have for the following 26 fearless years of his papacy. In this passage the Pharisees say so much about the state of their own hearts by saying so little: “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” The Pharisees are all caught up in the externals of the law and miss the big picture that Christ came to bring: complete love for God and heroic love of neighbor. As Christians we are not called to have a heart that calculates the cost, but rather one filled with unconditional love. 2. A King’s Heart Another character in this passage is King David, whom Christ hails for having chosen to feed his starving army over scrupulously following some norms of the law regarding eating. From the story of David and Goliath, we learn that David had a brave heart from his youth and that he trusted in God over his own limitations. Young David’s heart was honest and humble: King Saul was trying to kill him, yet when David had the chance to kill Saul in a cave, he relented and later made amends with Saul. David’s heart was weak when he fell in love with Uriah’s wife and then had Uriah killed. Nevertheless David’s heart did not grow cold from this sin; rather, he repented deeply: “Have mercy on me, God in your goodness blot out my offenses, wash away all my guilt, from my sin cleanse me” (Psalm 51). With time and patience David formed a remarkable heart that loved God and neighbor. 3. The Sacred Heart What love the Heart of Christ shows his apostles in this passage. Imagine the scene: Christ walking through a ripe field of grain with his closest friends, laughing, joking, talking about the town they just visited, speaking of their dreams, and also snacking on the ripe harvest. Christ’s heart was so immersed with love for these men who would be the pillars of the Church and who would bring his message to the whole world. How far his thoughts were from the littleness and pettiness of the empty details of the worn out laws! His law is the new law of love: “Behold the heart that has so loved men.” Christ looks at us the same way he looked at his apostles in the field – as friends who are called to be the pillars of the new evangelization, as apostles who are to bring his words to the end of the earth. He needs us to say “yes” to this call! Conversation with Christ Lord Jesus, thank you for the unconditional love of your heart. I want to repay your love for me by loving you back with the same intensity. I know I always fall short of this, but you know my heart, and you know I want to be close to you until the day I meet you face-to-face in eternity. Resolution With a repentant heart, I will go to confession today. Matthew Reinhardt Consecrated Member of Regnum Christi

 

Herzlichen Glückwunsch .. liebe Christa

2. September 2010
Liebe Christa ..
Zu deinem Geburtstag gratuliere ich dir von Herzenund wünsche dir ein glückliches und lichtvolles neuesLebensjahr mit Gottes reichem Segen, besonders für gute Gesundheit!
Alles Liebe und  frohe Geburtstagsgrüsse
Liliane