Saturday, November 14, 2009The Joyful Mysteries
Memorial of St. Joseph Pignatelli
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? (Luke 18:8)
Both the passage from the Book of Wisdom and Psalm 105 show that throughout Israel's history, God had remained faithful to His promise to Abraham, to rescue His people from their every calamity. But first they must acknowledge and repent their having brought suffering upon themselves through disobedience or faithlessness; such behavior shuts God and His graces out of their lives. In their helpless state, many were taken to Egypt to serve as slaves until God felt it was time to restore their freedom. Which He does through Moses, as we’re told in the Book of Exodus.
The gospel sheds light on Christ's insistence that His disciples are to pray always and never grow weary of it, because failure to keep in contact with their source of light and strength will leave them ignorant of God and vulnerable to every evil. When all is going well, many tend to forget prayer, but Christ is telling us that living up to our being created in God's image requires us to come to know Him intimately and learn to apply His love and truth in our daily lives in all our relationships.
The parable in which the widow's persistence gains her a proper and fair decision from an unscrupulous judge should give us the assurance that our All Holy and Loving God will surely see that justice and truth will always be given us in the best possible way and time. Christ's question, then, implies that our human skepticism, impatience and unbelief will separate us from the Son of Man, the very One sent by our Father to save us.
Keeping with the theme of the gospel, it occurs to me while writing this that Christmas is just 40 days away from November 15 (my birthday, by the way!). God used 40-day periods to transform individuals, communities ... and the entire world. From Noah in the flood to Moses on the mountain to the disciples after Christ's resurrection, it is clear that God sees the transformation of His people when they accept and meet 40-day challenges.
40 Days for Life is a community-based campaign that draws attention to the evil of abortion through the use of a three-point program:
•Prayer and fasting
•Constant vigil
•Community outreach
40 Days for Life takes a determined, peaceful approach to showing local communities the consequences of abortion in their own neighborhoods, for their own friends and families. It puts into action a desire to cooperate with God in the carrying out of His plan for the end of abortion in America.
40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life campaign with a vision to access God’s power through prayer, fasting, and peaceful vigil to end abortion in America.
The mission of the campaign is to bring together the body of Christ in a spirit of unity during a focused 40 day campaign of prayer, fasting, and peaceful activism, with the purpose of repentance, to seek God’s favor to turn hearts and minds from a culture of death to a culture of life, thus bringing an end to abortion in America.
Because of my work schedule and other commitments I am not able to stand outside of abortion mills yet, so I will use my blog to encourage others to participate in the “community outreach” portion of this program. But I am going to commit to saying a special rosary and the Divine Mercy chaplet each day (in addition to the rosary I already say daily) and I am going to give up my sodas and sweets for this 40 days leading up to Christmas.
Christmas is the day when we celebrate Christ’s “first coming”. So my opening question remains, “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Both the passage from the Book of Wisdom and Psalm 105 show that throughout Israel's history, God had remained faithful to His promise to Abraham, to rescue His people from their every calamity. But first they must acknowledge and repent their having brought suffering upon themselves through disobedience or faithlessness; such behavior shuts God and His graces out of their lives. In their helpless state, many were taken to Egypt to serve as slaves until God felt it was time to restore their freedom. Which He does through Moses, as we’re told in the Book of Exodus.
The gospel sheds light on Christ's insistence that His disciples are to pray always and never grow weary of it, because failure to keep in contact with their source of light and strength will leave them ignorant of God and vulnerable to every evil. When all is going well, many tend to forget prayer, but Christ is telling us that living up to our being created in God's image requires us to come to know Him intimately and learn to apply His love and truth in our daily lives in all our relationships.
The parable in which the widow's persistence gains her a proper and fair decision from an unscrupulous judge should give us the assurance that our All Holy and Loving God will surely see that justice and truth will always be given us in the best possible way and time. Christ's question, then, implies that our human skepticism, impatience and unbelief will separate us from the Son of Man, the very One sent by our Father to save us.
Keeping with the theme of the gospel, it occurs to me while writing this that Christmas is just 40 days away from November 15 (my birthday, by the way!). God used 40-day periods to transform individuals, communities ... and the entire world. From Noah in the flood to Moses on the mountain to the disciples after Christ's resurrection, it is clear that God sees the transformation of His people when they accept and meet 40-day challenges.
40 Days for Life is a community-based campaign that draws attention to the evil of abortion through the use of a three-point program:
•Prayer and fasting
•Constant vigil
•Community outreach
40 Days for Life takes a determined, peaceful approach to showing local communities the consequences of abortion in their own neighborhoods, for their own friends and families. It puts into action a desire to cooperate with God in the carrying out of His plan for the end of abortion in America.
40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life campaign with a vision to access God’s power through prayer, fasting, and peaceful vigil to end abortion in America.
The mission of the campaign is to bring together the body of Christ in a spirit of unity during a focused 40 day campaign of prayer, fasting, and peaceful activism, with the purpose of repentance, to seek God’s favor to turn hearts and minds from a culture of death to a culture of life, thus bringing an end to abortion in America.
Because of my work schedule and other commitments I am not able to stand outside of abortion mills yet, so I will use my blog to encourage others to participate in the “community outreach” portion of this program. But I am going to commit to saying a special rosary and the Divine Mercy chaplet each day (in addition to the rosary I already say daily) and I am going to give up my sodas and sweets for this 40 days leading up to Christmas.
Christmas is the day when we celebrate Christ’s “first coming”. So my opening question remains, “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
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