Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"
Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
John 6:28-29
Sounds simple and easy enough, especially for Christians, doesn’t it?
Speaking for myself, there are days when the obstacles I have to surmount, and the formidable opposition I have to face, make me wonder whether my prayers will ever be answered.
I imagine I’m not the only one to have these very human moments of doubt and questioning.
My travails in trying to maintain a semblance of a relationship with my sons after their mother took them to Argentina on a short-term trip that turned permanent four years ago has often and painfully put my faith to the test.
In supporting me, my mother has frequently told me that God does not give us more than we can handle. Many times I have reacted to that statement by thinking that God must think I’m stronger than I am because there have been times when I just could not believe the unfairness of this situation.
I also wondered where it makes this statement in the Bible and I’ve come to 1 Corinthian 10:13 which states:
“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
Sometimes, the challenges life throws at us are simply too much to bare.
What I have been learning in these past four years is that doing God’s work at times when it would be easy to despair is to turn to Jesus Christ for help in overcoming what appears to be the virtually insurmountable.
In this sense, God probably gives us much more than we can handle throughout our lifetimes in the hope we call on Him to give us His grace to get through it.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Perseverance
“As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. ” James 5:11
I was thinking about Lent and its culmination in Easter this past weekend and what all that means to us in our day-to-day lives.
We are taught that Lent is a time for reflection and taking stock. By observing the forty days of Lent, Christians imitates Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for the forty days when he was tempted by the Devil.
“Because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” James 1:3
So, if I understand correctly, then Lent – and life – is about walking the straight path God intends for us, persevering through thick and thin.
Before I injured my foot and then my knee, I used to run marathons. It’s possible that with enough will power anyone could run a marathon although it might take several hours. But the longer it takes, the more the body feeds on its own muscles for a source of energy to persevere so a lot of runners do what is called interval training. That’s when about midway on a 10 or 12 mile run you sprint for a quarter mile, slow jog for the next quarter mile, and so on for two or three miles. It builds speed into your endurance.
The goal remains at the same distance but by putting yourself through these paces you get there faster.
It also seems to be an apt analogy for situating Lent in the broader context of our lives.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1
I was thinking about Lent and its culmination in Easter this past weekend and what all that means to us in our day-to-day lives.
We are taught that Lent is a time for reflection and taking stock. By observing the forty days of Lent, Christians imitates Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for the forty days when he was tempted by the Devil.
“Because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” James 1:3
So, if I understand correctly, then Lent – and life – is about walking the straight path God intends for us, persevering through thick and thin.
Before I injured my foot and then my knee, I used to run marathons. It’s possible that with enough will power anyone could run a marathon although it might take several hours. But the longer it takes, the more the body feeds on its own muscles for a source of energy to persevere so a lot of runners do what is called interval training. That’s when about midway on a 10 or 12 mile run you sprint for a quarter mile, slow jog for the next quarter mile, and so on for two or three miles. It builds speed into your endurance.
The goal remains at the same distance but by putting yourself through these paces you get there faster.
It also seems to be an apt analogy for situating Lent in the broader context of our lives.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The Archbishop is now a blogger!
If you like following blogs from around the Ottawa diocese, The Journey of a Bishop is one you won't want to miss!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Holy Week
"My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me. Yet, not as I will, but as you will." Matthew 26:39
“This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.” Acts 2:23
"For He made Him who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:12
Remember a few years ago the outcry caused by Mel Gibson’s film about Jesus Christ’s Passion? Some commentators branded the graphic violence as over the top. Well, I recall wincing at a number of the scenes depicting the Passion, but I also feel the film made me appreciate that much more the extreme degree to which God loves us and yearns for us to be reconciled to Him. That’s the whole point of Lent and its culmination in Easter: Christ as a sin offering so we have the hope of being reconciled and an eternal life in relationship with the Father.
So, probably like a number of people, for a long time I used to (incorrectly) interpret Matthew 26:39 as Jesus pleading to be spared that horrible physical torture and death. But Acts 2:23 and 2 Corinthians 5:12 make it crystal clear that this horrible physical torture and death that Jesus suffered to reconcile us to God was destined to be precisely so we would have hope of an eternal relationship with God. The plea in Matthew 26:39 then would be the acknowledgement that, by becoming a sin offering for all of humanity, Jesus would be estranged from the Father (the definition of the experience of Hell) until His resurrection.
Easter is a reminder of how much we have to be grateful for.
“This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.” Acts 2:23
"For He made Him who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:12
Remember a few years ago the outcry caused by Mel Gibson’s film about Jesus Christ’s Passion? Some commentators branded the graphic violence as over the top. Well, I recall wincing at a number of the scenes depicting the Passion, but I also feel the film made me appreciate that much more the extreme degree to which God loves us and yearns for us to be reconciled to Him. That’s the whole point of Lent and its culmination in Easter: Christ as a sin offering so we have the hope of being reconciled and an eternal life in relationship with the Father.
So, probably like a number of people, for a long time I used to (incorrectly) interpret Matthew 26:39 as Jesus pleading to be spared that horrible physical torture and death. But Acts 2:23 and 2 Corinthians 5:12 make it crystal clear that this horrible physical torture and death that Jesus suffered to reconcile us to God was destined to be precisely so we would have hope of an eternal relationship with God. The plea in Matthew 26:39 then would be the acknowledgement that, by becoming a sin offering for all of humanity, Jesus would be estranged from the Father (the definition of the experience of Hell) until His resurrection.
Easter is a reminder of how much we have to be grateful for.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Correction
A couple of weeks ago we posted the schedule for Holy Week. Unfortunately, we posted the wrong PDF file, using last year's schedule!
The website has been updated with the correct schedule for this year, which you can read here.
The website has been updated with the correct schedule for this year, which you can read here.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Final days before Holy Week
As we draw nearer to Holy Week I thought I would bring this blog commentary full circle to a point I made in the first week of Lent.
In that posting I looked at how fasting and self-discipline, in one form or another, is probably less difficult to keep if it’s framed in the positive, rather than the negative.
Specifically, how deciding to cut junk food, or exercise more, or try harder to see things from an adversary’s perspective, actually helps to draw us nearer in our relationship with God.
I saw something on another Catholic parish’s website, just below an interesting discussion on fasting (more on this in a moment), that listed activities we can add that help us live more fulfilling lives. I’d like to share that list here:
* pray for 20 minutes each day with daily scriptures (www.usccb.org)
* begin or re-start the practice of the daily Examen of conscience
* slow down, eat mind-fully, walk with awareness, talk intentionally
* practice attentiveness and kindness with someone who tries your patience
* listen deeply to those you love
* pray for the grace to be able to forgive
* commit to visiting someone who is sick or imprisoned
* in an argument, allow the other person to have the last word
* arrive at Mass 15 minutes early
On the topic of fasting, or self-denial, at the top of their list came fasting from television and electronics – not surprising given the Pope’s call to cut back on text messaging at the start of this year’s Lent.
That was a newspaper headline that made me wonder what the Pope was going on about but looking around in the past few weeks, it is remarkable how many people using SMS or wireless communications don’t look at you and don’t follow the course of the conversation you’re trying to engage them in.
The reason that parish gave for curbing TV and the use of electronics? To spend more time with our loved ones – including God.
In that posting I looked at how fasting and self-discipline, in one form or another, is probably less difficult to keep if it’s framed in the positive, rather than the negative.
Specifically, how deciding to cut junk food, or exercise more, or try harder to see things from an adversary’s perspective, actually helps to draw us nearer in our relationship with God.
I saw something on another Catholic parish’s website, just below an interesting discussion on fasting (more on this in a moment), that listed activities we can add that help us live more fulfilling lives. I’d like to share that list here:
* pray for 20 minutes each day with daily scriptures (www.usccb.org)
* begin or re-start the practice of the daily Examen of conscience
* slow down, eat mind-fully, walk with awareness, talk intentionally
* practice attentiveness and kindness with someone who tries your patience
* listen deeply to those you love
* pray for the grace to be able to forgive
* commit to visiting someone who is sick or imprisoned
* in an argument, allow the other person to have the last word
* arrive at Mass 15 minutes early
On the topic of fasting, or self-denial, at the top of their list came fasting from television and electronics – not surprising given the Pope’s call to cut back on text messaging at the start of this year’s Lent.
That was a newspaper headline that made me wonder what the Pope was going on about but looking around in the past few weeks, it is remarkable how many people using SMS or wireless communications don’t look at you and don’t follow the course of the conversation you’re trying to engage them in.
The reason that parish gave for curbing TV and the use of electronics? To spend more time with our loved ones – including God.
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