Thursday, May 25, 2006

On Witnessing

But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven." (Acts 1: 8-11)



To the ends of the earth...

Today, May 25, 2006, the Catholic Church celebrates Ascension Thursday. It is the day (40 after Easter) that we celebrate the above passage when Jesus Christ ascends into Heaven to be seated at the right hand of His Father.

If you notice in the above passage, Jesus' final words to them before He ascends is to "be witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and to the ends of the earth."

What does it mean to be a witness? Well, for the apostles, they lived a life of Christ and preached the Gospel and all of them (save one) had pretty horrific deaths.

Is that what God wants from us?

Yes.

He wants us to be a witness for Him. This means that we must live a life of Christ. We must preach the Gospel (using words if necessary). We must follow His commandments obediently and we must bring others closer to Him.

But even more so, we must sacrifice our lives for God. We must die to self. It's no longer what I want to do. It's what God wants me to do.

It's in that sacrifice that we are with God.

Happy Ascension Day.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Christ in Me

"If we consider the final part of the short spiritual autobiography that Saint Paul gave us in his Letter to the Galatians. Its concluding words contain the heart of this biography: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Gal 2:20). I live, but I am no longer I. The "I", the essential identity of man - of this man, Paul - has been changed. He still exists, and he no longer exists. He has passed through a "not" and he now finds himself continually in this "not": I, but no longer I."

--Pope Benedict XVI during his Easter Homily

I went to a great talk yesterday by a priest friend of mine. He mentioned in his talk that we should read the Pope's homily (sermon) from Easter on line and how profound it was. I read it and was really just blown away. Pope Benedict XVI is one of the true great Christian intellectuals of our time. Reading this one homily on line was better than any blog I've read from any person. I invite all people who read this to click on the Pope's homily and read it. It is quite meaningful to all Christians.

In the above quote, the Pope is talking about Baptism. In Baptism (and throughout our entire lives), we must die to ourselves and be reborn in Christ so that it is not "I" who lives in me but rather Christ who lives in me.

And if Christ lives in me, there can be no room for hatred...no room for jealously...no room for sin.

Only Love.

May all who read this follow Jesus obediently to eternal life in His resurrection.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Making All Things New

Well, it's been a long time since I last posted. As the days grow warmer here in Michigan, there's a lot more activity in my life. My daughter wants to go to the park every day with her Daddy and there's all the outside stuff like mowing the lawn, etc.

Lately, I have been watching EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network) and have actually been fascinated by the programming. On Monday nights, there's a show called the Journey Home which has a former Evangelical as the host. He has different guests on his show who talk about their journey into the Catholic Church.

A couple nights ago, he had a gentleman who mentioned that the Catholic Church makes wonderful use of Typology. He then explains about the parallels between the Old Testament and the New Testament.

I had never heard this word but started researching. In the previous posts, I have mentioned the following parallels:

Jesus and Adam
Mary and Eve
Jesus and Abel

All of the above were different typologies that I had learned (although I didn't know the word). There are many more and I just find the whole thing fascinating as I learn more and more.

That's all tonight...I hope to continue writing soon.

Here are some links regarding Typology:

That Moses Thing

Typology