Tag: message

• Mark 1:3: The Voice

  
  

  Mark 1:3: The Voice

  

  Wednesday, August 24, 2022

  The voice of one crying out in the wilderness is often drowned out by the din of the world that clamors for its own comfort and pleasure. Prophets and martyrs are derided and put aside, punished and even murdered because of their fidelity to the voice that speaks to them in the inmost heart. Those who hear and respond to that voice in the wilderness are more often ridiculed than praised and more often silenced than thanked. This is the struggle we experience daily. How do we sort out the inner messages that tug at us?

  Those who refuse to kowtow, who insist on speaking truth, and who ask tough questions also expect justice and mercy to overcome deception and evil. John the Baptist was one of these clear-throated voices that pierced through the cacophony of the moment to burn so brightly that we remember him still today. Most of us do not expect to live in such a momentous way, but our more quiet lives are no less important.

  

  Matthew 4:8-10 is part of the Morning Prayer in MAGNIFICAT today and it tells the story of the conversation between Satan and Jesus at the moment when Christ begins his ministry.  In the meditation today entitled The Heart of True Wisdom, Dom Augustin Guillerand, O. Cart. (a spiritual writer of the last century) tells us that when we hear the voice of darkness whispering in our ear, we will know how to react according to the measure of our love for God. What is difficult here is to know whether the voice we hear speaks from good or from evil. This is our constant struggle; yet we will know that the source is goodness when we hear it calling us to right wrongs against those among us who are the weakest. We will know that the source is darkness when it encourages us to seek self-pleasure and comfort at the expense of the marginalized and forgotten.

  In the end, we act according to our understanding of the voice we hear and tend to best; even our most quiet activities are a demonstration of what we believe and what god or gods we worship. So this is perhaps what we must say to ourselves – just as Jesus does: The Lord my God I shall worship.  Him alone will I serve. 

  Tomorrow, Jesus and his family. 

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  Cameron, Peter John. “Meditation of the Day.” MAGNIFICAT. 16.9 (2009). Print.  

  A Favorite from September 16, 2009.

  Images from: http://sarahellenbrown.com/tag/john-the-baptist/ and http://www.catholicmannight.com/learn-about-jesus/blog/page/13/ and https://renewingthoughts.wordpress.com/2011/08/02/on-hearing-the-voice-of-god/

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  August 24, 2022

  Dom Augustin Guillerand, God’s goodness, John the Baptist, Matthew 4:8-10, message, Satan, wisdom

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• Hebrews 13:2: Unknowingly

  
  

  Thursday, August 13, 2020

  Hebrews 13:2

  Unknowingly

  Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels. 

  We love these stories of God’s messengers, these special beings who come to us to share important information . . . if we only have ears to listen.  If only we pause. If only we look.

  God says: So often my messengers return to me and say, “There was so much going on in his head that he just could not hear my voice”. And I reply, “Go again. He will hear you when he is ready. He still has nimble explanations for his circumstances. We cannot give up on him.  We must persist”. Sometimes my angels return to tell me, “She is too disbelieving. I stood before her and she walked right past me.  I spoke, but she did not give me the least bit of time”.  Again I reply, “Go again. She will hear you one of these days.  She has not yet come to the end of her hope. We cannot give up on her.  We must persist”. These reports are painful for us but still we persevere.  More often my angels tell me, “She was so grateful for your word!  She hung on every nuance and asked good questions”. Or they return to say, “He was desperate for your word. I had to repeat the information several times until he began to understand”. These are the reports that are easiest to hear and that bring us most joy. Yet, we endure with those in difficult circumstance because every lamb is important to me. No matter how lost. No matter how closed in. No matter how unbelieving. 

  We are so pressed for time, so un-used to believing, so immune to good acts and decent works that we unknowingly reject or pass by the very help that we seek. It is never too late to believe. It is never too late to apologize. It is never too late to change. God holds all the words we ever need. And God often sends these words to us on the swift wings of angels. Let us not miss them.

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  Enter the word angel in the blog search bar and explore other reflections.

  Use a Bible Concordance to examine the number of times in Scripture that angels deliver messages in the stories we so often hear.  Note how often these angels are received, and how often they bring help, healing and hope.

  Image from: http://www.gildedquillonline.com/products-1-37.html and http://www.forwardchristian.net/christianity-101/angels.html

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  August 13, 2020

  angels, healing, help, hope, hospitality, message, messenger

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