Christianity is a strange mix of love and challenge. It
seems to me that Christ was open to everyone. He welcomed sinners
of all kinds. Jesus had dinner with Matthew and Zacchaeus, the tax
collectors. He forgave the sins of the sinful woman who washed his
feet at the dinner party. He welcomed children. He touched
lepers, the sick, and the dead. He preached to anyone who would listen.
Even the Twelve Apostles were a collection of people who didn’t count for
much in the eyes of the world.
I don’t find anywhere in the ministry of Jesus that he excluded
anyone. He offered God’s love, mercy, and hope for Jew and Gentile
alike. He even asked the Father to forgive the Roman and Jewish leaders
who crucified Him.
To those who responded to Jesus’ invitation, He invited them
to a deeper love relationship with God. He called them to renounce
anything that got in the way of that relationship, even to spouse, brother,
sister, mother or father. He said it was easier for a camel to pass
through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus said that one must take up their cross and follow Him. The young
man who wanted perfection was told to sell all his possessions. Jesus
told Peter that forgiveness is not seven times, but seventy times seven
times. Jesus said that divorce is wrong and not what God intended.
He said that lust is the same as adultery and anger the same as murder.
The challenge of Christianity has always been how can one live
up to all those precepts. We like the notion that our sins are forgiven
and that we do not have to fear death. We like to know that if we
take Christ’s yoke upon our shoulders the burden will be light. When
we hear of the joy and peace that Christianity has to offer we are immediately
filled with hope.
Yet, there still is the rather strict view Jesus had of God’s
will and the reality of most of our lives. We don’t live a simple
life. We don’t forgive everyone. Many of us have been unfortunate
in marriage. We all realize how far we are from the vision Jesus
set before us. What to do? We are expected to call and welcome
everyone to Christ. We must bring forth Christ’s message of hope
to the entire world. Then, Christ and the Gospel message will challenge
everyone to grow further in their relationship.
We should lovingly help people to see the error of their ways, but
it is not the role of any Christian to determine that
someone is going to hell because of their sins. That is up to God.
Let God do the ultimate judgment. We ought not to
be afraid to proclaim the power of God to transform lives and to challenge
fellow Christians to serve God and neighbor
more fully. Yet, beyond that there is little else to be done.
I don’t know about you, but when I get before the Throne of
God I will appeal to God’s mercy, not His justice.
Peace,
Fr. Chris
Archbishop Justin Rigali of St. Louis recently explained reconciliation
as “a new way of living in human society. Mercy
and repentance both are essential to reconciliation. Repentance is
a condition for God to enter and transform hearts
from within.” And “mercy is, in fact, love in the face of human weakness…
Mercy is the act that reconciles. Mercy
doesn’t mean lowering one’s moral standards or expectations for integrity
on the part of others. However, all those who
have received mercy… must show mercy, being willing to be reconciled
to others.” (Catholic Trends, March 6, 1999) Would your explanation of
reconciliation be similar?
Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbor, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ… the Glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden. - C.S. Lewis
In Celebration of the “Great Jubilee”……...A New Ministry As the Third
Millennium nears, we rejoice with Pope John Paul II that our Church has
endured for 2000 years, and we thank God for the many blessings Christianity
has brought to the entire
world. Not least among these blessings is Vatican council and the forthcoming
“fresh air” that poured into the church as the
doors were opened. Among the renewal movements that sprung up, the
Charismatic Renewal is the most widespread
and lasting. We could not celebrate the year 2000 without thanking
God for saintly Pope John XXIII, who prayed,
“Renew your wonders in our day as by a new Pentecost.” In light of
this, a group of parishioners felt called to start a
charismatic prayer group in order, as a body, to give praise
and thanksgiving to God for having reached this
remarkable milestone, and to pray for even ore blessings on our parish
and community. We meet every Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the Weekday Chapel.
We invite you to join us to give God the glory and honor he deserves. We
welcome you in the name of Jesus! - St. Clare Prayer Group
PRO-LIFE SEMINAR
On Saturday, Sep. 25 (9 am – 5:30 pm) Holy Family Council 9236 will
host a PRO-LIFE SEMINAR at St. Nicholas
Catholic Church in Orlando. Guest speaker will be the Rev. Richard
Hogan from Priests for Life. Fr. Hogan is the
associate director of priests for life. To fully exercise God’s gifts
to the specific problems of abortion and euthanasia does not so much require
more structure as it does more spirit, more awareness, more courage, and
more determination to use both the means and the opportunities we already
have. That is what Priests for life is all about. From the heart
of the church, it is a
movement of priests to help the rest of the church use her full strength
against the most devastating attacks on human
life in our day. The cost for the seminar is $10.00 per
person including lunch. A registration form is on the kiosk. Contact
Eugene Hawk 407-656-8617. There will be limited seating so, register by
September 6.
September’s Film Feature will be: GANDI
Gandi was not a ruler of nations, nor did he have scientific
gifts. Yet, this small modest man did what others before him could not.
He led an entire country to freedom, and gave his people hope. Join
us the evening of September 26 at 6 P.M. to watch this academy award winning
movie. And, mark your calendars now to join us for these other fine films:
October 31 Heroes of Faith
November 14 Blessed are the Gentle
December 5 Becket
DIOCESAN SPONSORED MORNING OF REFLECTION FOR
EXTRA-ORDINARY MINISTERS OF THE EUCHARIST:
September 25 St. Mary Magdalen, Altamonte Springs 9:00A.M. –
12 Noon ( $3/person) Register with the parish office.
F.R.E.E.
Sunday, September 12, (24th Sunday in Ordinary Time) 2:00 P.M. Subject:
The Millennium:What has Pope John Paul II said about this.
For young adults (age 18 and older) a Weekend of Spiritual Growth. Come
to the Emmaus Retreat, Sept 24-26 at
San Pedro Spiritual Retreat Center in Winter Park. It is a Catholic
Sponsored retreat and all Christian faiths are
welcome. Call Jim King (407)260-6481. Space is limited to 30 people,
so register as soon as possible.
Embryo Research
An ethics panel appointed by President Clinton has decided to recommend
that our federal government start financing research on our tiniest children,
human embryos, stating that the "moral cost of destroying embryos in research
is outweighed by the social good that could come from the work." (Quote
from AJC, Sunday, May 23. What does God say about this ? is an embryo important?
Sacred scripture reminds us in Jeremiah 1:5: "Before I formed you in the
womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you."
"Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative
action of God and it remains forever in a special relationship with the
Creator. who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning
until its end: no one can UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES (emphasis added) claim
for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being."
It's not too late. This still must be debated in Congress. Write and
call your congressmen. How can we ask God's blessing on our country if
we do not seek to live God's way?
Congressman John Mica
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Senator (1)Connie Mack (2)Senator Bob Graham
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
If you can’t do anything that would help someone in need Please
don’t do anything that would hurt them !
Cristiandad es una extraña mescla de amor
y reto. Me parece a mi que Cristo estaba abierto a todos. El
acogia a toda clase de pecadores. Jesus cenó con Mateo
y Zaqueo, los colectores de impuestos. El perdonó los pecados de
la mujer pecadora que le lavó los pies. El acogia a los niños.
El tocó leprosos, enfermos, y a los muertos. El predicó
a cualqiera que escuchara. Aun los doce apostoles eran un grupo de
personas quienes no contaban para mucho ante los ojos del mundo.
Yo no he encontrado en el ministerio de Jesus que
excluyera a alguien. El ofrecia el amor, la misericordia, y la esperanza
de
Dios a los Judios y gentiles por igual. El hasta le pidió
al Padre que perdonara a los lideres Romanos y Judios que lo crucificaron.
A aquellos que respondieron a la invitación
de Jesus, El les invitaba a una relación de amor mas profunda con
Dios. El los
llamaba a que renunciaran a todo aquello que les estorbara en esa relación,
aun esposos, hermanos, hermanas, madre o padre.
El decia que era mas facil que un camello pasara por el ojo de una
aguja a que un rico entrera en el Reino del Cielo. Jesus dijo
que uno tenia que tomar su cruz y seguirlo a El. El joven que
queria perfección se le dijo que vendiera todo sus posesiones.
Jesus le dijo a Pedro que perdonar no era siete veces sino setenta
veces siete. Jesus dijo que el divorcio era malo y no lo que
Dios deseaba. El dijo que lujuria era igual que adulterio y ira
igual que crimen.
El reto de Cristiandad siempre ha sido de como nosotros
cumplimos con esos preceptos. A nosotros nos gusta la idea de que
nuestros pecados nos sean perdonados y de que no tenemos que temer la muerte.
Nos gusta saber que si tomamos el yugo de Cristo sobre nuestros hombros
nuestra carga será mas liviana. Cuando escuchamos sobre al alegria
y la paz que la Cristiandad ofrece inmediatamente nos llenamos de esperanza.
Sin embargo, todavia está la vision
estricta de Jesus sobre la voluntad de Dios y la realidad de nuestras vidas.
Nosotros no
vivimos una vida sencilla. Nosotros no perdonamos a todos.
Muchos de nosotros hemos sido desafortunados en el matrimonio. Nosotros
nos damos cuenta cuan lejos estamos de la visión que Jesus nos presenta.
¿Que hacer?
De nosotros se espera que llamemos y acojamos a
todos hacia Cristo. Tenemos que llevar el mensage de esperanza de Cristo
al mundo entero. Entonces, Cristo y el mensage del Evangelio retará
a todos a crecer mas en sus relaciones. Debemos de amorosamente ayudar
a las personas a ver sus errores, pero no es el papel de ningun Cristiano
determinar si alguien va para el infierno por sus pecados. Eso le
toca a Dios. Deja que Dios haga el ultimo juicio. Nosotros
no debemos de tener miedo de proclamar el poder de Dios para transformar
vidas y retar nuestros compañeros Cristianos a servir a Dios y al
prójimo mucho mas. Sin embargo, mas alla de eso hay muy poco
que se pueda hacer. No se de ustedes, pero cuando yo llegue alli
ante el Trono de Dios yo apelaré a la misericordia de Dios, no Su
justicia.
Paz,
Padre Chris