Archive for November 18, 2011

November 20th, 2011 – Solemnity of Christ the King

Posted: November 18, 2011 by CatholicJules in Sunday Reflections
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Sunday Bible Reflections by Dr. Scott Hahn

When the End Comes

Readings:

Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17
Psalm 23:1-3, 5-6
1 Corinthians 15:20-26,
28 Matthew 25:31-46

Many saints and Church leaders have seen a connection between Christ’s words in the Gospel for the Solemnity of Christ the King (see Matthew 25:31-43) and His promise to be present in the Eucharist (see Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:15-20).

For instance, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta used to say of her work with the destitute: “In Holy Communion we have Christ under the appearance of bread. In our work we find Him under the appearance of flesh and blood. It is the same Christ. ‘I was hungry, I was naked, I was sick, I was homeless.’”

St. John Chrysostom, the great patriarch of Eastern Catholicism, said the same thing in the fourth century: “Do you wish to honour the body of Christ? Do not ignore Him when He is naked. Do not pay Him homage in the temple clad in silk only then to neglect Him outside where He suffers cold and nakedness. He who said: ‘This is my body’ is the same One who said: ‘You saw me hungry and you gave me no food’, and ‘Whatever you did to the least of my brothers you did also to me’ . . . What good is it if the Eucharistic table is overloaded with golden chalices, when He is dying of hunger? Start by satisfying His hunger, and then with what is left you may adorn the altar as welll.”

The Church year ends today with a vision of the end of time. The scene in the Gospel is stark and resounds with Old Testament echoes.

The Son of Man is enthroned over all nations and peoples of every language (see Daniel 7:13-14). The nations have been gathered to see His glory and receive His judgment (see Isaiah 66:18; Zephaniah 3:8). The King is the divine shepherd Ezekiel foresees in today’s First Reading, judging as a shepherd separates sheep from goats.

Each of us will be judged upon our performance of the simple works of mercy we hear in the Gospel today.

These works, as Jesus explains today, are reflections or measures of our love for Him, our faithfulness to His commandment that we love God with all our might and our neighbor as ourselves (see Matthew 22:36-40).

Our faith is dead, lifeless, unless it be expressed in works of love (see James 2:20; Galatians 5:6). And we cannot say we truly love God, whom we cannot see, if we don’t love our neighbor, whom we can (see 1 John 4:20).

The Lord is our shepherd, as we sing in today’s Psalm. And we are to follow His lead, to imitate His example (see 1 Corinthians 1:11; Ephesians 5:1).

He healed our sickness (see Luke 6:19), freed us from the prison of sin and death (see Romans 8:2,21), welcomed us who were once strangers to His covenant (see Ephesians 2:12,19). He clothed us in baptism (see Revelation 3:5; 2 Corinthians 5:3-4), and feeds us with the food and drink of His own body and blood.

At “the end,” He will come again to hand over His kingdom to His Father, as Paul says in today’s Epistle.

Let us strive to be following Him in right paths, that this kingdom might be our inheritance, that we might enter into the eternal rest promised for the people of God (see Hebrews 4:1,9-11).

“Whatever you did . . . you did for me’

Feed My Sheep, Feed My Lambs And Lead Them Not Astray

Posted: November 18, 2011 by CatholicJules in Life's Journeys
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This is quite a strong message I received this week during a praise and worship session. In fact, I heard the first part of it that is “Feed my sheep” a few days earlier while in prayer. The rest was revealed in the session……but what does it mean? Of course the starting text can be found in Scripture in John 21:15-17 when Jesus was speaking to Peter. It is a powerful message indeed, because Jesus is preparing Peter for what is to come and how his leadership will be transformed to what is required of him to truly lead His flock.

Hence the message received, I believe is addressing leadership flaws which directly or indirectly leads the people astray. So what are some of these flaws? Well let us examine two of them…..

I AM IN TOTAL CONTROL

A leader who thinks he/she is in total control of everything often uses lots of ‘I’ in his/her interactions with others. ‘I’ did this….’I’ did that…In ‘my’ experience… So from time to time when he/she says things like “Don’t need to thank me, all glory be to God” naturally people question his/her sincerity.

When there is a project or program to run, she/he often breezes past her/his group members suggestions. She/He needs to assert order and discipline and members speak only when called upon. Often times through her/his discernment, she/he will introduce a workable idea for the group forgetting that one of her/his group members had suggested the very same ‘workable idea’ some time before. She/He chalks it up to being an affirmation by the Holy Spirit. Hence most new ideas are not helpful and frowned upon until such time they are.

He/she often panics when things do not flow according to plan so it is not surprising that he/she will blame the devil for it. Until such time this sort of leader learns that God is and always will be in control he/she will have made little impact in building God’s kingdom and may directly or indirectly cause His flock to disperse.

One Law to Rule Them All

Leaders with this mindset are often resistant to change not very unlike the Pharisees and Sadducees of Our Lord’s time. What is alarming though is that these leaders of today take on the guise of conformity, stating that we should always be obedient unto our Pope/Bishop/Parish priest. They can often be seen however, complaining or grumbling about any changes one way or another. Where in Scripture does it allow for this?? Which other diocese or where else in the world is this done this way??? If there is a change, then it must be gradual and must allow enough time for all to adjust to any changes especially for older parishioners otherwise we might alienate them from the faith. One standard must be set for ALL otherwise we will be seen as having double standards. And when questioned why some of the laws do not seem to apply to them, they readily quote that it is the Spirit of the Law that truly counts not so much the law in itself, besides……there is always a besides…do they not even realise that they are again directly or indirectly leading the flock astray?

The Key

Our faith is full of paradoxes, one such strong message from Jesus was “And he among you who wants to be the first will be a servant to all.” Mark 10:44 hence a true leader must totally empty himself/herself so that he/she can be filled with Christ in order to serve. The key to everything is Love! Love completes everything…..I leave you with two parts of 1 Corinthians 13 to reflect upon.

4-7 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

9-10 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.