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| Looking to the change |
The sense of change through a personal intimate relationship invitation from God is in the passage from Isaiah.
* [41:14] Redeemer: in Hebrew, go’el, one who frees others from slavery and avenges their sufferings; cf. Lv 25:48; Dt 19:6, 12. Cf. note on Ru 2:20.In the Gospel from Matthew, Jesus declares the significance of the mission and prophecy of John the Baptist to turn people toward God with the Spirit of Elijah.
* [11:11] John’s preeminent greatness lies in his function of announcing the imminence of the kingdom (Mt 3:1). But to be in the kingdom is so great a privilege that the least who has it is greater than the Baptist.Tom Shanahan, S.J. explores God’s love and our response and asks how this might this look today.
There’re lots of us who recognize we are not perfectionists nor Type A personalities yet, in relationship with God we revert to a form of ego-centered perfectionism; we want to be so good and beyond reproach that we miss the most endearing part of ourselves. Our neediness and vulnerability make us especially loved by God. We are flawed, half-hearted, shame-filled, and, ultimately, sinful by nature; we are heirs of worm Jacob and maggot Israel Isaiah reminds us! Where is God in this darkened scenario? Seemingly unflustered – he simply loves us as we are, warts and all as the saying goes.Don Schwager quotes “The Kingdom of Heaven,” by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD).
"What violence (Matthew 11:12)? People did not believe in John the Baptist. The works of Christ were held to be of no importance. His torment on the cross was a stumbling block. 'Until now' prophecy has been dormant. But now the law is fulfilled. Every prediction is finished. The spirit of Elijah is sent in advance through John's words. Christ is proclaimed to some and acknowledged by others. He is born for some and loved by others. The violent irony is that his own people rejected him, while strangers accepted him. His own people speak ill of him, while his enemies embrace him. The act of adoption offers an inheritance, while the family rejects it. Sons refuse to accept their father's last will, while the slaves of the household receive it. This is what is meant by the phrase 'the kingdom of heaven suffers violence' (Matthew 11:12). Earlier expectations are being torn apart. The glory that was pledged to Israel by the patriarchs, which was announced by the prophets and which was offered by Christ, is now being seized and carried off by the Gentiles, through their faith." (excerpt from the commentary ON MATTHEW 11.7)The Word Among Us Meditation on Psalm 145:1, 9-13 suggests that today’s psalm gives us one tool that can help us become more aware of God’s kingdom already present in our midst. It’s pretty simple: “discourse” about it (Psalm 145:11). Talk about some of the things that you see God doing through his people and through his Church.
“In your kingdom, Lord, peace and goodwill triumph over violence and malice. You inspire families to open their homes for adoption and foster care. You cause neighbors to rally around struggling community members. You soften the hearts of parents toward their children, and children toward their parents. You inspire countless acts of generosity.Friar Jude Winkler exegesis of Deutero Isaiah notes that the use of the first person pronoun helps present God as an intimate Shepherd. The power of evil is an illusion. Evil is defeated by Love. Friar Jude reminds us that John the Baptist talked about fire kindled on the earth as his mission was to prepare for the Day Of the Lord inaugurated by Jesus.
A post by Franciscan Media comments that the single fact survives that a disappointed suitor accused Saint Lucy ( December 13 Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr (Memorial)) of being a Christian.
and she was executed in Syracuse, Sicily, in the year 304. But it is also true that her name is mentioned in the First Eucharistic Prayer, geographical places are named after her, a popular song has her name as its title, and down through the centuries many thousands of little girls have been proud of the name Lucy.
One can easily imagine what a young Christian woman had to contend with in pagan Sicily in the year 300. If you have trouble imagining, just glance at today’s pleasure-at-all-costs world and the barriers it presents against leading a good Christian life.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces a friend and former CAC Board Member, Susan Rush, who shares that we come to the practice of Centering Prayer with only one intention—to consent to God’s presence and action within. Because of that intention, commitment to the contemplative journey through a daily practice of Centering Prayer involves more than just setting aside time to pray; it also means opening ourselves up to a conversion of our will and total transformation.
If we stay faithful to the practice, our false self begins to be dismantled and we live more and more from our center, from that Divine Ground of Being, from our true self. We are transformed. As the beloved Thomas Keating, who spent his life conceptualizing and teaching this prayer form, wrote, “By consenting to God’s creation, to our basic goodness as human beings, and to letting go of what we love in this world, we are brought to the final surrender, which is to allow the false self to die and the true self to emerge. The true self might be described as our participation in the divine life manifesting in our uniqueness.” . . .We are called to be transformed as we participate in the change plan of God and consent to our basic goodness as children of the Father.
References
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(n.d.). Isaiah chapter 41 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved December 13, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/41
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(n.d.). Matthew, chapter 11 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved December 13, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/11
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(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved December 13, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
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(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved December 13, 2018, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
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(n.d.). Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr (Memorial) - Mass Readings and .... Retrieved December 13, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/
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(n.d.). Saint Lucy – Franciscan Media. Retrieved December 13, 2018, from https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-lucy/
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(2017, December 30). 2018 Daily Meditations - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 13, 2018, from https://cac.org/2018-daily-meditations/
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