Reconciliation with God must take place outside the confessional too, within our relationships. This might seem impossible to do while dodging those passive-aggressive shots from brother John or Aunt Sally. If nothing else, hearing our salvation history in mass readings during this period should remind us that God really is bigger than the bad attitude of our in-laws!
Like the Prodigal Son, our own expectations become a barrier to both receiving and giving love. We expect others to love us beyond their capacity, their brokenness. And too often we don’t think about their similar expectations of us.
A priest once explained why God put the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden. I hadn’t ever thought about that…why did God put something right in their face if Adam and Eve weren’t allowed to have it? The answer: it gave them the opportunity to choose to love God.
Two problems occur in the spiritual life: we don’t understand it, and we don’t know where we are headed! The Devil’s in the Castle by Dan Burke solves both problems.
With the Word of God, we can make this a life-changing Lent for ourselves and for the whole world.
It is possible to know God so closely, so intimately, that you know His presence just as you do for any family member or friend of the heart.
“We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has ever experienced. I do not think the wide circle of the American Society, or the wide circle of the Christian Community, realize this fully. We are now facing the final confrontation between the Gospel and the anti-gospel, between Christ and the antichrist.”…
Weeds can grow an immensely powerful underground root structure, difficult to remove without harming the good plants. It is important to nurture the good in our souls and prevent even the smallest of weeds to enter lest they choke out the good altogether.
What do Advent, Christmas, and the Holy Family all have in common? Mary, Mother of God. She gives us the standard and practice for holiness. We admire the standard, but do we stop to think about putting this into practice?
We have this opportunity of Advent to empty ourselves, to be fully ordered towards Him. To be aware, ready to fully embrace Him, and enjoy a profoundly-changed life that only Jesus can give.