Here is an excerpt from Magnificat's Meditation of the Day,
"Christ's Call to Be Courageous"
(Friday, May 2, 2008):
"It takes courage simply to believe, and to go on believing, in a world that accepts only material, tangible, purely human values, and that has become allergic to the spiritual and the supernatural. To make the leap of faith, to throw oneself somehow wholly into the Word of the Lord, is the greatest risk and takes the greatest courage possible. It is no easier today than it was in the former times...It is an adventure like no other, to plunge into the mystery of faith, into the desert of interior solitude where only God sees us, and where he draws us in order to speak with us, when so many human voices deafen our ears, trying to hold us back.
It takes courage to build one's life on the unknown territory of God and to put one's hope in "things above, where the Risen Christ is seated," when so many interests, values, tasks, and needs compete for our attention here below...
It takes courage to articulate to others the truth of the faith that enlightens us, to profess the Credo which has been confided to us and to transmit it, whatever the divergent opinions raised up around us. Does it not take courage even to talk about the Lord in our daily conversations?
It takes courage to meet the small needs of every day, to carry out our simple and monotonous work, in a spirit of faith, and to be naive enough to believe that the light of the Lord penetrates even there, just as the light of the sun shines in our kitchen, our office.
It takes courage to carry on firmly and to persevere when storms arise and shake us up interiorly and exteriorly, when fidelity is shattered by the very ones who were consituted its guardians, and God seems to be silent, to the point where we perceive that the courage that remains to us unaccountably comes from his hand, discreetly sustaining us and preparing, in the midst of our trial, the flash of new light."
-Father Servais Pinckaers, O.P.
(Father Pinckaers is a professor emeritus of moral
theology at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland)
1 comment:
Hi Amy, I think your blog is wonderful! Lately, I've been very anxious, when I heard about a verse from the radio, Pilippians 4:11. I decided to look it up, and post more verses here. I think many of us could benefit from this. Billions of dollars are lost each year in the U.S. economy due to Americans suffering from stress!!
Philippians, verses 4-12
4
Rejoice 4 in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!
5
Your kindness 5 should be known to all. The Lord is near.
6
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.
7
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 6
9
Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you. 7
10
8 I rejoice greatly in the Lord that now at last you revived your concern for me. You were, of course, concerned about me but lacked an opportunity.
11
Not that I say this because of need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I find myself, to be self-sufficient.
12
I know indeed how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance. In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need.
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