For we who live are constantly being given up to death for the sake of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
So death is at work in us, but life in you.
The American bishops have sounded the alarm about the "culture of death" which would use abortion, capital punishment, doctor-assisted suicide, firearms, and warfare to solve complex personal, social, and financial problems.
The inevitable consequences of these abortive methods are epidemics of drug abuse and suicide. A Hebrew prophet would have called these punishing tribulations "the wrath of God" even as he urged the nation to repent and turn back to the Lord.
The Christian understands death as daily taking up one's cross and following in Jesus' footsteps to Calvary. The second death, the death of the physical body, cannot frighten those who have willingly endured a death to self. As Saint John of Patmos Island assured us,
Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over these; they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for [the] thousand years.With our daily sacrifices we share in the first resurrection. Those who fall away from the faith, neglecting the daily sacrifices of prayer and fasting, and weekly attendance at Mass, failing to teach their children and grandchildren the faith, cannot expect much grace when the trials come, as they always do. Life is cyclic and the only certainty we have is that good times will pass, and hard times will come. A fool fails to prepare for that eventuality.
Jesus spoke of these cycles as he carried his cross:
A large crowd of people followed Jesus, including many women who mourned and lamented him. Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children, for indeed, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.’ At that time people will say to the mountains, ‘Fall upon us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ for if these things are done when the wood is green what will happen when it is dry?”
On Friday, in mid-summer, when the wood is green, it is good to consider these ordinary mysteries.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.