The joy of conversion, Christian community, and the Catholic faith
Come, Light of God’s own glory!
Seal and protect us and our family,
in a protective home of Your glory!
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil,
especially the Coronavirus
and all its effects.
Grant us peace in our days.
In your merciful love,
keep us free from sin and all viruses
and protect us from all our fears,
anxieties and worries,
as we await in joyful hope
for the second coming
of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
When Patrick was 40, St. Germain ordained him a bishop and sent him to evangelize Ireland. Patrick went to local tribal leaders for permission to teach about Jesus Christ and build churches. He successfully adapted the Gospel to the Irish culture and ordained 3,000 priests and 370 bishops. With all this help, Ireland was converted without anyone being killed.
As Moses struck the rock in the desert with his staff to provide water for his people fleeing Egypt, God can and will save us if we turn back to him begging him for an outpouring of his merciful love for us. A few of us as ambassadors and evangelists are like modern-day Jonahs preaching repentance to our country and the world as modern-day Ninevites. This is a strong warning for us and for the world.
Our God makes and keeps his promises. He gave Abraham and Sarah numerous descendants, a new land and worldwide blessings. All Abraham had to do was trust that God would be faithful. God did test Abraham’s faith several times. With all the mess and unfaithfulness of humanity, God has not abandoned us.
Many in the world have tried to take God and sin out of our dictionary and life. We see the effects of this in the world-wide havoc each day in our news. We see it in wars, killings, natural disasters, alcoholism, misused sex, drugs and negative power. God has a different plan to defeat temptations quickly and effectively, living close to Jesus and his plans as revealed by his Holy Spirit.
It is helpful to see that St. Matthew, in chapters five to seven, develops a process of spiritual growth starting with the Beatitudes beginning in 5:3-12. This is a nine-step ladder to grow in holiness and get to heaven. We see here the three major stages of growth from the Purgative stage of turning away from serious sin in our five senses. It is called the Dark Night of the Senses.
We Christians are storytellers. Each day at daily Mass Liturgy, we are reading stories about Jesus and his wonderful care for us. Daily at this time of year before Lent, we are reading from the early chapters of St. Mark. What was Jesus doing in the first part of his public life? Jesus got countless people’s attention by healing them. The stories and different and wonderful. The love and care for people was awesome. The early followers of Jesus were empowered by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to go forth to the whole world to bring the good news of Jesus to all peoples in power. They weren’t perfect but God used them to spread the news.
We are meant to shine and glow for Jesus. In four of the stanzas of the Pentecost Sequence, we read about the Holy Spirit also giving us Divine Light. “O most blessed Light Divine, Shine within these hearts of Thine, and our inmost being fill!” You could also think of or sing: “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.” Don’t be afraid, God is blessing others through you.