Peace be with you!
This, my friends, is my favorite video thus far.
Here’s what really caught my attention….
“The kind of god you believe in, is the kind of god you’ll live in your life.”
Humans are so hard-wired to believe and worship, that if we don’t worship the True God, we’ll certainly worship a false one. Materialism, egoism, hedonism, rationalism are among the many idols who offer themselves for worship. Enshrined in our culture, they sneak up on us, displacing God and our better values without us hardly noticing.
So we must each ask ourselves, “Do I believe in God? Do I believe in the True God? Or have I substituted an “ism” in His place?”
The best way to answer these questions is to–on a regular basis–take a hard look at what you do, what you neglect, how you spend your time, what you yearn for, what you save for, what you spend your money on, what you talk about, what you ignore. In other words, all the decisions of your daily life. Do your choices align with the morals of the media and pop culture (or lack thereof), or from the teachings of Christ safeguarded and proclaimed by the Church?
If we believe in the God Who gave His life for us on the cross, then sacrifice should show up in our lives. Does it?
Honest answers to these questions might make you (like me) squirm more than a little. That’s your conscience. Give it some air. Let it do the talkin’ in the confessional.
Authentic spirituality takes shape in the form of a vocation–a God-inspired response to some urgent need.
While our relationship with God is founded on prayer, it is revealed in the difference we make in the world. The intersection of the needs of the world, our God-given abilities, and our openness to the call of the Holy Spirit results in our vocation.
In my metaphor-prone brain, this translates as: “The vocation is the magnifying lens of our spirituality.” A magnifying lens gathers light and brings into focus, enlarges, and reveals the details of whatever you use it on. Our vocation should do the same for our spirituality, revealing our identity and purpose, as designed by the Father and as we are called by the Holy Spirit.
This magnifying lens effect works on two different levels. Our vocation helps us to know, love and serve God. But we also become the lens through which others come to know God. Because if we “live the kind of god we believe in,” and if we truly believe in the Triune God, then we will imitate Christ, Who gave His life for us on the cross. Visible witness to the love of God and neighbor will be the hallmark of our lives.
In other words, through authentic apostolic spirituality, we become holy, and we change the world. And, with the Blessed Mother, we can proclaim:
My soul magnifies the Lord
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
Because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid;
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed;
Because He who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is His name;
And His mercy is from generation to generation
on those who fear Him.
He has shown might with His arm,
He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich He has sent away empty.
He has given help to Israel, his servant, mindful of His mercy
Even as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity forever.
Amen!
Just a final note here…I know there are people out there viewing this blog. I’m very interested in hearing what you have to say. Also, any feedback on the series thus far would be welcome. All the comments are moderated, so if you want to provide feedback in private regarding the series in general, just say so, and I won’t approve it for open posting, but I’ll share it with Fr. Freeh.
Comments about this specific post (or any of the earlier ones) would be for all visitors to this blog. Over time, I hope that we can grow into a community. And if you like this blog, I invite you to hit the “like” button, and “share” it…a practically painless form of evangelization!
Read the Scriptures for Sunday, 9/14/14
Good News Spirituality 