Back ground: last few sundays, gradually we got to know how to address practical matters with Catholicism. Main purpose is how to lead a happy life in this world and outside.
God has created you, for a purpose. He will never make a mistake in creating you. But when we live in a dynamic society, ever changing world environment, with respect to climates, science and political, our life too become dynamic. We cannot just sleep, we have to face to the situations! This sunday we are reminded, as how to achieve happiness(our Vision) in a simple way. Our mission of this life - to Lead a Lovable Heart!
If you are not Honest to yourself, you cannot be honest to anybody else. First honest to yourself, then you can be honest to God. Various conditioning of ourself will lead to contradict our honesty to ourselves. Today message is very help full for our healthy life!
How to Love?
Jesus does not pluck His mission statement from air- he quotes from the Shema Yisrael, the great prayer in Judaism found in Deuteronomy 6. The second part about the love of neighbor is taken from Leviticus 18. This mission statement stands as resounding appeal to us today. We are asked not just to believe that there is a God, but to Love God. We are asked not just to respect our neighbor, but to love our neighbor. Love is not only the truth about human beings but also truth about God, who is Love Himself.
B. Preamble to today's reading
B.1 VISION, MISSION AND RELATED ACTIONS!
Any company in this world, will have the above 3 statements, to show their purpose of the company. Similarly governments too will have the same. For example US, Vision is to lead their citizens for a happy life, their mission statement is freedom. To achieve Freedom, their laws and other actions are mainly focused on how to achieve vision and carry out overall mission statement!
Similarly for Catholics.
Vision: God created you to lead a happy life(major deviations with Buddhism and Atheism)
Mission: Love God(major deviations with non christians) and neighbor(all most all religions say so)
Actions:
(1)follow 10 commandments with no enemies(similar basic laws with deviations exist with other religions)
(2)Lead a peaceful mind without anger and laziness(all most all religions say so)
(3)Develop your talents(convert to energy,so that the society will enjoy you)
(4)Avoid, Ego,sloth,gluttony,avarice to be developed in your life
(5)Treat your fear and sorrow with Catholic principles(This is the major deviations with other religions)
(6)Train your life to have Peaceful and worry free mind to accept God's Will
(Major deviations with Non christians)
Always actions follows the Mission statement (similar to Freedom means subject to law, internal,external and personal) You cannot have your own rules as catholic for your own convenience
That is why last sunday we were reminded to follow sunday readings to develop our actions(faith-you should wear the proper garments for the God's Banquet))!
B.2 DIFFERENET BETWEEN CHILD TO ADULT:
Children are always depends on their parents. They will not feel fear and sorrow, and lead their childhood. They always trust parents/guardians and have a great hope on them. Once the childhood becoming adult, they will start to sense fear and sorrow, and try to find solution for this.
There is no ideal solutions for fear and sorrow.
Fear and sorrow can come to you in 3 ways
(1) From your own body
(2) From an outside person/s or immediate society
(3) Natural disaster
To treat or face all these is not an easy task. We are in great need of super power God to help us to resolve, like children going to the father. Imagine as a child," how much he love his Father and Mother", they really clear his fear and sorrow, give them a hope for a happy life!.
Similarly, Christianity has shown how to love God, as well as how to respect Holy Mary.
In catholism, Holy Mary's role is very clear, she will intercede with God to provide your Happiness, as God shown on His own wisdom at Cana!. You have to invite Her for your life, by wearing Miraculous Medal and reciting daily rosary. You will see that She becoming your Spiritual Mother. She is the ideal mother for any human,
DEVELOPING FRIENDS
To have Earthly friends, starting from your family is earth bound and easy!. It is temporary, when you leave this world you leave them. But developing spiritual friends need more energy. Identify their earthly character, how they have behaved, why they become a saint?. Then your life experience with them?. Why there are so many non catholics go to St Anthony's church? Because their life experience, they know that HE has intervened with God, to get relief for their problems!. Similarly there are many saints Catholic church has declared!.( After a well defined through study- check whether other christian denomination have this kind of process?)
Similarly these spiritual friends(saints/blessed/servent of God) will make you to lead your life without fear and sorrow, after handing over such to them.(They will intercede with God, to provide happiness)
Catholism still preserve, maintaining saints, for us to develop spiritual friends. This process is needed, as shown by God,it is a beautiful method of realizing Happiness thru' spiritual Love of God towards you through their intercession!.
B.3. BASIC ACTIONS NEEDED TO LOVE
There are 5 basic actions to be carried out by yourself, to realise the God's love for you!
Then you can start loving your neighbor!
These actions are given below:
(1)You should develop a peaceful mind. Anger is the cancer, that you should always avoid.
(2)Avoid as far as possible fear and sorrow in your life.(Hand over such to saints/Holy mary/jesus) This is the value of Catholism, there is a well organized process(prayers, petitions, lighting candles, baths etc)
(3)Check whether you are honest to your selves(identify 10 commandments and see whether you have any enemies)
(4)Identify the actions, that you can do without any cost to you, whom you think others should do(identify washing, cleaning at home) or(visiting sick,coaching a needy)
These actions do'nt wait until other person does, you do it yourself and don't tell anybody that you did it! (Here laziness is the cancer, you should always avoid, just check whether you are sleeping around 5-7 hours per day)
(5) Don't waste a single minute idling. Always try to develop your talents.
AN EXAMPLE:
Nick Vujicic, a 32 year young man without limbs(arms or legs) (married with 1 child), in his latest book(2014) STAND STRONG gives the following(page 38)
# ONCE YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND FEEL SECURE ABOUT YOURSELF, NO BULLY CAN MAKE YOU FEEL INSECURE OR STEAL YOUR JOY(to feel secure, you should know how to hand over your fear and sorrow through your spiritual friends to God)
# YOU WERE CREATED FOR A PURPOSE,AND THAT MEANS YOU HAVE VALUE AND A FUTURE OF UNLIMITED POTENTIAL THAT YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS.
# YOU GROW STRONGER AND MORE BULLY PROOF WHEN YOU ACCEPT AND LOVE YOURSELF, EVEN AS YOU WORK EVERYDAY ON BEING THE BEST PERSON YOU CAN POSSIBLY BE
B.4 IMPEDIMENTS TO LOVE
You tend to think, that you are a lovable person. Does the other person is having same observation about you? Quality means you expect something and you experience the same thing. When you experience that you a high quality person, you become lovable.
Lovable person has to develop following 5 characteristics
(1) He should be knowledgeable at least on one area like agriculture,photography.....so many(HE HAS TO DEVELOP HIS TALENTS)
(2) He should be able to appreciate what is correct and reject what is wrong(HE HAS TO IDENTIFY HIS CONDITIONING, PROPERLY)
(3)He will develop a good public opinion(don't surrender your self for 1 or 2 Bullies)
(4) He should love his living society (Patriotism)
(5)He should develop many friends, to help each other (each person was having around 250 pictures of his associates in his memory, now with modern technology, this has increased to 1000-due to facebook)
C.
Todays readings:
Book of exodus reminding directive from God, have a Good Behavior towards needy. Paul says to follow Jesus message for our happiness.Mt22:34-40 says"..You must love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your mind..........you must your neighbor as yourself.."
All readings sums up the mission statement of Jesus message LOVE. Always remember to achieve the mission statement there are associated actions to follow. Without following the laid down actions your Love become mere word, not achieving the purpose of living- Vision statement given by Catholicism!
D. Conclusions:
Today, we have been clearly reminded about our Mission statement- LOVE. How do you realise whether God loves you and you love God. You should be able visualize both in your life. When you realize this, you cannot keep silent, you have to tell your neighbor, God is good!
Then you can start loving your neighbor!
GBU
For more pl visit:
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http://www.sundayreading.net/
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http://holymaryreflection.
