A. Back ground:
Wind will mainly carry air. Air is one of the primary element needed for human to live.
We cannot live few minutes, without air. Though air is good, it can become turbulent.
Here we were told that we are frighten for our worries and not for our sins. For human worry become Primary and Sin become secondary. But for God, sin become primary and worry become secondary. God has guaranteed our life is to be happy. What ever the worries we face. Major characteristics of worry is;
(1) It s subjective for your own thinking(conditioning)
(2) pride will cause major worry to be appear in your life(Job Story-1st reading)
Gold will be purified with fire. Unless you are tested with fire, you cannot achieve Happiness. In old testament JOB,has been tested with fire,and he was successful. This sunday, we were invited to reflect how to treat worries, and through worries, how you can increase your Faith!.
Just like JOB,Jesus on the cross felt terribly abandoned by God. He said in agony at the cross,"MY GOD,MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?"(MT 27:47), HE GOT NO ANSWER FOR THAT REALLY, UNLESS THE ANSWER HE SUPPLED HIMSELF. "FATHER, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT"(LK23:46). Final act of trust in darkness.
How can we resolve our agonies, with Jesus teaching? Does Jesus show us, our agonies are inevitable?. Treatment to our agonies, is it from God or through the intercession of mary and saints with God?. Sins cannot be pardoned by Mary or saints, but only by GOD!
B. Preamble today's reading:
B.1. PRIDE
Pride is to be avoided next to laziness and anger.(Which are main vices)
Pride is too great an admiration of oneself. Pride has 7 evil consequences:
(1)Boasting
(2)Love of publicity
(3)Hypocrisy( a way of behaving in which you pretend that you have better moral principles than you actually do)
(4)Hardheadedness( practical and able to make difficult decisions without letting your emotions affect your judgment)
(5)Discord(formal disagreement or quarreling between people)
(6)Quarreling
(7)Disobedience
When all these 7 inclinations grow in our dealings with God and neighbor, leads to Egoism.
THE DEVIL BALLONES OUR PRIDE TO MAKE US LOSE EVENTUALLY TO OUR OWN EGOISM.
Link with God, requires Humility. Any form of Pride in life must be overcome first of all through personal efforts. The Lord himself will purify us through spiritual trials or through physical trials, to over come our Pride.
PRIDE IS THE ENEMY OF ANY PROGRESS to establish link with God, next to Anger and sloth(laziness). Our will has to be in TOTAL SURRENDER TO GOD, there ought to be many surrender on our part of all our actions, thoughts and also ongoing surrender in our relation with God.
In our pride when we do not listen to the spirit who invites us to discern(understand something only after looking at it) the purpose of our life to surrender your will to God's will be neglected- the primary task of overcoming evil.
St paul's words to Galatians are apt here: "let the spirit direct your lives, and you will not satisfy the desires of the human nature. For what our human nature wants is opposed to what the spirit wants. These two are enemies, and this means that you cannot do what you want to do. If the spirit leads you, then you are not subject to law"(Gal 5:16-18)
WHEN THE LORD TAKES THE INITIATIVE IN YOUR LIFE YOU OUGHT TO BE PASSIVE. IT IS IN PASSIVE PRAYER THAT THE LORD STRENTHENS OUR WILL TO OVERCOME THIS UNWANTED TENDENCY TO PRIDE. HE THROUGH HIS GRACE INTRODUCED US TO PROFOUND HUMILITY.
Today 1 st reading Job says, YOUR PRIDE WAVES WILL BREAK.
B.2 - THE OLD CREATION HAS GONE, AND NOW THE NEW ONE IS HERE-(today st paul says)
Jesus introduced the full freedom to humans. Earlier God was training humans, to accommodate the arrival of Jesus. Now your freedom supersede, what God wanted to do through you, unless, otherwise, with your full acceptance to follow HIS WILL. When you voluntarily surrender your will to HIS WILL, HE WILL GURANTEE YOUR HAPPINESS. But how to surrender our will is the question?. Even you follow HIS COMMANDMENTS, you cannot surrender your Will, it will lead, to 7 vices.
B.3 LOVE-SIN-WORRIES
All are interrelated. When you have worried mind, it will be difficult for you to love. Sin will increase your fear and sorrow. Hence first you have to control sin. What is sin?
Going against 10 commandments, pardoning others, not following the God's will, leading your life with 7 vices. When you sin, you are liable for more worries. These worries you have to hand over to Mary+saints. Why, Jesus in His own wisdom request us to go to Mary, for her to intercede on behalf of us, since she is the only one, who has undergone agonies of life(at that time), from the human point of view,(later saints came). She will carry the God's decision and go along with us, leading us to have worry less mind. With worry less mind, when you avoid 7 vices, lead you to achieve happy mind. Then only you can love.
B.4 death is no longer an agony for Happy(faithful) persons:
Case of St maximillian Kolbe:
e was born in 1894 in poland and was given the baptismal name of Raymond. Both his parents were devout catholics and they had special devotion to the blessed Virgin mary.
As a child, he had a mystical experience that change him for ever. Being a normal boy, he was into mischief, which led to scolding by his mother. This discipline had a profound effect on the young boy. When he prayed to the blessed Mother, she appeared to him in a dream holding two crowns, one white and the other red. Mary explained that the white is for purity and the red for martyrdom, and she asked him whether he was willing to accept them. Indeed he did accept the crowns!.
Kolbe entered the junior seminary of the Franciscan order in 1907. He studied sciences and was quite smart. In 1910, he became a novice and received the habit of st francis. He changed his name to Maximilian. In 1918(in Rome) he was ordained as a priest.(During world war 1).
Among the enemies of the church at the time was freemasons. Along with 6 companions, in 1916, he founded the crusade of Mary Immaculate with the aim of converting sinners, specially freemasons. Unfortunately he contracted tuberculosis.
He returned to poland in 1919 and taught history at seminary of Krakow. Due to his tuberculosis, he had to go on medical leave for eight years. Yet, he did not waste any time. Soon he founded a publication titled KNIGHT OF IMMACULATE, to fight religious indifference.
In 1927, Maximillian founded his own monastery, which housed a junior seminary and printing press for his magazine. Soon he started to published a daily news paper. In 1930, he alone with 4 friars, went to Nagasaki, Japan, to establish a new monetary. Miraculously, this monetary, survived the war and nuclear bomb and exists to this date!.
Because of his poor health, he returned to poland, only to open a catholic radio station. By 1939, the monestary he found totalled 800 men. The year 1939 also saw persecution of his community by Nazis, who wanted to control the press and radio. The monetary became a refuge for 3000 Poles, who were displaced; among them was a significant Jewish population. Then the Nazis shut down the press, suppressed the congregation, and dispersed the brothers. Maximilian was imprisoned in AUSCHWITZ.
At Auschwitz, some of the prisoners were going to be put to death to teach a lesson for other prisoners. A family man with young children was chosen to die. Maximilian volunteered to take his place. He was always at peace with God and himself.: the nurse who was going to administer the lethal poison remarked that he gave her his rosary beads, forgave her, and asked what a nice person like she was doing in a place like this. She was a fallen away catholic. After his death, she had a conversion, all based her witnessing a saint dying and entering into heaven before her eyes.
Pope paul VI, beatified him in 1971. Pope JP2 cannobised him a saint in 1982. He is the patron saint of drug addicts,imprisoned people,journalists, political prisoners, and the pro-life movement.
C. Today's reading:
Job(3:1,8-11) says"..your proud waves shall break"
Paul says(2 cor 5:14-17)".. Christ..one man..died..then all men should be dead..now..not judge anyone..standard of flesh..who is in Christ..new creation.."
Mk(4:35-41) says"..Jesus said"..cross..other side"..boat..blow gale..almost swamped. But He..asleep..woke Him..rebuked..wind..Be Calm..so frightened? How..U have no faith.."
D. Conclusions:
The passenger list in Christ boat is counted in millions and there still room. Each of the passenger is troubled with worries-deep,personal,
JOB has gone through terrible suffering, both physical and mental. He may be weakening his trust in the lord. So here God reassures him of God's creative power,His control over the elements- especially the sea,the ancient symbol of destructive power. The Lord convinced Job of his faith fullness, and JOB comes through the test of faith successfully.
JOB's pride has been erased through the sufferings. So pride become, next thing to avoid in 7 vices after sloth and anger. Without our knowledge, pride balloons in us. Politician,professionals & clergy are general categories of people, where many dealings with human are maintained in day to day activities, where without their knowledge pride will peep through, undermining God has given them to deal with humans!.
GBU
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