Medytacjehonesty
środa, 17 sierpień 2011 21:00

Some practical truths (St/31/II)

Jerusalem, Notre Dame, 11st November 2006

 

Listening to today’s gospel we can learn some practical truths.

The first is about difficulty of the Scriptures.
The difficult places in the gospel, like today’s gospel, remind us the rule of saint Augustyn: If you have understood something in the Bible, put it into practice, if not, teach yourselves humility, and learn more about it. And if you learn more and you don’t understand yet, don’t lose courage! There will be always something too difficult for us, because God is greater than man.

The second is about consequence of the choice.
“No servant can serve two masters.” Jesus doesn’t speak theoretically. The Pharisees sneered at Jesus. Why? Saint Luke says: They loved money. So it was logically that if they loved money they had to sneer at Jesus, because its impossible to serve God and mammon. This rule works also nowadays.  If we see that the people don’t serve God, we know they have to serve somebody else or something different. We can serve Mammon. There is no anthropological problem. A lot of people serve Mammon and live more or less well. But if we decide to serve the things are not God, we decide to live far from God. We can say. We are free in our choices, but we don’t have any influence on the consequences of the choice.

The last practical truth from today’s gospel is as follows.
The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones. Just one example. I can not understand why a lot of priests and nuns have illegal computer software. In Rom at Pontifical Biblical Institute study about 400 students, the majority are priests and the majority have got one very important program - Bible Works. It costs about 300$. I didn’t make accurate research, but I know only 3 students who bought this program. The others just copied it. For me they are simple thieves. They say: “Not. We don’t steal, we just don’t waste money”.

I don’t want to discuss with this kind of stupidity. What I want is to find small things in which we are dishonest. If we find it, we understand, why we have problems with the great mysteries of our life.

Dział: Sermons
środa, 17 sierpień 2011 15:23

Honesty and Service (29B)

Jerusalem-Notre Dame, 21st October 2006

 

 

1. Are you honest with yourselves?

Do you have courage to say: This is my wish?
What is your wish? What is your deepest dream?
Love? Money? Faith? Power? Sex? Chastity? Freedom? Knowledge?  What is my deepest dream? Am I honest with myself?  Or maybe I don’t speak frankly about my wish, because I’m ashamed of it.
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, they are speaking very frankly about their wish: “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left”. No hypocrisy. No simulation of personal holiness. No worry about reputation. Just the honesty: We want you to do for us whatever we ask for you”. And Jesus was not scandalized and not surprised. He asked. He listened to them. He explained.

Honesty. Don’t be afraid be honest with yourselves! Do not be afraid be honest with Jesus! God understands every wish and he can  purify, ennoble, and improve every dream.
This is amazing in the Gospel! The great but sincere sinner is better than Pharisee, a person of high moral and hypocritical standard.

2. The second word is about service.
“Whoever wishes to be great among you will by your servant”
What does mean “to serve”?
In Collins Dictionary we can read: if you serve your country, an organization or a person you do useful work for them.
Useful work. Was it useful work to ask Jesus about places in his glory? Was it useful work discuss about authority and power?
I don’t think so. The problem of the apostles and the problem of priests nowadays is the same. We love to do a lot of useless work.

I'm sorry for me and for my brothers in priesthood that we do so many things in our life that are no connection with the care of the people.
I'm sorry that we are looking for the first place not only in the kingdom of God in heaven, but also in the kingdom of people on earth.
I'm sorry because very often we don’t serve you but we wait to be served, to be exalted, to be greeted, and to be respected.
Help us, please, to be your servants, help us to be your slave, help us to understand the Gospel fo Christ.

Dział: Sermons

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