Only One Can Reign in Your Heart

~~~ Hebrews 9: 15, 24-28 ~~~ Psalm 98 ~~~ Mark 3: 22-30 ~~~

 

Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.

 

The mighty one has indeed done marvelous deeds for us.

Through the pouring out of his own blood and not that of a sacrificial animal

he completed the offering once and for all.

His one single perfect sacrifice expiated the sins of the whole world for all ages.

No human before him had been capable of this sacrifice.

He was fulfilling the will of the one who sent him.

He was not going through the sacrificial ritual;

he was the sacrifice.

 

The scribes were puzzled by what Jesus was accomplishing through his powers.

They were perhaps a little jealous as well.

Whenever you are jealous of someone you try to make light of anything

that they do that you want to be able to do too.

 

This is one such example...

the scribes decide that because Jesus can cast out demons,

which they connect with evil, he must be aligned with evil as well.

Obviously Satan would not listen to anyone other than one of his own kind.

 

Way back in the Garden of Eden Satan obviously thought that he had the upper hand.

He believed that we humans were going to be easily swayed to join him in his evil ways.

To some extent he was correct, but then Jesus came and things began to change.

 

Satan needed someone greater and stronger to overcome his wickedness.

Someone more powerful did indeed come in the person of Jesus.

Jesus knew who Satan was all too well.

 

"How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided,
he cannot stand;
that is the end of him..."

 

You can either pledge your allegiance to God or Satan.

The two cannot simultaneously reign in your heart.

You cannot decide one day to be on the side of evil and the next the side of good.

But we are weak human beings and the temptations presented before us require

us to be ever vigilant.

This is not always easily accomplished it is a constant battle.

 

 

Today we join the Dominicans in honoring Saint Thomas Aquinas, doctor of the church.

He was one of the most important Medieval philosophers and theologians.

 

The Summa Theologica is his most well known writing.

You might look it up later.

 

A few quotes from St. Thomas...

 

The things that we love tell us what we are.

 

How can we live in harmony?

First we need to know we are all madly in love with the same God.

 

 Love takes up where knowledge leaves off.

 

To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary.

To one without faith, no explanation is possible.

 

Wonder is the desire for knowledge.

 

Grant me, O Lord my God,
a mind to know you,
a heart to seek you,
wisdom to find you,
conduct pleasing to you,
faithful perseverance in waiting for you,
and a hope of finally embracing you.
Amen.

 

Saint Thomas Aquinas, pray for us.

We Share in the Divinty

The Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

~~~ Proverbs 9: 1-6 ~~~ Psalm 34 ~~~ Eph 5:15-20 ~~~ John 6: 51-58 ~~~

"Taste and see the goodness of the Lord."

The hospitality of the Lord is simple, sincere, and inviting.

Wisdom has set the table, completed the prescribed preparations

and flung open the doors for the guests to arrive.

Come to the feast the table of plenty.

All are invited...all are welcome.

The table of the Lord is set.

"Let whoever is simple turn in here;

to the one who lacks understanding, she says,

Come eat of my food and drink of the wine I have mixed!

Forsake foolishness that you may live;

advance in the way of understanding."

There is no need to have fancy recipes with exotic ingredients

 the Lord gives us himself.

He is asking to try to understand as difficult as it is

the He is the Bread of Life.

Whoever eats his flesh and drinks his blood

remains in him and God in him.

"Taste and see the goodness of the Lord."

If we come to God as little children in simplicity

even that which we do not comprehend will be accepted.

God gives us his own body and blood for our eternal nourishment.

Two simple ingredients, bread and wine, transformed during each Mass

into this divine food.

When the drop of water is poured into the chalice of wine,

the celebrant recites very special words that we

do not hear in the pews.

By the mystery of this water and wine,

may we come to share in the divinity of Christ,

who humbles himself to share in our humanity

  

These beautiful words invite us to share in the divinity with Christ

simply because he came down and shared our humanity.

Christ lowered himself to become human and left

himself as the way to enter into his divinity.

He left himself as the bread of life.

The banquet table set by lady wisdom represents the banquet

table we have at the altar.

God himself has prepared the simple meal

the ingredients are pure all natural

all himself.

I defer to the beautiful words from St. Thomas Aquinas...

"Material food first changes into the one who eats it,

and then, as a consequence,

restores to him lost strength and increases his vitality. 

Spiritual food, on the other hand,

changes the person who eats it into itself. 

Thus the effect proper to this Sacrament

is the con­ver­sion of a man into Christ,

so that he may no longer live, but Christ lives in him..."

  St. Thomas, Commentary on Book IV of the Sentences, d.12, q.2, a.11

This bread which we eat is designed to transform us into

Christ, though not for us to become a god.

We are to become transformed through consuming the

Body and Blood of Christ so that he may live

more fully in us.

When we recieve Eucharist we become life the source.

Are you aware that each time you recieve Eucharist

you also are joined to Christ in the real sense of the words.

 When we recieve Eucharist our 'Amen' is confirming

our allowing Christ to abide in us.

Our 'Amen' is our surrendering to the

transformation of our soul.

If we are truly transformed then our actions should

likewise be a reflection of that transformation.

This tranformation in order to be authentic must be carried

out of the church and into the real world.

This week Lord, when I am faced with the challenges

of every day life help me to respond through your

living within my soul.