Walking the Path

There’s a couple meanings behind this mystery – the most important being the Eucharist as a sacrament and the sealing of the new covenant between God and all the people of the earth, not just the Israelites. But there’s something more there.

I’ve been reading a lot of work by the Catholic apologist and theologian Scott Hahn over the last couple of weeks – as you can see from my reading list posts, I finished reading his The Lamb’s Supper a couple of weeks ago, but I’ve also been listening to his St. Paul Centre audio Bible Studies. Hahn sees God’s relationship with humanity as the relationship of a Father to a family. And after all that I’ve read and heard since I returned to the Christian fold about God’s unending love is causing me to agree with him.

Therefore with that view in mind, I see this as God, the Father, providing his family with another tool to help keep the covenant bond that we established with him. But this sacrament, this tool, is along with baptism which helps to bring us into to God’s family in the first place, the most important of the seven. I say that because it helps us to consume and be filled with the divine presence of God’s son Jesus, who was so obedient to his Father that he reflected God’s unending Love for humanity right to the end of his life right to his death on the cross.

The Eucharist therefore can help to receive the supernatural power we need from God to be his children in this world and go beyond human limits of love and compassion for the other. Just when we get depleted we return for another Mass and that supernatural power — along with the joy and fellowship that comes from worshipping with other Christians and all the angels and saints — is there waiting for us to recharge our batteries.

That’s why I know that whenever I am physically or spiritually depleted I just need to attend a Mass and I will come out physically recharged and ready to battle my way through another week.

I hope you receive the same gift this week.

God Bless,
J.

Why Catholics are Right by Michael Coren
In the Fabled East by Adam Lewis Schroeder
The Bishop’s Man by Linden McIntyre
Extraordinary Canadians: Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine And Robert Baldwin by John Rolsten Saul
Jesus of Nazareth Vol II by Pope Benedict XVI
Bonus: The Lamb’s Supper by Scott Hahn
Nikolski by Nikolas Dickner
Currently Reading: A Jesuit on Broadway by James Martin SJ
Born With A Tooth by Joseph Boyden
Extraordinary Canadians Louis Riel And Gabriel Dumont by Joseph Boyden
Story of A Soul by St. Therese of Liseux

When I think about the faith of the disciples I think about this mystery. James, John and Peter, the disciples who are closest to Jesus, go up with him and they receive confirmation that he is the Son of the Living God.

But that doesn’t make them the holiest amongst all Jesus’ followers. They were the most humble and the ones most needing the confirmation of Jesus as the Son of God at that time as we can be in times of weakness.

Even in their weakness though those disciples had faith and they were rewarded. The mystery is telling me I need to keep my faith too and God will reward me.

God Bless and Have a Good Week.
J.

The coming of the Kingdom. This is something I used to think hadn’t arrived yet, but after starting down the path towards the Catholic Church I found that it’s already here. It’s here in the Church and the Church’s ability to forgive sins through the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and reconciliation. And that’s something that’s very comforting to me.

Going to reconciliation is something that I find difficult, but it makes me feel clean and washed afterwards to known that God has forgiven my sins and at the same time receive some advice from God through the words of a priest. To know that yes, I’ve stumbled on the path but I’m trying to get up again and God sees that and the Father and Jesus are there to pick me up. God is there to give me positive encouragement to keep me going on the path and that’s so reassuring.

God is not far away. He dwells inside me and in the Church, in my family and in his priests who forgive our sins. So I know that even when I fall the world is not over and He will always be there to pick me up and help me continue on down the road even if he needs to carry me.

Have a good week.
God Bless,
J.

Why Catholics are Right by Michael Coren
In the Fabled East by Adam Lewis Schroeder
The Bishop’s Man by Linden McIntyre
Extraordinary Canadians: Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine And Robert Baldwin by John Rolsten Saul
Jesus of Nazareth Vol II by Pope Benedict XVI
Currently Reading: Nikolski by Nikolas Dickner
A Jesuit on Broadway by James Martin SJ
Born With A Tooth by Joseph Boyden
Extraordinary Canadians Louis Riel And Gabriel Dumont by Joseph Boyden
Story of A Soul by St. Therese of Liseux

Theological, the second Luminous Mystery, the Marriage Feast at Canna is seen as the start of Jesus’ public ministry.

When thinking about the mystery today though, I see it more as about faith and obedience. The Virgin Mary when noticing that the wedding party has run out of wine, she tells Jesus then she tells the servants working at the feast to “do whatever he tells you”.

That message wasn’t just directed at the servants. It was directed at us to – to remind us to be faithful to Jesus and keep him at the centre of our lives.

Today at Mass, the Gospel reading was on the parable of the sower of seeds. The sower of seeds is God and the seeds are his word sent out in an environment of unconditional and unending love. To me, this ties in with the wedding feast at Canna, because it says God will always be there for us no matter what, no matter how far we fall into sin. And we should do our best to return that love through obedience and faith in Him.

It can be a tough road to do that sometimes with all the distractions and temptations in the world, but God will always be there to guide us.

God Bless and Have a Good Week
J.

Why Catholics are Right by Michael Coren
In the Fabled East by Adam Lewis Schroeder
The Bishop’s Man by Linden McIntyre
Extraordinary Canadians: Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine And Robert Baldwin by John Rolsten Saul
Currently Reading: Jesus of Nazareth Vol II by Pope Benedict XVI
Nikolski by Nikolas Dickner
A Jesuit on Broadway by James Martin SJ
Born With A Tooth by Joseph Boyden
Extraordinary Canadians Louis Riel And Gabriel Dumont by Joseph Boyden
Story of A Soul by St. Therese of Liseux

Why Catholics are Right by Michael Coren
In the Fabled East by Adam Lewis Schroeder
The Bishop’s Man by Linden McIntyre
Currently Reading: Extraordinary Canadians: Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine And Robert Baldwin by John Rolsten Saul
Jesus of Nazareth Vol II by Pope Benedict XVI
Nikolski by Nikolas Dickner
A Jesuit on Broadway by James Martin SJ
Born With A Tooth by Joseph Boyden
Extraordinary Canadians Louis Riel And Gabriel Dumont by Joseph Boyden
Story of A Soul by St. Therese of Liseux

The baptism of Jesus. This is the start of the new covenant. Jesus didn’t have to be baptized to bring about his knowledge as the Son of God to start his mission as some think. He needed to be baptized to make the act holy, so that all those who were baptized afterwards in his name would become adopted children of God.

And I’m happy for that fact. Today is my birthday and I find myself thinking a lot about my own birth and baptism. I was born quite small so I’m lucky to be alive. After living in China for nearly eight years and meeting so many people, both Chinese and foreign, who aren’t baptized I know that I am lucky to be baptized too. It was one of the best gifts my parents could ever give to me.

I’m also home this year so I’m able to share my birthday with my family (I’m also very jetlegged and am suffering a bit for it. So am listening to mass on EWTN’s website.)

I have a place waiting for me in heaven. I don’t earn that place through faith alone – works and the sharing of my faith are needed for that. But the place is set aside and now I’m required to share my faith and the love God with others.

Thank you my parents for starting me on this path.

God Bless,
J.

Why Catholics are Right by Michael Coren
In the Fabled East by Adam Lewis Schroeder
Currently Reading: The Bishop’s Man by Lyden McIntyre
Extraordinary Canadians: Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine And Robert Baldwin by John Rolsten Saul
Jesus of Nazareth Vol II by Pope Benedict XVI
Nikolski by Nikolas Dickner
A Jesuit on Broadway by James Martin SJ
Born With A Tooth by Joseph Boyden
Extraordinary Canadians Louis Riel And Gabriel Dumont by Joseph Boyden
Story of A Soul by St. Therese of Liseux