Sections The Daily B.R.E.A.D. Apr 12, 2010 - Monday Meditation (Be Born Again!)
| Apr 12, 2010 - Monday Meditation (Be Born Again!) |
 |
 |
 |
| Sections - The Daily B.R.E.A.D. | |||
| Written by Bobot Apit | |||
| Thursday, 08 April 2010 13:41 | |||
|
To be reborn is to enter that society in which God is honored and obeyed, to live as his son or daughter, and to enter into possession of that life which comes from God himself, a never-ending life of love, peace, joy, and freedom from sin and the fear of death. Do you know the joy and freedom of new life in Jesus Christ? J ohn 3:1-8 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicode'mus, a ruler of the Jews. (2) This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him." (3) Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God ." (4) Nicode'mus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" (5) Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (7) Do not marvel that I said to you, `You must be born anew.' (8) The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit."
Meditation by Don Schwager Do you nourish your faith with regular reading and prayerful reflection of the word of God? Nicodemus was hungry for God's word and became a closet disciple of Jesus. He sought Jesus out, though surreptitiously in the dead of the night. Why? Nicodemus was a "leader of the Jews", "a teacher of Israel " (John 3:10), and a member of the religious party most opposed to the teaching of Jesus. In fact, John’s gospel account states that it was Nicodemus' own group, the Pharisees, which intimidated the authorities against confessing Jesus (John 12:42). Instead he engaged him in a seemingly unrelated topic of conversation. Jesus said that rebirth was necessary to enter the kingdom of God . Of course, Nicodemus the Pharisee had already found religion, so he thought that Jesus must have referred to physical rebirth. No, Jesus responded, someone who is reborn spiritually knows the experience as sur ely as one who has been refreshed by an invisible breeze. How can a respected rabbi among the Jews not know this? And that is precis ely the point. Nicodemus is the first of what we might loos ely call the official clergy with whom Jesus has personal engagement. The Gospel portrays Nicodemus as a defender of Jesus' right to a fair trial (John 7:-51). Nicodemus also helped to bury Jesus with honor. Nicodemus did not understand the new birth which Jesus spoke of until after the resurrection. What does it mean to be reborn? The new birth Jesus speaks of is a spiritual birth to new life and relationship with God as his sons and daughters. This new birth is made possible when one is baptized into Christ and receives the gift of the Holy Spirit. God wants to renew all his people in the gift of new life in his Holy Spirit. This new life brings us into God's kingdom or heavenly rule. What is God's kingdom? God's kingdom is that society in which God's will is done on earth as it is in heaven. To be reborn is to enter that society in which God is honored and obeyed, to live as his son or daughter, and to enter into possession of that life which comes from God himself, a never-ending life of love, peace, joy, and freedom from sin and the fear of death. Do you know the joy and freedom of new life in Jesus Christ? "Lord Jesus Christ, you offer us a new birth in the Holy Spirit. Renew in me the gift of faith and new life in your Holy Spirit. Help me to draw near to you and to believe in your life-giving word. May your kingdom come and may your will be done in my life today and always."
Supplementary Reading Building a Solid Foundation
T here were two kinds of people in the days of Jesus. Some heard the words that Jesus spoke and were awed by His wisdom and understanding, but did nothing about what they heard. Others heard those words and acted on them. Jesus said that those who heard the words but failed to put them into practice were foolish and likened them to building a house on sand. How foolish, indeed, it would be to build a house on sand. The person who followed what Jesus taught was a person who would be sure to weather life's storms. Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock (Matthew 7:24-25). You never know how well your house is built until it is tested by the elements. Torrential rains reveal the quality of your roof. Wind and cold reveal how well your home is insulated. Heat and sun reveal the quality of your paint and siding. All these elements reveal whether a solid foundation has been laid to make your home a secure and lasting place to live. Many of us find that we have given only lip service to God's commands. We are faced with the reality that our foundations are not strong enough to weather life's storms. How do we react when the trials come? Do we fret and worry? Do we take life into our hands? Do we respond inappropriat ely when we don't get what we want? The Lord uses these times to help us recognize whether our foundations are sand or rock. Ask the Lord today if you have built on His rock. If so, you can be comforted to know that you can weather any storm that may come your way. --OS Hillman EL SHADDAI Radio Program : http://www.eradioportal.com/index.php?p=2&aid=1&sid=50&tid=1
GOD BLESS US ALL!
O Theos Na Mas Evlogisi! PRAY as if everything depended on HIM. ACT as if everything depended on YOU.
Newer news items:
Older news items:
|
|||
| Last Updated on Sunday, 11 April 2010 09:22 |
User Menu
Who's Online
We have 37 guests onlineDonate
Please consider supporting the "ReVOTElution of Hope" for Sorsogon as the Pilot Province. Please see "ReVOTElution" Banner on this page for details.
Quote of the Day
"I think that's how Chicago got started. A bunch of people in New York said, 'Gee, I'm enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn't cold enough. Let's go west.' "--Richard Jeni
Interior mortification needed for supernatural life.
The Gospel of today’s Mass(John 3:1-8) tells us of the intimate dialogue that took place one night between Jesus and Nicodemus. This man is moved by the preaching and the miracles of the Master and feels the need to know more. He shows great respect towards Jesus: Rabbi, Master, he calls Him.
Nicodemus asks Jesus about His mission, perhaps still uncertain whether He is just another prophet, or if He is the Messiah: Rabbi, he says to him, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him. And Jesus replies in quite an unexpected way: Nicodemus asks about his mission and Jesus reveals to him an astonishing truth: a man must be born again. He is speaking of a spiritual birth by water and the Holy Spirit: a whole new world is unfolding before the eyes of Nicodemus.
Jesus’ words also open up an unlimited horizon for the spiritual advancement of any Christian who allows himself to be led with docility by the inspirations and motions of the Holy Spirit, because interior life does not consist solely in acquiring a series of natural virtues or observing certain pious practices. It is a question of a complete transformation — of, in fact, being born again, which Our Lord asks from us: you must rid yourselves of the old self according to which you lived your past life (Eph 4:22), St Paul said to the faithful of Ephesus.
This interior transformation is, above all, a work of grace in the soul, but it requires our collaboration also by way of mortification of the intellect, of memory and of imagination, so as to purify our potencies in order for the life of Christ to develop freely within us. Many Christians don’t make any progress in their dealings with God in prayer because they neglect interior mortification, without which exterior mortification loses its foundation.
The imagination is undoubtedly a very useful faculty, because the soul, which is united to the body, cannot think without the help of images. Our Lord spoke to the people by means of parables, expressing the most profound truths by means of images, and we have seen how he follows this same procedure with Nicodemus. In the same way the imagination can be a great help in the interior life, for contemplating the life of Our Lord or the mysteries of the Rosary. But for it to be beneficial and useful, the imagination has to be directed by right reason illuminated by faith. Otherwise it could become what has been called ‘the lunatic of the house’; it takes us away from the consideration of divine things and draws us towards those that are vain, frivolous, fantastic and even prohibited Even in the best of cases it can lead us to day-dreaming from whence arises sentimentalism, which is so opposed to true piety (R. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life).
Given our condition after original sin, the subjection of the imagination to reason can usually be achieved only through mortification, with the result that it ceases to be the lunatic of the house and confines itself to its own specific purpose, which is that of serving the intelligence enlightened by faith (ibid).
With permission from Scepter UK. Short excerpt from IN CONVERSATION WITH GOD by Francis Fernandez. Available at SinagTala or Totus Bookstore 723-4326 or at www.totusbookstore. com (info@totusbookstore .com)
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
The DEFENSORES FIDEI FOUNDATION actively spreads Ecclesial Information, Catechetical Instructions and Apologetics in pursuit of making good Catholics better Catholics. Any contribution to help this apostolate is heaven-sent and now TAX-DEDUCTIBLE (in USA). Please visit us at www.defensoresfidei .com.