Dear friend,<\/p>\n
This week we again read from St. Paul\u2019s Second Letter to Timothy. Paul reminds Timothy that he received the gift of God through the imposition of Paul\u2019s hands. This is a reference to the Ordination Rite and a reminder for Timothy that he is an ordained priest. \u201cGod did not give you a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.\u201d Paul is certainly challenging Timothy to have courage as a priest in the anti-Christian climate of the first century world. As with all Scripture, there are messages for all of us. While we are not all priests, we all accept the challenge of Paul\u2019s words to \u201cnot be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord.\u201d No matter when we live, speaking truth can be a cause of much division and deep conflict. Truth is certainly something that can divide people. We can often see people resisting obvious truths held by many but others choosing to disagree. When we are speaking of the Bible and theology, we speak of objective truths revealed by God that are not subject to opinion. Obviously, we respect the ability of all people to make up their own minds, but Christ reveals that He is \u201cthe way, the truth, and the life.\u201d While this requires belief by people because some of the \u201ctruths\u201d involve eternal realities, not all truth requires acceptance of the \u201cunseen\u201d things mentioned in our Creed. Sometimes avoiding cowardice is being kind, generous, and authentic while the world pushes words and actions that are spiritually unhealthy. We read the Scriptures and attend Mass to receive the courage needed to love like Christ. We believe the Blessed Virgin to be without sin, which means she is filled with truth. May our desire for truth lead us away from sin and division toward the gates of heaven one day.<\/p>\n
As Jesus tells a story in Luke\u2019s Gospel this week, He invites us to say \u201cwe have done what we were obliged to do.\u201d Jesus uses the role of a servant living in obedience to set the frame for how we respond to God\u2019s law. The commandments of God exist to teach us truth and guide us toward union with Him. Christ wants us to see the laws of God exist for our good. If we approach God\u2019s law and truth as that which obliges us, it removes the process of seeking reward. We follow God\u2019s law because we want to show our love for God not to get something out of it. While we all seek heaven, heaven is something that we receive and not something we take. If we maintain the attitude of a servant seeking to do the will of a master, then we will live in the Love of God who is Truth. Jesus says the truth sets us free. Freedom is for loving the God who loves us. When we love we seek to do the good for the other. Our love for God is a simple call to do what we obliged to do by following God\u2019s Will. God\u2019s Will is eternal life and that gift of heaven is what Jesus promises those who follow His law. Have a great week.<\/p>\n
God bless,<\/p>\n
Father David<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"