Categories
Catechism

Search and rescue

So that this call should resound throughout the world, Christ sent forth the apostles he had chosen, commissioning them to proclaim the gospel: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”4 Strengthened by this mission, the apostles “went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it.”5

4 Mt 28:18-20 5 Mk 16:20

Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2

In our age, the idea of “making disciples” is often met with a good deal of skepticism.  For good reason.

Conversion is too often coercion.

The “good news”, instead of resounding, too often amounts to irritating noise (at best) or really bad news.

Too often the good news is disconnected from the sheer goodness of God and amounts to no more than another avenue for human pride, prejudice, power, and greed.


God calls us to seek him because he is the best there is.

He has made a way for us to recognize and find him – Jesus. 

He sends search teams to find and rescue us, to bring us across the border into his kingdom, to foster and adopt us as children, family.

That is the good news, the really good news.

May that news resound throughout the world.

Grace and peace to you…

dw

Categories
the real self

The real self

I consider that the spiritual life is the life of [one’s] real self, the life of that interior self whose flame is so often allowed to be smothered under the ashes of anxiety and futile concern.

— Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island

In these few words Merton has spelled out the scope of this blog:

  • the ‘real self’ God made us to be
  • how to find that self
  • how to fan it aflame amid the ashes of our lives

It boils down to what I have come to believe is the good news of the Gospel:

Following Jesus leads us from our fake selves to our real selves,

from living in our heads to living from our hearts,

from advancing our own agendas to receiving the gift of His,

from thirsting for the next transient thrill to drinking deeply of eternal life.

dw

  • What do you think of the notion that each of us has a ‘real self’ that God loves and nurtures?
  • To what extent do you feel in touch with your real self?
  • What are the ashes in your life that hinder your real self from emerging and thriving?

I encourage you to consider writing out your answers, either in a journal or in the comments section.

Grace and peace to you…

dw

p.s. this, too, is a refresh of an earlier post