SUNDAY STRUGGLE

SUNDAY STRUGGLE

 

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” – Mark 2:27

 

 

There are very few “big things” that my wife and I quarrel about. One is attending Sunday Mass first thing in the morning and being on time. That’s the least that I can do as my way of giving my Sunday to the Lord. So I demand that of myself… and my wife. After all, isn’t He supposed to be number 1?

However, my beloved has a problem waking up early on Sundays. This is where the struggle begins. I persuade her to get up and give her a series of short, powerful lectures on putting God first as we get ready for Mass. The result? We make it there alright but you can sense the tension between us. We do make peace as the Mass progresses but I’ve already missed the whole point of the Lord’s Sabbath — to worship and love God with delight as a couple and be renewed by Him on His special day.

When I think about it, my wife and I work at our business six days a week and sometimes it even takes us out of town. I forget that my wife’s physical well-being is more important than the “rules” I impose on myself. After all, there are Sunday Masses from morning to evening. More than manmade guidelines, it’s being an instrument of God’s love that counts. Ariel Driz (adriz77@yahoo.com)

 

REFLECTION:

Do I impose stern rules on the people around me and forget to love?

 

Lord Jesus, loving people with Your love is more important than sacrifice. Please remind me of this always. Amen.

 

LET US BE FOCUSED ON THE THINGS THAT MATTER

 

One of the first tactics of the devil is to try to distract us from the things that should be the foci of our life. If he can achieve this goal, he will have succeeded in neutralizing our impact in bringing the Gospel to others. This means that the Church’s mission will be blunted and bringing back humanity to its proper place of submission to the will of God will be delayed.

There is an urgency to proclaim the Gospel and to proclaim it in truth without any accretions that take away from its power to save. The Gospel stands in judgment over the world and its various cultures. The Gospel does not have to adapt its truths to the cultures in which it is being proclaimed. It must be proclaimed in truth and all that is in a particular culture that is not in conformity to that truth must go. Yes, we adapt the manner of proclaiming the Gospel to the individual culture, but never the content of the Gospel.

Sociologists, anthropologists and many others will defend the primacy of culture over and against the Gospel, but they are wrong. The truth of the Gospel is not open to debate; it is not open to alteration in the name of cultural sensitivity. If we fail to be clear about the truth of the Gospel when we proclaim it, we do a disservice to those who hear it and we become at least partially responsible for their errors. I’m sure none of us want to be responsible for the errors of others so we had better heed the call to both live and proclaim the Gospel faithfully in response to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Yes, we must always seek to understand different cultures, but we must also be willing to call to conversion various aspects of the cultures in which we work. Otherwise, we will condemn ourselves to an exercise in futility because unless the Gospel is proclaimed in its fullness, it will not be able to establish itself in the lives of those who hear it. Our task of proclaiming the Gospel to the ends of the earth will never be completed. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

 

Reflection Question:

Do I tend to let slide certain culturally accepted aspects of my life even though I know they are contrary to the Gospel? If so, it is time I did something about it.

 

Jesus, You proclaimed the truth whether it made You popular or not. Help me to do the same and so be faithful to You.

 

St. Branwallader, pray for us.