Be Godly

Journey to Holiness: Give Unconditionally

March 11, 2019: Monday, 1st Week of Lent

Leviticus 19: 1-2,11-18; Matthew 25:31-46

Be Holy, for I am Holy, invites the Lord today. We are called not only to be God's people, but also to be Godly people.  It is not only about doing good, but doing it as God does! That is where the key is. The Word today gives us clearly what to do (the Gospel), what not to do (first reading), what not to fail in doing (Gospel) and what to abstain from (first reading). All of them put together... the call is to become like God; to be Godly.

Observe the quality that is underlined in the Word - it is about giving and not to worry about getting it back; it is about doing good and not being worried about receiving good in return; it is about loving and not insistent about being loved in return... the prayer of St. Francis strikes a lovely chord here: Grant that I may not seek so much to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love, to be forgiven as to forgive! 

I cannot have conditions, for the good that I do: how much; to whom; under what circumstances; why they and why now... these analyses will make our giving conditional. The Lord instead gives and gives, never counting the cost nor the consequences. Can I grow to be as unconditional as that - that is being Godly.

Holiness tip for today: Give, without laying conditions for it!

Holiness: GROWING THROUGH TESTS

Milestone: The Desert

March 10, 2019: 1st Sunday of Lent
Deuteronomy 26: 4-10; Romans 10: 8-13; Luke 4: 1-13

In our journey to holiness, an essential milestone is the desert and they never lack! Every person goes through these times in quite a succession! Lent is proposed to be a workshop to train us for these testing times that might come our way, all through our life and to grow through them! Today the Word gives us three lessons on confront these testing times:

1. Our Disposition: Be Prepared to Wander

The First reading invites us to understand our history! Every one who has reached some significant point with the Lord in his or her life experience, has passed definitely passed through a phase of wandering. It is an essential spiritual experience to get closer to oneself, to each other and to the One who leads us.

2. Our Approach: Never Cease to Ponder

Yes, the One who leads us into the wilderness knows what is in store! We would miss it all if we do not keep pondering on the way. Pondering is such a powerful exercise that it can make sense of everything that happens, in its own time of course. When we cease to ponder we run the risk of wandering without purpose; the point is wandering with a specific purpose, in a specific direction...which the Lord alone knows.

3. Our Attitude: Be ready to Surrender

That specific purpose, that specific direction will be revealed in time, just in time! Hence the challenge is to surrender and not to fret. Surrendering would first involve the humility of saying to myself: I am not in control of everything. Secondly it would mean lifting my eyes to accept that God is in-charge. And thirdly it is a serene acceptance of God's will with utmost cooperation on our part, not rushing through or forcing things. 

It may be tough to find times so testing, but only when we are tested, we could be sealed OK.