Wednesday, May 2, 2018
TODAY'S REFLECTION - WEDNESDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK OF EASTER
St. Athanasius, bishop, doctor of the Church
Acts 15:1-6 / Psalm 121:1-5 / John 15:1-8
BE IN UNION WITH THE LORD AND BEAR FRUITS OF LOVE
Beloved, Holy Mother Church celebrates today the memorial of St. Athanasius. He was a learned and courageous person. He fought against the Arian heresy (a false teaching propagated by Arius concerning the humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ). St. Athanasius, through preaching and writing, made sure that the true teachings of the church prevailed. He suffered many hardships, but that did not deter him. We are encouraged and motivated to also defend our faith/rights, fight wrong teachings/practices and fight for the general good.
A controversy arose at the time St. Paul and Barnabas made efforts and preached the Good News to both Jews and gentiles alike. For a good number of the Jewish converts at that time, they saw Christianity as only a sect of the Jewish religion. For a non-Jew to be a Christian, he or she has to go through the Jewish practices: that the males must be circumcised. This issue had to be resolved or corrected, in order not to cause more harm than good.
To be a Catholic is to be universal in faith, devotion and love. Catholics, though from different backgrounds, countries, tribes and cultures, are not limited to any one particular nation, tribe or culture. Catholics are one, apostolic, universal, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of God. This is the mind of Christ. We are one. No discrimination, segregation, tribalism, sectionalism, domination, etc [should exist among us]. When a dispute arises, we need one voice and mind to resolve issues. We may have our differences, but for the sake of the common good, let us come together.
Friends, our Gospel reading on Sunday was on Jesus as the True vine (Jn 15:1-8). The same reading is being repeated as our today's Gospel reading. We are reminded that, we need to bear good fruits in abundance. Failure to do that, we will be cut away. If we are making efforts to bear some fruits that are not plenty, we need to be pruned (corrected). Teachers and students know the importance of doing corrections after marking exercises. For any of us, when we put in some efforts and don't get enough or the expected results, it is fitting to accept our short-coming and do it better. Without being connected to Jesus our " Life- wire ", " main switch", " Life- support gadget", "oxygen", " dependent ", "power House", we can do nothing. A chick that is not under the bosom of the mother (hen) can easily be carried away by a hawk. Yes, there is the need for us to get connected to the right source (the [vine]). However, don't be like a tick, sucking peoples' blood. There is also the need to "cut away" our vices/bad deeds in order to bear good and abundant fruits, pleasing to God. Let us pray for the grace to learn to swallow our pride, bury our differences and resolve disputes or controversies for the common/general good. May we also get connected to the right source of power and cut away/down the bad aspects of our lives in order to be more productive. BE BLESSED.
Fr. Gaa ( 0206854323/0240308878)