TODAY: March 14, 2011
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MARCH 14, 2011
DAILY PRAYER WITH REGNUM CHRISTI
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HOLINESS AND COMMUNITY
March 14, 2011
Monday of the First Week of Lent
Father Alex Yeung, LC
Matthew 25:31-46
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with
him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will
be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the
sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say
to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you
gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed
me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.' Then
the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you
hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see
you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we
see you ill or in prison, and visit you?' And the king will say to
them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of
these least brothers of mine, you did for me.' Then he will say to
those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal
fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you
gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger
and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill
and in prison, and you did not care for me.' Then they will answer
and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger
or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?' He
will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of
these least ones, you did not do for me.' And these will go off to
eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are my Savior and Redeemer. I
place all my hope and trust in your divine heart. United to you, all
things are possible — even my holiness. With childlike faith
and trusting you without limits, I know that I will experience the
triumph of your grace in my life. I wish to grow in holiness today,
so that I will love you, my God, above all else. Amen.
Petition: Lord, help me to appreciate that growth in holiness
occurs within a Christian community.
1. Holiness is Essentially Seeking the Good of Others The Catechism
of the Catholic Church states that "charity is the soul of the
holiness to which all are called: it ‘governs, shapes and
perfects all the means of sanctification.'" And quoting St. Therese
of Lisieux, it reminds us:
If the Church was a body composed of different members, it couldn't
lack the noblest of all; it must have a heart, and a heart burning
with love. And I realized that this love alone was the true motive
force which enabled the other members of the Church to act; if it
ceased to function, the apostles would forget to preach the Gospel,
the martyrs would refuse to shed their blood. (Catechism of the
Catholic Church, 826).
In today's Gospel Jesus grants eternal life to those who did good to
others, whom he identifies as his very self. Contrariwise, he sends
to eternal damnation those who did nothing to help others, whom he
identifies as his very self.
2. Holiness Necessarily Entails a Dedication to the Christian
Mission Hand-in-hand with genuine charity is our sense of Christian
mission. There is no genuine holiness apart from a radical
orientation toward the spiritual and material good of others. In a
word: there is no holiness without mission. As Pope John Paul II
reminds us:
The universal call to holiness is closely linked to the universal
call to mission. Every member of the faithful is called to holiness
and to mission. This was the earnest desire of the [Second Vatican]
Council, which hoped to be able "to enlighten all people with the
brightness of Christ, which gleams over the face of the Church, by
preaching the Gospel to every creature." The Church's missionary
spirituality is a journey toward holiness ... (Encyclical Letter
Redemptoris Missio, 90).
Our times cry out for this kind of holiness, one enflamed by the
ardent determination to bring as many of our brothers and sisters as
possible to Christ.
3. Holiness Occurs Within the Christian Community This universal
call to holiness and mission is meant to be fostered within the
context of a Christian community. We are meant to spur each other on
by our devotion, good example, generosity and encouragement.
Dear brothers and sisters: let us remember the missionary enthusiasm
of the first Christian communities. Despite the limited means of
travel and communication in those times, the proclamation of the
Gospel quickly reached the ends of the earth. And this was the
religion of a man who had died on a cross, ‘a stumbling block
to Jews and folly to Gentiles'! (I Corinthians 1:23). Underlying this
missionary dynamism was the holiness of the first Christians and the
first communities (Encyclical Letter Redemptoris Missio, 90).
Do I strive to build up my family and Christian community with
missionary awareness? Do I value the example and help I receive, and
do I strive to help others along this same path of holiness?
Conversation with Christ: Lord, make my holiness real. Let it be
characterized by a heartfelt, growing and universal love for all
people. Let my heart beat in unison with yours. Open my eyes to all
the good that I can do for my brothers and sisters, and don't allow
me to walk away from any opportunity to show this world your love.
Amen.
Resolution: I will take some time today to examine my conscience
and honestly assess the spontaneity, depth and extension of my
charity towards others, especially those I supposedly love the most.
meditation.regnumchristi.org