Today's Gospel of daily Mass is Matthew 9:1-8. How dare Jesus be so bold! Yet He Is God, and God is All, and we are nothing.
"And after getting into a boat he crossed the water and came to his own town.
"And just then some people were carrying a paralyzed man lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.’ Then some of the scribes said to themselves, ‘This man is blaspheming.’
"But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said, ‘Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, “Your sins are forgiven”, or to say, “Stand up and walk”? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—he then said to the paralytic—‘Stand up, take your bed and go to your home.’ And he stood up and went to his home.
"When the crowds saw it, they were filled with awe, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to human beings." [Emphases mine]
I love the reaction of the crowds in this audio-picture synapse of Jesus' life and work among us on earth. There were those in the crowd who judged and accused Jesus of blaspheming. There were those in the crowd who were filled with awe and glorified God; and some of the ones who first thought He was blaspheming, probably had their hearts and minds changed after seeing the miracle. Jesus' touch of grace was not just imparted on the paralytic, healed, but also on the crowds.
This morning while doing more mowing and watering, and then some electrical wiring, I am going to ponder these word images of His Real Presence, deep within my soul.
I pray to be filled with awe and to glorify God. To think that God gives such authority to human beings: perspective-altering!
Earlier this morning I read again about St. Francis of Assisi's conversion and life after. His soul continued to progress beyond, yet amidst his friar-brethren desiring more temporal structure within their spiritual. St. Francis achieved union with God outside their temporal wishes. God marked His and Francis' union with visible stigmata, on a mountain, when Francis had gone off awhile, alone, to pray.
And although I'd not considered this aspect of God giving authority to human beings, He certainly did repeatedly as evidenced in Scripture. It has to be God's authority, though, and His giving it. Love is the test, and sometimes it is quite difficult to discern love in a glimpse or by other than first-hand experience.
The other touch today is from an old, out-of-print book on the doctrines of Elizabeth of the Trinity. I offer this excerpt, as it is a good one to ponder as to our being created uniquely-different, despite exterior commonalities.
"Yet among Carmelites, each one lives in her own manner the doctrine so dear to St. John of the Cross, the Mystical Doctor of Carmel: the doctrine, namely, that the creature is nothing and that God is all. One star differs from another not only by its size, but by its special light, its peculiar brilliance; God is multiform in His [followers]. It would be useless to try to force even two [Christians] of the same religious family into an identical mold, for unalterable differences are concealed beneath certain common features....To distinguish is to see better."
[Note: I am not going to give citation for this quote due to my personal attempt to not be distracted by who and in what, but to appreciate persons' thoughts as simply being good and helpful.]
"And just then some people were carrying a paralyzed man lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.’ Then some of the scribes said to themselves, ‘This man is blaspheming.’
"But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said, ‘Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, “Your sins are forgiven”, or to say, “Stand up and walk”? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—he then said to the paralytic—‘Stand up, take your bed and go to your home.’ And he stood up and went to his home.
"When the crowds saw it, they were filled with awe, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to human beings." [Emphases mine]
I love the reaction of the crowds in this audio-picture synapse of Jesus' life and work among us on earth. There were those in the crowd who judged and accused Jesus of blaspheming. There were those in the crowd who were filled with awe and glorified God; and some of the ones who first thought He was blaspheming, probably had their hearts and minds changed after seeing the miracle. Jesus' touch of grace was not just imparted on the paralytic, healed, but also on the crowds.
This morning while doing more mowing and watering, and then some electrical wiring, I am going to ponder these word images of His Real Presence, deep within my soul.
I pray to be filled with awe and to glorify God. To think that God gives such authority to human beings: perspective-altering!
Earlier this morning I read again about St. Francis of Assisi's conversion and life after. His soul continued to progress beyond, yet amidst his friar-brethren desiring more temporal structure within their spiritual. St. Francis achieved union with God outside their temporal wishes. God marked His and Francis' union with visible stigmata, on a mountain, when Francis had gone off awhile, alone, to pray.
And although I'd not considered this aspect of God giving authority to human beings, He certainly did repeatedly as evidenced in Scripture. It has to be God's authority, though, and His giving it. Love is the test, and sometimes it is quite difficult to discern love in a glimpse or by other than first-hand experience.
The other touch today is from an old, out-of-print book on the doctrines of Elizabeth of the Trinity. I offer this excerpt, as it is a good one to ponder as to our being created uniquely-different, despite exterior commonalities.
"Yet among Carmelites, each one lives in her own manner the doctrine so dear to St. John of the Cross, the Mystical Doctor of Carmel: the doctrine, namely, that the creature is nothing and that God is all. One star differs from another not only by its size, but by its special light, its peculiar brilliance; God is multiform in His [followers]. It would be useless to try to force even two [Christians] of the same religious family into an identical mold, for unalterable differences are concealed beneath certain common features....To distinguish is to see better."
[Note: I am not going to give citation for this quote due to my personal attempt to not be distracted by who and in what, but to appreciate persons' thoughts as simply being good and helpful.]
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