march 22 2006

Mt 5:17-19 Jesus said to his disciples:“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

My life is at a crossroads and ever constant is the guidance of Jesus to show me the Way to life. I want to be on the journey to the Kingdom not simply an earthly journey. For the Way...there is the Word...Jesus is the fulfillment of all of the prophets and the laws that went before. Over all of the laws and commandments is the obedience to God to live and teach the faith is a great gift and a path to the Kingdom.

My past teaching of the faith was very elementary. I became Catholic in 1998. I would love at some point in my studies to have philosophy and religion courses from a university. I am content for now to continue to study the Bible daily with the three aspects to review in my overview: content, context and culture. I also use the Bible for Lectio daily. Prayer and mediation and lectio are always a part of my daily faith journey. I know that I have a great deal to learn about the faith and in some senses am only beginning.

I always think of love when I think of the commandments. I believe that a sincere heartfelt love is required to be at the foundation of all acts of faith. Without love, the law and the ways of faith are empty and meaningless. I feel that my faith journey has been difficult but filled with love. I am grateful for the sense of being completely loved by God and pray that God will show me the ways to share my faith today and in the future.

I have lately been worshiping in a parish church more than the monastery chapel. It has been a humbling experience. I am learning who the members of the parish are and what their needs seem to be. At some point, when I know more about the group, I am thinking that I would like to share in some of the faith education of the parish.

My impression now is that the 120 young teenagers that meet on Sunday nights with a youth minister might be a good starting point, but I would like to be more familiar with the parish and ministries at this point. The young people of the Church are challenged in our times. It has become more and more countercultural to be a true Christian. I pray this morning for the youth ministries of the Church that they may have inspired and faithful ministers.