Come Away By Yourselves

The parable of the ten virgins invites us to reflect on the virtue of wisdom.  Wisdom has to do with having the right goals and knowing how to achieve them.  If our goal is heaven, the means to achieve this is charity.  Growth in charity demands of us a variety of other steps depending on our personal situation and history.  To know what we want is not enough, we must also be committed to the steps required to achieve it.

https://comeawaybyyourselves.com 

Originally published 2021

Jesus stresses the importance of humility for being "great" and even "first" in the Kingdom of God.  Humility is hard to come by, however, because pride is not easily overcome.  The road to deep humility is a often a painful one, but there is also a shortcut called gratitude.  

The Psalms and other Bible passages are full of encouraging claims about who and what God is for us.  The Lord is our rock, our stronghold, our inheritance  ...  Faith makes these claims come to life.  To be all that he wants to be for us, we must try to let God be our one and true God, whom we love with all of our soul, all of our heart and all of our mind.

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"This is the will of God for you, your sanctification."  With these words, St. Paul reveals to us the great potential of our Christian life.  St. Josemaria was inspired by God to remind us of this universal vocation.  We should always be confident about taking the next step in our spiritual life.  It is something that God always wants for us.  Holiness is  growth in faith, hope, and charity powered by the access we have to God's grace in prayer and the sacraments.  

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Life in Heaven is the supreme goal of our life on earth.   Desiring Heaven is brought about by the theological virtue of hope.  Our longing for Heaven, and our capacity to reach it, is tied to our love of God in this life.  We must learn to love God as our happiness in this life if we wish to enter eternal life confidently.  Hope helps us avoid despair on the one hand, whenever we see the depth of our sinfulness, and keeps presumption at bay on the other hand, whenever we are tempted to falsely "exaggerate" God's mercy. 

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October is the month of the Rosary.  We celebrate "Our Lady of the Rosary" and reflect on the many advantages of the recitation of this powerful prayer. 

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Jesus tells us about two sons.  One does his father's will after saying he wouldn't.  The other says yes to his father but promptly disobeys him.  Jesus, our model, does both: he says yes to the Father's plan and then carries it out.  Loving God's will is essential to our Christian life.  It is Jesus's sole motive and he is our sole model.  St. Josemaria also greatly emphasized this key aspect of holiness.

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The paralytic at the pool in Bethsaida had "no man to help him."  We should always want to be "that man" for others.  Concern for our neighbor takes humility and detachment from our self-concern.  Our love for God is closely linked to this love for others.  You can't love God without being like him, and God is love.

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Jesus' visit to Martha and Mary contains great insights for our Christian life.  Mary's attention to our Lord is a great act of appreciation and love.  Jesus' correction of Martha is not owing to her being busy serving, but more for her being distracted and worried.  Love, which includes prayer, is the one thing necessary.   And love unites our attention, giving focus and purpose to all that we do.

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The Holy Spirit is the great advocate and counselor of our Christian life.  With open minds and hearts, we go to him to learn life in Christ.  The Holy Spirit always teaches us the basics: we are children of God called to live the fullness of Charity free from excessive fear and worry. 

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