Watch Out For The Baobabs: Dinner with Mother Theresa

Psalm 37: 23-28

Psalm 37: 23-28

"The Lord guides the steps of a man and makes safe the path of the one he loves. / Though he stumble he shall never fall for hte Lord holds him by the hand. / I was young and now i am old, but i have never seen the just man forsaken nor his cheldredn begging for bread. / All the day he is generous and lends and his children become a blessing. / Then turn away from evil and do good and you shall have a home for ever; / for the Lord loves justice and will never forsake his friends."

Romans 7:14 - 25

Romans 7:14 - 25

“For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do, I know not. For what I would do, that do I not; but what I hate, that I do. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law, that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good, I find not. For the good that I would do, I do not; but the evil which I would not do, that I do.

Now if I do that which I would not do, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God -- through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.”

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Dinner with Mother Theresa

I've been reading Mother Theresa's Come Be My Light, usually during and after dinner, and I was thinking about her "darkness" which she describes as a separation from God.

Now, i'm no theologian or apologist, so i dont claim to know anything about catholic mysticism; but i believe scripture and the teaching and traditions of the church.

so the following thoughts are entirely my own;

Separation from God.

To hear him, smell him, feel his presense.

For some, it's soft and subtle.

For others, it's loud, blinding and overwhelming, especially when someone receives a call to a priestly or vocational life, so that when the call is answered, and His voice appears to soften or even disappear, it may feel like abandonment; but it's not. God never abandons those he calls to serve Him.

He already knows that the only thing necessary to serve Him is to be willing to listen to Him and to say yes. Just like a parent who gives life to their young, feeds them and shelters them and teaches them, there comes the inevitable day when the young have been given all they need and they must venture out on their own to continue to grow.

So too does God, give us life, he feeds, shelters and teaches us, so that when He calls, He knows you are ready to accept your mission, like the Apostles, with Him, but without Him.

To say yes is time for you to bear testimony (Luke 21:13); the only tools necessary are those he gives; a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict (Luke 21:15).