5. Finally, the priest-victim in the world not only works for the glory of God and acts as salt or leaven in society, not only is prophetic and a wrestler with evil, but finally he is holistic. He does not condemn those who do other kinds of work in the Church, for the Church is a body, and everyone works for the good of the whole. If the eye were the whole body, would there be hearing or eating?

"There are varieties of service but the same Lord. there are many forms of work, but all of them, in all men, are the work of the same God." - 1Cor. 12:4-5 - Our times are something like the days of the Crusaders. If one does not fight for the Holy Land, he is a piker." The dirty look of pastor to curate; or of a sister to the Mother Superior because she is not "interested in the poor living condition of the blacks"; the sneer of the young curate to the pastor because he wants confessions heard on Saturday evening are symptoms of a mood that is destructive of the Mystical Body of Christ. Paul wrote his Letter to the Corinthians because then, as now, groups were throwing brickbats at one another.

There is room for every service in the Church. In one family, there was Martha, the activist whom "Jesus loved"; there was Mary the contemplative whom "Jesus loved"; and there was Lazarus the sleeper, who finally woke up, but Jesus loved him too. There were two doors open to Our Lord in remaking Israel: one was to accept the status quo by siding with the Herodians; the other was to join in the revolutionary violence of the Zealots. He rejected both, and left Pilate in his judgment seat, Herod on his throne, Roman coins in Jewish pockets, but chose twelve good priests infused with His Spirit and changed the world. The chief weakness in Christian action today is a lack of contemplation that spurs action.

The chief weakness in Christian pietism is a lack of concrete earth goals. Before Jesus gave the five thousand the long sermon on the Eucharist, He fed them. Even though a brother, priest or sister is making a different contribution than we are, both are in need of our understanding and love. And there is no better place to be charitable one to another than in that beautiful Establishment of Jesus Christ which He calls His Body.

We all quarry from humanity and each of us is a different stone. "Let each take care how he builds. There is no other foundation beyond that which is already laid: I mean Jesus Christ Himself." - 1Cor. 3:11 -

In conclusion, our "world-connection" is based on the "Christ-connection"...........

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-25 -