To love with madness...

My birthday was on Saturday. Unfortunately, the stomach virus going around the family finally made it's way to me and #2 son. Thank you dear mother, she could not abide by my not having a birthday cake and so, braving the germs, she still came over with cake and conversation. Nothing stops my mom!

Thank you sweet husband for having the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (extraordinary form) offered for me today at our parish. It was an incredible moment for me at the consecration. (I felt much better today.)

For reflection, I take the following to heart...

Through the Eyes of Faith ~ January 26, 2008 ~ Saints Timothy and Titus, bishops

Father Walter Schu, LC
Mark 3:20-21 Jesus came with his disciples into the house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

Introductory Prayer: Another week has passed in your company, in your service. What a joy, what an honor, what a glory to be the subject of a king like you! Lord, I know that you make all things new and that through this moment of prayer you can give me a new vision of faith to see you more clearly.

Petition: Lord, increase my faith. Mary, help me on this Saturday to grow in faith in all of the circumstances of the day.

1. A Man for Others “Jesus was a man for others. Such a crowd gathered around Jesus and his disciples that they had no time even to eat. Nothing mattered more to Jesus than feeding the souls of his neighbor with the nourishment of his love and his truth, so much so that he neglected to feed himself. This self-sacrificing attitude permeated every moment of his earthly existence, culminating in the complete oblation of his life on the cross at Calvary” (John Bartunek, LC, The Better Part, p. 375). To what extent is my desire to serve those around me, even to the point of sacrifice, the thermometer of my love for them? Have I ever been accused by anyone of “madness” because of my dedication to apostolate?

2. Out of His Mind? Some of Jesus’ relatives, whose outlook was all too human, believed that Christ’s commitment to apostolate was excessive. “The only explanation, they thought, was that he was out of his mind. On reading these words of the Gospel, we cannot help being moved, realizing what Jesus did for love of us: people even thought him mad. Many saints, following Christ’s example, have been taken for madmen — but they were mad with love, mad with love for Jesus Christ” (The Navarre Bible: St. Mark, p. 87). Do I long to love Christ, in my heart and in my life, even to the point of madness? Is my one great ideal in life to be a saint — not for my own sake, but in order to be able to transmit Christ’s love to those around me, to help bring about his Kingdom in souls?

3. The Eyes of Faith Christ is vindicated when he asserts that no prophet is accepted in his own native place (Mark 6:4). What Christ’s relatives clearly needed was a greater supernatural spirit, so that they might be able to see Jesus with the eyes of faith. Faith is a great gift, more precious than life itself. But what exactly constitutes the essence of faith? Faith is not just a mere feeling of God’s presence or will in one’s life. Believing to giving yourself, offering yourself to God. Believing is letting God’s love conquer you for his Cause and not raising objections. Believing is journeying, suffering, fighting, falling and picking yourself up again, doing your best to be faithful to a God who calls you but whom you cannot see. Believing is following a star you once saw, though you do not know where it will take you. Believing is accepting gladly the perplexities and surprises, the toil and shocks experienced in being faithful. Believing is trusting God and placing your hope in him.

Conversation with Christ: Thank you, Lord, for the gift of faith. It is a gift more precious than life itself. Help me to see others with the eyes of faith, to pour myself out in loving and serving them, just like you did. Help me to love you with madness as I serve each of my brothers and sisters.

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