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Crossing the Threshold of Hope
"The 'signs of the times' show that we stand at a critical moment in the human drama. The many negative factors of today's world can breed pessimism. But John Paul II insists that "this feeling is unjustified: we have faith in God our Father and Lord and in his mercy... God is preparing a great springtime for Christianity, and we can already see it's first signs." Humanity must now cross the 'threshold of hope'. We must now 'passover' from a culture of death to a culture of life. And only in this context will we understand JPII's Theology of the Body."
Christopher West, "Theology of the Body Explained", Pauline Books & Media, USA, 2003, p1-2
posted by Holly at 4:25 PM
4 Comments:
What struck me very hard about this today is that we must now cross over to a new culture. It is the culture of death that brings us down , that burdens us - negative and problematic ways of living and doing things - ways we have been raised, which are truly unhealthy, but are part of our 'conditioning'. And that these things need to be overturned in our lives - in our thoughts and in our practice. As my spiritual director says "You are not meant to cope but to live."
JPII has called us to CHANGE the things which bring us down, which deaden our spirits. And while I can relate to the sound of helplessness and discouragement many moms can feel, I truly believe that these feelings are a CALL not a CROSS...
I said in Minnesota when I was there, and JPII's words are confirming it - in our lives, in our homes, in our homeschools, when something is not working for us - when things aren't working for us personally - we're tired, fatigued, overwhelmed, stressed... these are all indications of the need for fundamental change...
Change in outlook, change in practice, change in what we think...
So we need to ask ourselves some questions:
What am I doing which is bringing me down? What negative bad habits do I have which are preventing me from hearing the message God is telling me? What unhealthy things am I doing in my family life and exactly when do I plan to change them? What am I thinking about - HOW am I thinking? Am I forming my mind with God's truth?
And then the second step, at the point of our re-conversion, when we decide to choose life instead of death:
What does God ask of me then? What are the life- giving things I can do to make my life, my self, my home, my family better?
And then we need to practice these with a vengeance...
Excellent! This is very true on how we must re examine frequently our daily going ons. Frequent examination of conscience is key. Ask Jesus to show you where your area of weakness is. Most of us have many. This is ok. Prayerfully pick one defect and work on it one on one with yourself and Jesus. Make a resoulution and with frequent examination, see how you are doing. IE: lack of will power with indulgence of food. In the morning during your prayer time make the resolution to eat only at the scheduled meal time. At your noon time examination, see how you have fared. Ask Jesus for the grace of self control. Ask forgiveness where you have failed. Repeat this at bed time. Praise God where you have succeeded. Work at one defect at a time. Face them head on! God is good! With His grace, we will attain holiness!
I have been thinking about this a great deal today. The culture of death is not only about abortion, sterilization, euthenasia, contraception... the culture of death is about all that is opposed to God's original intent for us at creation - at life=giving creation...
So in my life, while these other death-sins are not my personal issues, I have other, more subtle forms...
And the culture of death affects all areas...
Do I feed myself and my family life-giving foods or death-giving foods? Is my table stocked with healthy fruits and veggies or chocolate cakes and soda pops?
In the education of my children, am I focusing more on pushing them to get A's at the expense of hollering at them? Or ignoring their persons? So intent on that report card or grammar lesson that I forget I am working with a person? Do I realize and live the reality that it is love that makes the world go round, not marks or memory lessons...
In my home, is it a simply and clean home, which serves to meet the needs of the living family? Or is it a mess? With clothes everywhere, and counters unclean and germs growing in every nook and cranny? So messy you wouldn't want a child to wander in the middle of the night?
Is my relationship with my hsuband truly life-giving: am I attentive, loving, kind, considerate? Or am I judgemental, grumbling, resentful...
Is my relationship with God life-giving in that it reveals that I believe in his love for me? Or is it full of rules and regulations, with God as a 'just judge', which only lead me to a sense of oppression and to judge and condemn others to further the abuse...
ALL our lives need to be re-evaluated... in the light of what gives life and what doesn't. As Moses said, "I place before you today a choice - choose life or choose death." The choice remains the same for us too.
And the question is - when EXACTLY are we planning on making these decisions? Because the only thing holding us back is a decision. Let's PRAY for this power to decide freely for life...
AMEN!
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