John 12: 24-26
Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me."
Dawg's thought:
Today's prayer intention is an end to the use of contraception.
Yesterday I heard a great homily on the "Contraceptive Culture" in regards to how children are seen as a burden versus a blessing. In the days of Christ, children were seen as "lower-class" citizens and it was thus that Christ took the meek and presented this child to those who sought greatness.
To them, and to us, Christ showed through His Passion and Death, that in order to have life, we must be willing to die to ourselves. The gift of His Passion, Death and Resurrection is the living example we have of today's reading. We have this gift from Our Lord! Counter to this is the "contraceptive" attitude which reject a gift by it's nature.
In Ephesians, St. Paul writes that Christ was "obedient unto death" and the key word in the phrase is "obedience." In a contraceptive society, right and wrong is at the discretion of the "user" (your faith may be a good thing for you, but it's not for me).
It is tough to be meek. It is tough to be obedient. In the end, though, if we are willing to die, our sacrifices will bear fruit so that others may see Christ in us.
|
