ALL IS GIFT

A Reflection from Fr. Robert Barron 

The Parable of the Prodigal Son tells us practically everything we need to know about our relationship to God, if we attend to its details. 

“A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that is coming to me.’” To live properly in God is to live in an attitude of receptivity and generosity, receiving a gift from God and being always ready to give it away. God respects our freedom and so “the father divided up the property.” But this is a tragic moment. What is meant to be a flow of grace becomes divided, separated, riven into yours and mine. 

 Where does the son then go? He wanders with his fortune into the “far country.” In Greek this is the chora makra, the great wide-open emptiness. There he quickly squanders his inheritance, and so it always goes. When we cling to the divine life as our own, we lose it. He was forced to hire himself out so as to become a feeder of pigs. In the chora makra, there are only relationships of economic calculation, each one striving to hang on to what is his. “No one made a move to give him anything,” and so it goes in the far country. It is the place of no giving. 

 Coming to his senses at last, he decides to break away and return to his father, saying, “Treat me like one of your hired hands.” He knows that even the slaves are in a life-giving relationship. 

 The father sees him from a long way off (he had obviously been looking for him) and then, throwing caution and respectability to the winds, he comes running out to meet him. The Bible is not the story of our quest for God, but of God’s passionate, relentless quest for us. The father exclaims, “Put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet.” Some Church Fathers saw this as the ring of marriage, symbolizing the re-establishment of right relation between us and God. 

 The parable then turns to the older son. Though superficially different from his brother, they are actually in the same spiritual space for he too sees himself in an economic relationship to his father. Like most upright, religiously respectable people, he is put off by this celebration for someone who most assuredly does not deserve it. Listen to his language: “For years I have slaved for you. I never disobeyed any of your orders, yet you never gave me so much as a kid goat to celebrate with my friends.” He is a slave, and one who carefully obeys—not one who has caught the spirit of his father. He feels that he has to earn or deserve his father’s love. He hates his brother and is resentful of his father’s generosity. “Then when this son of yours returns after having gone through your property with loose women, you kill the fatted calf for him.” When we fall out of love with God, we fall into hatred of one another. 

 The father patiently explains: “My son, you are with me always, and everything I have is yours.” 

 In the end, this is the key to the entire parable and is true for both sons, though they don’t realize it. 

 Everything that God has is given to us. His whole being is “for-giving.”

Preemptive Love

In a world where governments wage wars thousands of miles away, it's difficult to imagine how individual Christians can live out the call of Jesus to be peacemakers. But in the wake of the Iraq War, Jeremy Courtney has found a way. As executive director of Preemptive Love Coalition, he helps provide lifesaving surgeries and medical training in the war-torn country. Through unique insights from his experience, he'll share how peace and restoration often begins with a simple decision to say "yes."

Pope Francis General Audience - 22 October 2014

 St. Peter's Square
Wednesday, 22 October 2014

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning,

 The image of the body is often used when one wishes to highlight how the elements that comprise a reality are strictly joined to one another together, forming one single thing. Starting with the Apostle Paul, this expression has been applied to the Church and has been acknowledged as her most profound and most beautiful distinguishing feature. Today, then, we would like to ask ourselves: in what sense does the Church form a body? And why is she defined as the “Body of Christ”?

 In the Book of Ezekiel a vision is described, a bit particular, impressive, but capable of instilling trust and hope in our hearts. God shows the prophet an expanse of bones, separated from each other and dry. A desolate scene.... Imagine an entire valley full of bones. God asks him, then, to invoke the Spirit upon them. At that point, the bones move, they begin to come together, to join themselves. First nerves and then flesh grew on them and in this way they form a complete body, full of life (cf. Ez 37:1-14). See, this is the Church! Today, please take up the Bible at home. Open it at Chapter 37 of the Prophet Ezekiel, do not forget, and read this, it is beautiful. This is the Church, she is a masterpiece, the masterpiece of the Spirit who instills in each one the new life of the Risen One and places us, beside one another, each at the service and support of the other, thereby making of all of us one single body, edified in communion and in love.

 The Church, however, is not only a body built in the Spirit: the Church is the Body of Christ! And this is not simply a catchphrase: indeed, we truly are! It is the great gift that we receive on the day of our Baptism! In the sacrament of Baptism, indeed, Christ makes us his, welcoming us into the heart of the mystery of the Cross, the supreme mystery of his love for us, in order to cause us to then be raised with him, as new beings. See: in this way the Church is born, and in this way the Church is recognized as the Body of Christ! Baptism constitutes a true rebirth, which regenerates us in Christ, renders us a part of Him, and unites us intimately among ourselves, as limbs of the same body, of which He is the Head (cf. Rm 12:5; 1 Cor 12:12-13).

 What springs from it then, is a profound communion of love. In this sense, it is enlightening the way that Paul, exhorting the husbands to “love their wives as their own bodies”, states: “As Christ does the Church, because we are members of his body” (Eph 5:28-30). How beautiful it would be were we to remember more often what we are, what the Lord Jesus made of us: we are his body: that body which nothing and no one can ever tear from Him and which He cloaks with all his passion and with all his love, just as a bridegroom does his bride. This thought, however, should cause to spring within us the desire to correspond to the Lord Jesus’ love and share it among us, as living members of his own body. In the time of Paul, the community of Corinth found great difficulty in this sense, living, as we, too, often do, the experience of division, of envy, of misunderstanding and of exclusion. All of these things are not good because, instead of building up the Church and causing her to grow as the Body of Christ, they shatter it into many pieces, they dismember it. And this happens in our time as well. Let us consider, in Christian communities, in some parishes, let us think of how much division, how much envy, how they criticize, how much misunderstanding and exclusion there is in our neighbourhoods. And what does this lead to? It dismembers us among ourselves. It is the beginning of war. War does not begin on the battlefield: war, wars begin in the heart, with misunderstanding, division, envy, with this struggle with others. The community of Corinth was like this, they excelled in this!

 The Apostle Paul gave some practical advice to the Corinthians, which also applies to us: do not be envious, but appreciate the talents and qualities of our brothers in our communities. Envy: “That one bought a car”, and I feel so envious; “This one won the lottery”, more envy; “And this other one is doing really well at this”, and more jealousy. All this dismembers, harms, do not do it! Because, in this way, envy grows and fills the heart. And a jealous heart is a sour heart, a heart which seems to have vinegar instead of blood; it is a heart that is never happy, it is a heart which dismembers the community. So what must I do then? Appreciate the talents and the qualities of our brothers and sisters in our communities. And when I feel envious — because envy comes to everyone, we are all sinners —, I must say to the Lord: “Thank you, Lord, because you have given this to that person”. Appreciate the qualities, be neighbours and share in the suffering of the least and the most needy; express your gratitude to everyone. The heart that knows how to say ‘thank you’ is a good heart, it is a noble heart, it is a heart that is content. Let me ask you: Do we all know how to say ‘thank you’, always? Not always, because envy, jealousy prevent us a little.

 And lastly, the advice which the Apostle Paul gives the Corinthians and which we, too, must give one another: no one consider him/herself superior to the others. How many people feel superior to others! We, too, often say as did that Pharisee in the parable: “I thank you, Lord, that I am not like that one, I am superior”. But this is bad, it should never be done! And when you are about to do it, remember your sins, those that no one knows, feel shame before God and say: “You, Lord, you know who is superior, I’ll keep my mouth shut”. And this is good. And always in charity consider ourselves each others’ limbs, that are alive, giving ourselves for the benefit of all (cf. 1 Cor 12:14).

 Dear brothers and sisters, like the Prophet Ezekiel and like Paul the Apostle, let us, too, invoke the Holy Spirit, that his grace and the abundance of his gifts help us to truly live as the Body of Christ, united, as a family, but one family that is the Body of Christ, and as the visible sign of Christ’s love. 

Greetings:
 I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, including the various groups from England, Ireland, Denmark, Lithuania, Nigeria, Vietnam, China, Japan, Qatar and the United States of America. In a particular way, my greeting goes to the Irish pilgrims from the Diocese of Limerick, accompanied by their Bishop. Upon all of you, and your families, I invoke joy and peace in the Lord Jesus. God bless you all!

 Lastly, my thoughts go to the young people, the sick and newlyweds. The month of October invites us to renew our cooperative action with the mission of the Church. With the fresh energy of youth, with the power of prayer and of sacrifice, and with the potential of conjugal life, may you know how to be missionaries of the Gospel, offering your concrete support to those who work hard to convey it to those who do not yet know it.

Post by John Ramthun.

Love Without Fear: Building Fearless Relationships

A guest post by Brenda Shoshanna, Ph.D 

(author of Religions of Kindness, from our July 2010 issue).

Today fear is rampant in all areas of our lives. There are many ways we seek safe harbor, a place to feel protected and cared for. Many turn to relationships for this, to experience security and comfort. Then, a paradoxical thing happens, the relationship itself becomes a cause of fear. What makes this happen? How can we experience fearless relationships, based upon true compassion and good will?

It has been said that there are only two emotions: love and fear. For some of us, oddly, love is frightening, while fear feels safe. We think fear will warn us of danger and keep us alert. We are taught it can be dangerous to be trusting; that love makes us weak. This is fear speaking, creating confusion, based upon lies. Fear is a liar. The more we believe the false messages it brings us, the more power it has in our lives. The good news is that once we see through fear, once we turn and face it, it melts away. Then it’s easy to see that true strength comes from living a life grounded in love; in understanding what it means to be loving, not necessarily how to be loved.

Fear has many faces and camouflages itself in different ways. In relationships, fear masquerades as counterfeit love. Counterfeit love is the idea that love is a feeling, not a way of life. Counterfeit love confuses the experience of excitement, infatuation, dependence and attachment with love. As soon as you have strong feelings towards another, it is easy to imagine that you are in love. But, most of the time, it is simply that you feel you have finally found the ideal person, who will fulfill all your desires and dreams. Counterfeit love is based upon fantasy and unfulfilled longings from the past. Strong feelings towards another are not necessarily love.

When you use another person as an object to fulfill your desires this is not love. When your desires and expectations are not met, when the reality of the other person bursts through, your so called love often turns to hate. Many say they do not know where the love went. Of course it did not go anywhere at all. It was not love in the first place, only a camouflaged form of fear. It is the fear that causes all the distress and undermines your basic sense of confidence, clarity and good will.

In order to experience love without fear, it is important to and learn how to recognize and dissolve fear and to become clear about the difference between real and counterfeit love. Then you naturally discover where to put your trust, how to look for and find the best in others and how to be strong and safe, no matter what life brings along. You learn how to open your hands and offer to others what it is you have been wanting from them. As you do, you see you already have all that you have been wanting. The source of all you long for is within.

There are many ways of dissolving fear and building fearless relationships. This is the practice of fearlessness, based upon the principles of peace of mind. When these principles are learned and practiced, not only does fear depart, but your natural ability to love and accept others, (and yourself), expands exponentially.

As an example, one of the most common causes of fear in relationships is the fear of rejection, of not being good enough, or able to satisfy your partner or yourself. When this fear becomes active, you twist and turn yourself into a pretzel, become someone you aren’t to get the love and approval you crave. However, this craving is a drug and the more you get, the more you want; and ultimately, the emptier you become. Approval is not love. It is the false self that demands this, the self that is fueled by fear. The truth is that you can never change enough or do enough to “make” someone love you. Again, this is the voice of fear speaking, turning the truth upside down.

No matter how much praise the false self receives, it never feels really approved of or loved. By its very nature, it is skittish, fearful and ungrounded. It constantly craves more and feels threatened regularly. The false self cannot distinguish between what is useless and what is valuable. It eats too much, makes wrong choices and refuses to face reality. When two false selves join together for a love relationship, sooner or later, they become shipwrecked, and wonder what went wrong.

Although we spend much of our time and energy building up the false self, we do not realize that who we are is intrinsically perfect, lovable and complete. If we turn to a relationship to validate or complete ourselves, we are bound to suffer. No matter how many times Amy’s boyfriend told her he loved her, she didn’t believe it. She needed to hear it again and again. “Why do you love me?” she kept asking. Of course this became exhausting for her boyfriend, who, feeling drained, ultimately left. Why would we cling to our disturbing egos? Because we have no idea how magnificent we truly are.

There is another way to proceed. Use your relationship as a teacher to find out who you really are, to dissolve fear, learn to trust and taste the sweetness and power of love without fear. Your relationships will transform naturally and whatever happens, you will feel full and complete.

Divine Love Is Fearless

Cast your fears aside. Seek Jesus.
Give Him your dread, worries and fears.

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love” (1 John 4:18, ESV).

What do you fear?

Whether it’s death, pain, loss, loneliness, shame or anything else, fear is not from God. Jesus described Satan when He said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10).

What have you allowed him to steal from you? Your peace? Your confidence? The assurance that God loves you? Yes, the enemy is active on this earth. But so is God. After describing Satan’s plan of attack, Jesus spoke of His own plans: “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10).

If you’ve ever allowed dread and anxiety to invade your thoughts, you know living in fear is the opposite of living abundantly. God knew we would struggle with fear. From Genesis to John, the words do not be afraid appear again and again, often coming straight from the mouth of Jesus.

Jesus knew we’d encounter fear—not just a healthy fear of God, but distracting, stifling, crippling fear. He wants to help us conquer it because it’s not from Him.

First John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”

Jesus loves us unlike anyone else—with a perfect love. A fearless love. If we focus on Him when we’re afraid, we can be fearless too.

Fear has to do with punishment, and Jesus put an end to the worst punishment of all when He died on the cross. If we confess our sins and commit our lives to Him, our souls will never die. We’ll never face the punishment our sins deserve.

When we’re no longer afraid of death, other fears are put into perspective. But how can we tackle fear of failure, rejection and so much more? King David figured it out. “I sought the Lord, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears" (Ps. 43:4).

Don’t keep your secret fears welled up inside. Seek the Lord. Tell Him your fear. Ask for His help, and have faith that He’ll come through.

When you look to our great, big God, everything else gets smaller. And remember that nothing—not life, death or “anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 8:39).

Struggling with fears? Read this Billy Graham Daily Devotion, titled “Cast Your Cares.” Read the original article at BillyGraham.org.

Group 1 Crew - His Kind of Love - Fearless