Terce – Part of the Homily Preached Today on the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple: “People’s thoughts and inclinations can always be perceived from what they think of Christ. Those who love the truth and strive to fulfill God’s will do believe in Christ and love Him. Those that love evil and deeds of darkness hate Christ in order to justify their malice.” (Love the Catholic Church) Old Simeon, filled with joy at seeing the infant Jesus, called on God to release him from life. A sign of a true encounter with Jesus is always a deep joy that brings about the loss of interest in everything that is not of Christ, including life itself. Many saints longed for death, and to be with the Lord forever, long before they actually died. The only reason that a person who has truly encountered our Lord Jesus continues to endure life on earth is so that God may use him or her to bring others to Christ and glorify God. Unless we perceive Christianity as an encounter with Christ we will never see it as a source of joy; we would only be using it as a means to power and wealth instead living it. Simeon, enlightened by the grace of the Holy Spirit, also foretells that Jesus will be the subject of disputes between His followers and His enemies; a sign that will be contradicted so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. We are living witnesses to this reality. People’s thoughts and inclinations can always be perceived from what they think of Christ. Those who love the truth and strive to fulfill God’s will do believe in Christ and love Him. Those that love evil and deeds of darkness hate Christ in order to justify their malice. There is never a neutral ground in one’s attitude towards Jesus; we are either for Him or against Him.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 15:35:41 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015