I share this with my Christian Right fellows and others who choose to follow and support an unchristian-like political cult in these United States of America of 2024. Just a reminder of what may have once been a "firm anchor" in your lives. A reminder that it can be reattached to a drifting boat through faith.
In Conversation with God
Pg.335
55.2 Christ
is the firm anchor on whom we should rely.
When the
Apostles heard Jesus, they were filled with peace. Then Peter shouted out a
daring and courageous request:
Lord, if it
is You, then command that I go out to You on the water.
The Master,
who was still a few yards from the boat, answered:
Come.
Peter had
much faith, and gave up the security of the boat out of confidence in Jesus’
words. Leaving the boat, he began to walk on the water towards Jesus. They were
impressive moments. Moments of firmness and love.
Then Peter stopped looking at Jesus and began to notice the difficulties around him. Seeing that the wind was so strong, he became fearful. He forgot for a moment that the strength holding him up on the water did not depend on the circumstances, but on the Will of the Lord, who rules over heaven and earth, life and death, all nature, the winds and the sea . . . Peter began to sink, not because of the waves but because his confidence in him who can do all things wavered. He cried out to Jesus:
Lord save me!
Jesus
immediately extended his hand, held him up and said:
Man of
little faith, why have you doubted?
In moments
of weakness or tiredness, when we see ourselves sinking, we should look to
Jesus’ firm hand to steady ourselves. In our prayer we can cry out to him:
Lord save
me!
Sometimes the Christians may stop looking at Christ and pay more attention to things that separate him from God. These things may endanger his faith and lead him to sink down if he does not react promptly.
From the moment one begins to lose the
clarity of his faith or the vocation received from God, he should make a
sincere examination of conscience. He will not fail to see that – perhaps for
some time - his life of piety has been a
bit lax, his prayer less frequent or more distracted, he has been less
demanding on himself. Is not a sin all the more detrimental when its seriousness
is deliberately hidden from the sinner?
Surely, he
does not struggle against his passions as before, and may even complacently
consent to some. A feeling of resentment towards another that is allowed to
fester, a lack of honesty in certain questions that interest us, a friendship
that is too absorbing or simply the awakening of baser instincts that are not
rejected with vigor: little else is needed to raise up clouds between ourselves
and God. Thus, the light of faith becomes darkened.
No comments:
Post a Comment