6th Sunday OT - Fr. Leo
The Spiritual life is not lived apart from our human life. We cannot pit the spirit against the flesh. It is a matter of balancing the two. As humans, we naturally seek pleasure. It keeps us alive. It is a pleasure to eat because we need to eat. The problem comes when we seek endless pleasure and live totally for our own pleasure. We then become egocentric and insensitive to the spirit of God that lives in us.
We need discipline in all things otherwise we will develop addictions that control us and blind us to our higher angels within. As we mature we discover a value in self-sacrifice. At least it feels like self-sacrifice when it is simply the self-denial we need to make a healthy choice.
The spirit deep within us knows there is something greater to live for then self-centered hedonism. To sacrifice for our children is one example. The spirit will guide our conscience, but we need to stop chasing after material things to hear God’s voice in stillness. The psalmist wrote, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
The contemplative practice of prayer makes seeking our joy in God our first and only desire. Eventually we find our balance in living in the world but guided by the Spirit that lives within us. With this in mind, we can understand today’s Gospel as a celebration of those who live in the Lord and not only for themselves.
Let us re-read this Gospel in our quiet this week and ask the Lord to help us desire his goodness and love before all else. Then all else in its turn will become gifts of God in their true place in our human-spiritual journey!
The Spiritual life is not lived apart from our human life. We cannot pit the spirit against the flesh. It is a matter of balancing the two. As humans, we naturally seek pleasure. It keeps us alive. It is a pleasure to eat because we need to eat. The problem comes when we seek endless pleasure and live totally for our own pleasure. We then become egocentric and insensitive to the spirit of God that lives in us.
We need discipline in all things otherwise we will develop addictions that control us and blind us to our higher angels within. As we mature we discover a value in self-sacrifice. At least it feels like self-sacrifice when it is simply the self-denial we need to make a healthy choice.
The spirit deep within us knows there is something greater to live for then self-centered hedonism. To sacrifice for our children is one example. The spirit will guide our conscience, but we need to stop chasing after material things to hear God’s voice in stillness. The psalmist wrote, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
The contemplative practice of prayer makes seeking our joy in God our first and only desire. Eventually we find our balance in living in the world but guided by the Spirit that lives within us. With this in mind, we can understand today’s Gospel as a celebration of those who live in the Lord and not only for themselves.
Let us re-read this Gospel in our quiet this week and ask the Lord to help us desire his goodness and love before all else. Then all else in its turn will become gifts of God in their true place in our human-spiritual journey!