Daily Good News Reflection
Cathy Munoz
Dear all,
I would just like to share with you this online Daily Good News Reflections which I get on my mail every day (except Saturday). This comes with a link to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website so you can get the readings for the day. I try to read this first thing in the morning and the reflections are so insightful and helps me understand better the readings and what the bible is teaching us. It’s just amazing also how sometimes the reflection hits you as if she is talking to you.
Anyway, if anybody is interested, you can sign up for your own subscription at http://gogoodnews.net/DailyReflections
Happy reading and have a good weekend everybody
Warm regards
Cathy
From: Good News Reflections
- American Edition [mailto:GoodNews...@gogoodnews.net]
Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2008
10:50 PM
To: Cathy
Munoz
Subject: Good News Reflection for
Friday
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What does it mean to be an Easter people? Because of the resurrection of our Savior, we are redeemed from our deaths to live happily with God forever! Are you confident that you're going to heaven? Find out what the Catholic Catechism says about it in our Good News web course Life After Death - The Eternal Easter Season. Good News Reflection Today's Readings: Joy that lasts In today's readings, we see two different sources of joy. In the Gospel, the people witnessed a miracle and got their bellies filled free of charge. They were so happy, they wanted to make Jesus their king and live like this all the time. When he rejected their nomination, how long do you think their joy lasted? Certainly, some lost it by the time they arrived back home, because the walk was too hot or too long. Or they complained about how the fish was cooked or what kind of bread should have been served. Or when they got home, they had to deal with some jerk who'd never met Jesus. In the scene from the Book of Acts, the apostles were joyful, too, but not because something good had happened. They were not even rejoicing over the fact that they had been released from prison. They were joyful because they were suffering! It thrilled them to be judged worthy of ill-treatment for their ministry. Were they deranged? Were they masochists? Of course not. Then how could suffering give them joy? Psalm 27 holds the key: The Lord is our refuge. Joy that lasts comes from being able to snuggle up in the love of the Lord. Joy that fades comes from relying on life's circumstances. No miracle provides lasting joy, but when we gaze on the loveliness of the Lord — keeping our eyes on him — our joy can continue forever. No matter what the circumstances, we can remain joyful if we remain aware that we are loved passionately by the Lord. Instead of focusing on our troubles, we look at Jesus and take refuge in his love. When we allow the evil that's going on to snatch our attention, we feel hopeless and angry. But when we refocus on Jesus, we can joyfully praise God for the goodness he will resurrect from our sufferings. Granted, this is not easy; I struggle to stay focused on Jesus, too! Our normal reaction to anything that causes suffering is to complain about it. While we complain, we're looking squarely at it. We cannot see God's hand blessing us. How do we look at and see an invisible God? By scouring through the scriptures to find the promises that relate to our situation. By reading the lives of saints to absorb their view of God. By asking others to point out what they can see of God's hand in our troubles. Anything we do that puts Christ into the center of our vision — listening to Christian music, attending Mass, joining a small faith-sharing community or taking a Web course such as "Salvifici Doloris" (On the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering) — frees us to experience the joy that lasts forever (sign up at http://catholicdr.com/e-Classroom/SalvificiDoloris). © 2008 by Terry A. Modica
WAS THIS FORWARDED TO YOU BY A FRIEND? Your support is needed: Note: Good News Ministries is a non-profit organization that accepts donations as support for its ministries but does not charge for anything. Catholic Digital Resources™ is my employment through which I provide my writing services; the income from this (although very small at these early stages) will eventually support the future growth and projects of Good News Ministries. Please spread the word; tell your DRE, RCIA Director, pastor, etc. about what's available for parishes at Catholic Digital Resources™. |
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