What is your attitude when the Gospel is read in Church? Do you feel hit by God’s Word or do you just hear but not listen? - Daily Reflections January 17,2014

TAKING CHRIST’S WORDS LITERALLY

 

The St. Anthony that the Church honors today is not so well known. I invite you to have a look at his life. He lived between 251 and 356, and was 105 years old when he died, in spite of a very ascetic life in the Egyptian desert.

       Anthony was the son of wealthy parents and so lived his early years in luxury. When he was 18 years old, his parents died and he was left to take care of the estate and of his sister. One Sunday, when he attended Mass, the Gospel was about the rich young man, to whom Jesus said, “Go and sell all you possess and give to the poor.” Young Anthony was struck by these words. He felt as if the Lord had spoken to him personally. He left the church and did literally what Jesus had said. He sold all his inheritance and donated the proceeds to the poor. He kept just a bit for himself and for his sister. On another Sunday, when he heard Jesus saying in the Gospel, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow,” he regretted his concession to prudence. He brought his sister to a convent, gave up all he still had, and dedicated himself completely to God by living a life of prayerful austerity in the desert.

       There are at least two points that St. Anthony makes us aware of. One is to listen well to the Gospel as if it were proclaimed just for you. After all, our four Gospels are not just reports of what Jesus did and said more than 2,000 years ago; Jesus is addressing us who read or listen to His words. The Bible is God’s living Word for us! This attitude towards the Gospel would change and improve our spiritual life, even our whole lifestyle.

       A second point is the demonic attacks. Anthony’s spiritual life appears to be a matter of psychological warfare. The enemy is not the world but the temptation to worldliness, to pleasure, complacency and pride. These demons attack us also today to divert our attention from God and from a life lived according to the Gospel. It would be good to recognize these modern demons and reject them with the same decisiveness that helped Anthony win his victory. Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: What is your attitude when the Gospel is read in Church? Do you feel hit by God’s Word or do you just hear but not listen?

 

Lord, I simply ask You for the wisdom to listen to Your Word as addressed to me, and the strength to do what You tell me and fight all temptations to worldliness.