At times we may all fall prey to a false sense of holiness and humility, for instance if we pronounce ourselves 'very humble' simply by that pronouncement, we are the exact opposite. It can be a dangerous thing to think oneself a 'better' Christian than another, in that pride gains a foothold and the person fails to recognise the sin within.
It is to those who rely on fulfilling their 'duty' in that though they may attend Mass, yet they know nothing of God or Scripture. Yet many feel themselves superior to others in that they are followers of the 'Law' and make sure they fulfil all the requirements that they think is expected. Those who follow this procedure are little more than Sunday Christians, who show up when required and forget God for the rest of the week.
There are also those who have gained a great deal of knowledge of Scripture and the Teachings of the Church, these people then expound on deep theological issues and long discourses not to evangelise the Faith but to simply impress those around them with their intellect.
Yet another motive is those who feel Jesus needs them to 'save' the Church, so they embark on bitter arguments over every piece of Scripture, and in so doing they condemn and belittle those with a differing opinion. The Church has lasted for over 2,000 years, when did God need man to fulfil His Will and protect what is Gods?
God does not need man, but rather man needs God and it is also man who is needy in that God is sufficient unto Himself, we understand this more when we realise that we are not the source of goodness, and that every good word, thought and deed has its origins in God and not ourselves! Going to Church does not make a great Catholic, but allowing the indwelling Spirit free access to every part of our being will permit God to transform us into living reflections of Himself and it is this that makes us Holy the indwelling Spirit working through us.
We cannot fool God by 'going through the motions' we may fool our fellow man but never God! For those who think they may behave badly with the excuse that they will go to Confession yet on Monday they exhibit the same behaviour are fools to themselves and God is far from their hearts. They are also opening themselves to God's anger in that they are abusing a Sacrament for their own ends, which is to behave as if God were the fool!
We all fail and fall short of the Glory of God; this should make us aware of how much we owe God and how we all measure as nothing if it were not for God acting within our Soul. God loves the repentant sinner, the man who with true remorse opens his heart and weeps for his sins against God, but then upon receiving absolution through the Sacrament of Penance he goes forth with the intention of not to committing that sin again.
We must remember that nothing is hidden from God, let us remember the example of Judas Iscariot who walked with Jesus, yet in his heart he had already decided to betray his Lord, so when Jesus said at the last supper that one of the disciples would betray him, Judas along with the others said," Surely it is not I, Rabbi?" He (Jesus) answered, "You have said so." Judas thought that he could fool God with empty words as he sat with the disciples.
Judas opinion of himself far outweighed his opinion of God, and like many he went through the motions, fulfilled his religious obligations then went on to betray the Son of God. The actions of Judas is a warning to us all when we attempt to try and make our appearance and our actions seem 'holy' when one's motive is to make oneself admired and to take by stealth the honour due to God alone!
Until we realise that we too can become like Judas, we are in danger of becoming what we hate.
Peace of Christ to ALL
Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.
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