- 1 Peter 1:14-16 -
- From: "Traudel" <hildegard8@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2007 12:12:12 -0500
- 1 Peter 1:14-16 -
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when
you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in
all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
_____________________________________________________________
God is holy - he sets the standard for morality. He is a God of mercy and
justice who cares personally for each of his followers. Our holy God expects
us to imitate him by following his high moral standards. The very best way
to learn to imitate someone is to spend time with them, to get to know them
well. We can know God through his Word, we spend time with him when we
commune with him in prayer. Like him, we should be both merciful and just;
like him, we should sacrifice ourselves for others.
<<>><<>><<>>
July 20th - Elias the Prophet
Elias was the first man who had devotion to Our Lady. He founded the
Carmelite Order and transmitted this devotion to it. He also fought against
the polytheism that was contaminating the Israelite religion, as well as the
bad customs of his people. He prepared his disciples to continue the same
fight to preserve the true Faith in Israel.
In the bulls In Apostolicae dignitatis and Dominici gregis cura, Pope
Clement VIII declared that conversion of souls is a part of the mission of
Elias inherited by the Carmelites. In one of his epistles St. Athanasius
advised a hermit to dedicate himself to the conversion of his fellow man
following the example of Elias. In her revelations, St. Bridget of Sweden
saw the Mother of God offer Elias and St. John Evangelist to men as models
for preachers. St. Ambrose also acknowledged the exceptional gift of Elias
for conversion, and St. Ephrem affirmed that the Prophet led the way in the
conversion of the Israelites to the true God, from Whom they had distanced
themselves.
St. John Chrysostom stated that Elias was the guide of peoples and the
guardian of sacred things. St Gregory the Great saw in Elias the model of
the true Doctor. St. Gregory Nazianzen pointed to him as an example for
Prelates. St. Simeon Metaphrastes advised that one who wants to know the
spirit of a religious order should study the spirit of its founder, since he
is the spiritual father of all its followers. In Elias, he concludes, his
burning fire and zeal of soul was so intense that they were transmitted as
primary characteristics of the Carmelite Order.
Fr. Cornelius a Lapide spoke these inspired words about him: "Elias was the
symbol of all the Prophets in consideration not only of his perfection,
liberty and efficacy in preaching but also of the glory of his great
actions. He was the sentinel, the prophet, the master, the protector and the
apostle of the Chosen Nation, and he was the mirror of the preachers of the
Divine Word, since his spirit, tongue, and gestures were but one single
flame turned toward converting peoples."
Comments of the late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira: (d. 1995)
These are profound thoughts that show Elias as a kind of Prince of the
Prophets. Prince of the Prophets, because he had a broader mission than the
others, he converted more people, and his action was more profound for the
Israeli nation. He was a true guide of God's People, who saved it from
disaster.
He came to fight against heresies in a time when the Chosen Nation had
completely deteriorated. Divine Providence chose Elias to found a religious
order, to communicate to it his spirit and then to sustain this spirit in
the whole Israeli nation. His spirit encompassed all the gifts God wanted to
give to Israel.
The synagogue had deteriorated because it had accepted the errors of
neighboring religions. At that moment Elias came to fight, to expel heresy,
to restore the kingdom of God in the people of God, to found a family of
followers, and to thus begin to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. This
was the grandiose mission of Elias.
It is beautiful to see how God is traditionalist. How He loves the
continuity in His own works. One of the proofs of this is that in the far
distant past He sent two men, Enoch and Elias, to guarantee that nothing
would change from that model He had established in the early times. That
same continuity exists between the things He taught Enoch and Elias then and
in end times, when they will again come to confirm those truths and convert
those who are able to be converted, or to fight against those who have
deviated from the truth. Therefore Elias and Enoch are the bridges God
established between His marvelous work in early times and His marvelous work
to come in the end times.
Both Prophets - Elias and Enoch - did not die, but probably live in the
terrestrial Paradise, where they contemplate the things of Heaven and follow
the course of events on earth. They are awaiting the clock of History to
strike their hour to return. Then the Angels will transport them to earth to
fight against the Antichrist. They will come to fight the last battle of
History. That is really a beautiful thing! Having lived in the early days of
time, they will return to link the beginning of History to its end, like a
kind of clasp that connects and gives unity to all of History.
Elias was the first man to have devotion to Our Lady. In a small cloud in
the distance he saw from Mount Carmel, he understood a symbol of Our Lady.
The small cloud grew larger and larger and gave origin to a rain that saved
the Israeli nation from a terrible drought. Our Lady was the cloud and Our
Lord was the rain. So, this same man who first glorified the Holy Virgin
will be the last one to sing her praises at the end. We can understand how
magnificent this saint is.
The Chosen People indisputably was a pre-figure of the Catholic Church. This
is something St. Paul often taught. The crisis Elias resolved in his time
has countless analogies with the crisis we are witnessing today in Holy
Mother Church. Therefore, Elias is also the patron of those who combat the
Progressivist Revolution inside the Catholic Church and fight to maintain
the tradition God established in His Church. Our analogous situation draws
the love of Elias to us, Catholics who have dedicated our lives to this
fight. Also our devotion to the Holy Virgin is another factor that attracts
his benevolence.
What should we ask Elias on his feast day? I would suggest asking him for
three graces:
1. To increase our devotion to Our Lady;
2. To help us see more clearly both in its supernatural and natural
aspects our vocation of serving the Catholic Church;
3. To transform us into true Apostles of the Last Times, and for this to
give us a fiery spirit, coherence, combativeness and a love for celestial
things, so admirably described by St. Louis Grignion de Monfort as
characteristic of the Apostles of the Last Times.
With these three supernatural gifts I am certain we can accomplish our
vocation and, doing this, attain celestial happiness after having had an
earthly happiness. Because in this life true happiness comes from knowing
and realizing what we were born to do. It is the only true happiness. I hope
Our Lady will give to all of us this happiness.
Quote:
Let us look at our own faults, and not other people's. We ought not to
insist on everyone following in our footsteps, nor to take upon ourselves to
give instructions in spirituality when, perhaps, we do not even know what it
is.
-St. Teresa of Lisieux
Bible Quote
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in a field. Which a man
having found, hid it, and for joy thereof goeth, and selleth all that he
hath, and buyeth that field. (Matthew 13:44)
<><><><>
Three prayers in times of weakness, trial, tribulation:
O Heart of Love,
I place all my trust in Thee,
for I fear all things from my own weakness,
but I hope for all things
from Thy goodness.
-St. Margaret Mary:
I live through the mercy of Jesus, to whom I owe everything and from
whom I expect everything.
-Pope John XXIII:
Yet, O Lord, though I have no feeling of confidence in Thee,
nevertheless, I know that Thou art my God, that I am Thine, and
that I have no hope but in Thy goodness; so, I abandon myself
entirely into Thy hands.
-St. Francis de Sales:
.
- Prev by Date: God's Great Judgment Fire Day Coming. Get ready.
- Next by Date: DN Remembering Your Inheritance 7/21/2007
- Previous by thread: God's Great Judgment Fire Day Coming. Get ready.
- Next by thread: DN Remembering Your Inheritance 7/21/2007
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
