Here and Now with Francis 2/1/16 (Jesus, Mary, faith, mercy, temptation, religion, privilege)

By Anonymous

Turn from a god of miracles to the miracle of God, which is Jesus Christ.

 From the angelus address
This account of the Evangelist Luke is not simply the story of a fight within a community, like can sometimes happen in our neighborhoods, caused by envy and jealousies. Rather it brings to light a temptation that a religious person is always vulnerable to — all of us are vulnerable to it — and which we must decidedly avoid. What is this temptation? It is the temptation to think of religion as a human investment and consequently, to begin to “negotiate” with God, seeking our own interests. Instead, the true religion is about receiving the revelation of a God who is Father and who is concerned with each one of his creatures, also with the smallest and most significant in the eyes of man. [...] No human condition can be a motive for exclusion — no human condition can be a motive for exclusion — from the heart of the Father, and that the only privilege in the eyes of God is that of not having privileges. The only privilege in the eyes of God is that of not having privileges, of not having protectors, of abandoning oneself in his hands. [...] “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). The “today” proclaimed by Christ that day applies to every day [...]
May she [Mary] help us to turn from a god of miracles to the miracle of God, which is Jesus Christ. [full text]

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