THE RETURN OF THE KING


WEDNESDAY, THIRTY THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME  

2 Maccabees 7:1,20-31; Ps 17:1,5-6,8,15; Lk 19:11-28

The Returning of the Appointed King

An admirable thing about virtue is that it enables us, as human persons, to produce the best result in whatever good endeavour we channel our energy. Virtue is an inner structure that we develop within our faculties to help them reach their respective goals or objects each time. The virtues are distinguished according to the faculty or power they modify. Those that modify the moral faculties are called moral virtues. Intellectual virtues modify the intellectual power in its different operations. The essence of virtue is a form of rationality living in each of the faculties of our souls. Thus, training in virtue is the practice of bringing the various powers of the soul to listen and obey reason at every instant of their operations. When we receive a new spiritual birth at our profession of faith in Jesus Christ, the virtues are renewed in the light of the new spiritual life we have received, as our rational faculty is also enhanced by the light of faith we receive from God. This distinction distinguishes natural virtues from Christian virtues. The former is suited for our life here on earth. Hence, they enable us to be good citizens of our earthly society or city. The Christian virtues are infused or given by God for our Christian life and struggle here on earth. The natural virtues help us to follow reason in every thinking and doing, while the Christian or religious virtues help us to keep the word of God in faith.

Only the religious virtues can enable a person to sacrifice the earthly joys, pleasures, and life for the hope of another and eternal life. The key difference between natural and Christian virtues is that the former is natural, while the latter is supernatural. The story of the seven brothers and their virtuous mother is an excellent example of a supernatural virtue. The mother raised her children religiously well, so that they held onto their faith even unto death. “But the mother was especially admirable and worthy of honourable remembrance, for she watched the death of seven sons in the course of a single day and endured it resolutely because of her hopes in the Lord.” As we explained yesterday, tenacity of faith, adherence to moral and religious convictions, all come gradually with conversion, a constant practice of prayer, meditation, contemplation, and the doing of the word of God are necessary. The mother’s words are replete with her moral convictions. “My son, have pity on me; I carried you nine months in my womb and suckled you three years, fed you and reared you to the age you are now (and cherished you). I implore you, my child, observe heaven and earth, consider all that is in them, and acknowledge that God made them out of what did not exist, and that mankind comes into being in the same way.” Only a solid and practiced faith can produce such admirable courage and self-sacrifice.

We see the same necessity of virtues in the parable of the talents that our Lord told the people as he was going to Jerusalem. By that parable, the Lord enlightens us on the presence of the kingdom of God here and now, among us and within us. The structures that the Christian virtues infuse in us cause the heavenly kingdom to be within us and manifest through us. Because these virtues arise from our continuous and consistent obedience to the word of God, they establish the presence of God within and among us. In this version of the parable of the talents by Saint Luke, the three servants were given one talent each. Only two invested their talents and made returns on that investment. The Gospel of the Son of Man is a heavenly talent or gift which we have received with faith. We must implement the contents of the Gospel daily in our various life endeavours, to make heavenly returns. To push our Christian faith aside from our daily lives is to refuse to invest or use our talents. We will not grow or develop the structures of the heavenly life required to live in the company of the Son of Man who has gone to receive his kingship from the Father. We must invest our faith in our daily activities for it to yield heavenly returns.  The returns are our development of heavenly virtues of holiness, gentleness, forgiveness, kindness, generosity, charity, etc. The Master will have us give an account of our stewardship when he returns as the King of kings.

Let us pray: Grant us, we pray, O Lord our God, the constant gladness of being devoted to you, for it is full and lasting happiness to serve with constancy the author of all that is good. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WE CANNOT ENTER INTO HEAVEN WITHOUT FAITH

Image
OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP  Isa 7:1-9; Ps 48:2-8; Mt 11:20-24 If you do not stand by Me, you will not stand at all The Lord Jesus Christ takes up the issue of rejecting or ignoring the Gospel message when it comes to us in the gospel reading today. The word of God contains all the blessings of heaven which God had given us in Christ before the beginning of the world. Hence, a rejection or refusal to accept or listen to the Gospel message is a rejection of all the heavenly blessings we have received in Jesus Christ. These divine blessings have import for our lives here on earth. While still dwelling here on earth, those who believe in the word of God already possess the heavenly inheritance God will fully manifest to us when we exit this mortal tent. By faith, we enter into the eternal kingdom and the promised inheritance. The importance of faith for our reception of the heavenly blessings here on earth is illustrated in the first reading...
Read more

BECOMING A DEPENDABLE FRIEND

Image
FRIDAY, SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Eccl 6:5-17; Ps 119:12,16,18,27,34-35; Mk 10:1-12 Making and being a Good Friend The usefulness of a faithful friend is the subject discussed in the passage of Sirach we are considering. From the qualities that make a good friend, we understand that faithfulness depends on the perfection we attain in the formative school of wisdom. The first lesson we learn in nature is faithfulness. The quality of faithfulness is so closely aligned with nature that we consider nature and faithfulness synonyms. The faithfulness of nature, and subsequently of wisdom, is hinted at when we read that wisdom stands at her post/gate daily to beckon the passers-by to turn in and partake of her table. Everything that God made participates in this faithfulness of wisdom in the sense that each remains faithful to his will without failing or leading our minds astray. First, Sirach admonishes us on friendliness to people in general: “A kindly turn of speech multiplies a ...
Read more

The offsprings of the Old man and the New Man

Image
Monday, fifth week of lent/2024 Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP Offsprings of Old man and New Man To be able to live the new life within the new Covenant in Jesus Christ, the old life must come to an end. The distinctive difference between the old man and the new man is the focus of desires. The old man and all who live by him have their desires focussed on the satisfaction of self. On the other hand, the new man and those living by him desires only to fulfil God's holy will. Thus, the old man and his offspring obey the law of sin and death. Living for self alone breeds sins, and sin causes death. So, the old man and all living by him are dead and harbingers of death to others. They are adept at manipulating the Law of God to perpetuate their interest and selfish desires. An example of this skill is the treatment the two old judges of Israel in Babylon meted out to Susanna, wife of Joachim, employing the Law of Moses as given in the first reading. “Two elderly men had ...
Read more