The responsorial psalm, Psalm 89, speaks of God's faithfulness and mercy toward David. Of David it is said: "On a champion I have placed a crown; over the people I have set a youth. I have found David, my servant; with holy oil I have anointed him, that my hand may with him, and through my name shall his horn be exalted. I will set his hand upon the sea, his right hand upon the rivers."
God has also made you and I champions, champions, that is, of grace, of the faith, of redemption. Those gifts from God were mediated to us through many people, beginning with our parents and grandparents or other faith-filled men and women that God put into our lives: teachers, friends, school counselors, fellow employees.
God found us, as he found David, and anointed us through the Church's sacraments. God laid His hands upon us through these sacraments and through sacramentals, signs of God's presence: another's person's love, compassion, understanding, forgiveness, and concern for our well-being and our success in school, in marriage, in business and so on. We, in turn, are meant to be sacramentals for others, that is, signs of God's love and mercy. We are exalted in many ways and each of those through the name of Jesus! And, yes, God sets our hands upon the "seas" of life by which we sail into successes that lead us to God's love and into rivers that wind our ways through rough currents into God's gift of salvation. God is always at work in us and through us, making us "champions" on our race to eternal life where we will be crowned for all eternity.
Showing posts with label Champions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Champions. Show all posts
Monday, January 27, 2020
Monday, January 22, 2018
Champions and Warriors
In today's responsorial psalm, God says to us about David: "On a champion I have placed a crown; over the people I have set a youth. I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him, that my hand may be always with him, and that my arm may make him strong. My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him."
God has also found you and me, His servants and His handmaidens! To God, we, too, are champions upon whom has been placed the crown of redemption. Like David, we have been singled out and anointed for God's purposes. When? at our Baptism and in the sacrament of Confirmation. Many of us have also been anointed in the Sacrament of the sick. Why has God anointed us? For the same reason that He anointed King David: to assure us that His hand is always with us and that His arm is making us strong and, most importantly, because His faithfulness and His mercy is always with us!
David grew as a military leader and king. How? by co-operating with God, following God's instructions! On our way to God's Kingdom, we, like King David, are also warriors, fighting a war against Satan, who wants to keep us out of "the Promised Land" of heaven. Like David who, in his journey to the Promised Land, encountered Israel's enemies, we will encounter enemies. We will win our battles over Satan if we listen to the Lord, seek the Lord, let the Lord lead us, acknowledge our need for guidance and wisdom, recognize our pitfalls, and trust the Lord to lead us through the darkness and around the traps set for us.
We will be champions, as was David, or is any athlete, if we practice and practice and practice the skills needed to become successful spiritual warriors! Practice what? what is needed to win our battles: humility, repentance, honesty, forgiveness, spending time at the feet of the Lord on a daily basis, acknowledging where we are weak and seeking reinforcements from the Lord on a regular basis, and praying for courage and wisdom!
God has also found you and me, His servants and His handmaidens! To God, we, too, are champions upon whom has been placed the crown of redemption. Like David, we have been singled out and anointed for God's purposes. When? at our Baptism and in the sacrament of Confirmation. Many of us have also been anointed in the Sacrament of the sick. Why has God anointed us? For the same reason that He anointed King David: to assure us that His hand is always with us and that His arm is making us strong and, most importantly, because His faithfulness and His mercy is always with us!
David grew as a military leader and king. How? by co-operating with God, following God's instructions! On our way to God's Kingdom, we, like King David, are also warriors, fighting a war against Satan, who wants to keep us out of "the Promised Land" of heaven. Like David who, in his journey to the Promised Land, encountered Israel's enemies, we will encounter enemies. We will win our battles over Satan if we listen to the Lord, seek the Lord, let the Lord lead us, acknowledge our need for guidance and wisdom, recognize our pitfalls, and trust the Lord to lead us through the darkness and around the traps set for us.
We will be champions, as was David, or is any athlete, if we practice and practice and practice the skills needed to become successful spiritual warriors! Practice what? what is needed to win our battles: humility, repentance, honesty, forgiveness, spending time at the feet of the Lord on a daily basis, acknowledging where we are weak and seeking reinforcements from the Lord on a regular basis, and praying for courage and wisdom!
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