Begotten of God

The first reading for today’s liturgy begins with the statement: “If you consider that God is righteous [good, just, truth and love], you also know that everyone who acts in righteousness [goodness, holiness, justice, and truth] is begotten by God."  If I am begotten of God, I originate from God. If my choices flow out of justice, goodness, righteousness, holiness, truth and/or love, they originate from the Holy Spirit working within and through me.  If my works are of God, I, too, am of God. Christ came into the world in obedience to the Father to take sin away, to destroy sin, so that we are no longer its slaves but free to act through the Spirit.  Sin in the world and sin in human nature has been nailed to the cross. Anyone who believes and looks upon the cross of Christ for mercy each day and each moment, especially when tempted by Satan, will know Christ as Christ knows him/her and is set free to reject Satan by the One who knew no sin.  Christ triumphed over sin through His death and resurrection  in obedience to the Father’s will  and so, too, will you and I in Christ Jesus, who, as St. John tells us in today’s Gospel,  baptizes us with the Holy Spirit. That is my hope. What is yours?

Amalia/Mother Frances: source of joy/thirst for justice

Amalia Frances Rose Streitel aka Mother Frances Streitel, Foundress of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother—Amalia must have been very talented in languages and music, as her parents, following her elementary education, sent her to the Maria Stern Institute, an educational facility that specialized in these subjects.  Maria Stern was an educational institute of higher learning only  for the elite girls of Amalia’s day. This class system was troublesome to Amalia, as it seemed to be unjust to offer this opportunity only to girls of wealthy families.   As a student at the Maria Stern Institute, Amalia excelled in all of her subjects, but especially in French and music, was especially attracted to the study of religion and found joy in prayer, liturgy and religious studies. In prayer or solitude, reflect on the following questions: Where do you find joy? What injustices of our day are bothersome to you? What do you learn from Amalia and/or about her that attracts you to the Lord’s will for you?