The Kingdom of God
&
Our Daily Pursuit
As a Catholic, I am called to pursue holiness, hoping for eternal life with God. Jesus died and rose from the dead so that all could live with him and partake in his everlasting inheritance. This sounds pretty nice, but sometimes, it is difficult to pursue.
Why?
As humans, we often need to see to believe.
St. Paul said, "for we walk by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7
Though St. Paul said this, it is a difficult task. Sometimes, we find ourselves comparable to St. Thomas, doubtful until seeing. We want to pursue heaven, and do the will of God, but with no sight of God's kingdom on earth, it sometimes seems too much.
I guess what I am saying is, as great as faith is, and walking by it, it not something we just go with. The desire to live for God is very real, and we can even find ourselves praying often and making sacrifices for others, but at the end of the day, we still fall short for we don't have that "mustard seed faith."
Fr Michael Scanlan T.O.R. speaks about this and says:
Though St. Paul said this, it is a difficult task. Sometimes, we find ourselves comparable to St. Thomas, doubtful until seeing. We want to pursue heaven, and do the will of God, but with no sight of God's kingdom on earth, it sometimes seems too much.
I guess what I am saying is, as great as faith is, and walking by it, it not something we just go with. The desire to live for God is very real, and we can even find ourselves praying often and making sacrifices for others, but at the end of the day, we still fall short for we don't have that "mustard seed faith."
Fr Michael Scanlan T.O.R. speaks about this and says:
"Thinking with a kingdom mentality can simplify many of the decisions we need to make in the course of our lives. The key question to ask is: Does this job, this relationship, this school, this amusement, take me closer to God or further away?"
It is easy to approach our day to day with a faithful mindset, but even with that, we don't always give it ALL. We are normally willing to go part of the distance, but never ALL the way. This is what shows the difference between the Saints and just good Catholics. Fr. Dominic Foster T.O.R. calls it "Crucifying oneself." With this, we do the Lord's will and not our own.
It is possible to do OUR will and still be faithful but are we truly giving the Lord our best effort? We want to be well off, work that perfect job and with that, we'll go to Mass on Sunday. When we die, we want to go to heaven. All of that is good, but it sounds like the man in scripture who asks the Lord what he needs to do to get to the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus tells him he is doing well, but needs to give up everything and follow him.Then scripture says he walks away sad because he has many possessions. The man was not ready to give God everything. Scripture never reveals to us what happens to him, but I know when I read that part of the bible, I worry. I see myself in that man!
I want to be as faithful as possible, so that when I die, I can really feel like I've done the best I could. I want to "Crucify my will."
I want to be a Saint!
How can this be done though?
I personally believe it begins with putting away the worldly possessions that hinder us, and living not for wealth and personally success, but for the Lord! I've grown up in a middle class family, but we've never been spoiled with gifts or vacations. My family has lived simply, and because of this, I've seen the fruits of not worrying about worldly comforts. Don't get me wrong, I have nice things, and I really enjoy them, but I don't find myself worried about money like so many people I know.
I was asking my friend why he chose his major and one of the biggest reasons was because he thought the money would be good. I dug deeper and asked if he liked anything else, and he did, but he didn't want to major in it because the money was not as good. He preferred the one, but chose the other due to financial reasons.
I understand that people want to have families and want to be financially okay, but when this person said that to me, I was surprised by their lack of faith in God. He will provide, if we just call upon him! No Saint ever died rich, and that is because they knew that the real riches were not earthly, but heavenly.
I personally, at this point, am looking into teaching, at a Catholic School none the less, and have been told by people that I'm stupid, because I will not make money. Well, they're correct that I am stupid, but I like to think that God will provide for this stupid person.
We are not on this earth to do well for ourselves first, and then do things for God. God needs to come first. I am not saying that you have to be poor to be a good Catholic, but in a way, you're better off if you are, and the Saints have proven that. If you are well off, you need to put that money towards helping less fortunate people, and remember that everything you have, is because of God, and needs to be used to better his kingdom.
It is a choice we all have to make. Either live for God and "Crucify your will," or do your own thing and hope it is enough. You can get to heaven either way. but we all know the saying, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Matthew 19:24
Well I'd rather not risk that. I've never seen a camel go through a needle.
Life for him completely, or you will probably regret it.
It is easy to approach our day to day with a faithful mindset, but even with that, we don't always give it ALL. We are normally willing to go part of the distance, but never ALL the way. This is what shows the difference between the Saints and just good Catholics. Fr. Dominic Foster T.O.R. calls it "Crucifying oneself." With this, we do the Lord's will and not our own.
It is possible to do OUR will and still be faithful but are we truly giving the Lord our best effort? We want to be well off, work that perfect job and with that, we'll go to Mass on Sunday. When we die, we want to go to heaven. All of that is good, but it sounds like the man in scripture who asks the Lord what he needs to do to get to the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus tells him he is doing well, but needs to give up everything and follow him.Then scripture says he walks away sad because he has many possessions. The man was not ready to give God everything. Scripture never reveals to us what happens to him, but I know when I read that part of the bible, I worry. I see myself in that man!
I want to be as faithful as possible, so that when I die, I can really feel like I've done the best I could. I want to "Crucify my will."
I want to be a Saint!
How can this be done though?
I personally believe it begins with putting away the worldly possessions that hinder us, and living not for wealth and personally success, but for the Lord! I've grown up in a middle class family, but we've never been spoiled with gifts or vacations. My family has lived simply, and because of this, I've seen the fruits of not worrying about worldly comforts. Don't get me wrong, I have nice things, and I really enjoy them, but I don't find myself worried about money like so many people I know.
I was asking my friend why he chose his major and one of the biggest reasons was because he thought the money would be good. I dug deeper and asked if he liked anything else, and he did, but he didn't want to major in it because the money was not as good. He preferred the one, but chose the other due to financial reasons.
I understand that people want to have families and want to be financially okay, but when this person said that to me, I was surprised by their lack of faith in God. He will provide, if we just call upon him! No Saint ever died rich, and that is because they knew that the real riches were not earthly, but heavenly.
I personally, at this point, am looking into teaching, at a Catholic School none the less, and have been told by people that I'm stupid, because I will not make money. Well, they're correct that I am stupid, but I like to think that God will provide for this stupid person.
We are not on this earth to do well for ourselves first, and then do things for God. God needs to come first. I am not saying that you have to be poor to be a good Catholic, but in a way, you're better off if you are, and the Saints have proven that. If you are well off, you need to put that money towards helping less fortunate people, and remember that everything you have, is because of God, and needs to be used to better his kingdom.
It is a choice we all have to make. Either live for God and "Crucify your will," or do your own thing and hope it is enough. You can get to heaven either way. but we all know the saying, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Matthew 19:24
Well I'd rather not risk that. I've never seen a camel go through a needle.
Life for him completely, or you will probably regret it.
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