Monday, September 12, 2016

The Christian Goal

Image result for Holy SpiritThe Neocatechumenal Way is an itinerary to Christian Formation.  Its goal is to form Christians by bringing us closer to Jesus Christ.  I have been walking in the Neocatechumenal Way for ten years.  It has been a struggle for us, but these are things I have seen in the Way.  

1.  I have seen a brother yell at our catechists and storm out slamming the door behind him.  We are not perfect, and there are times we disagree with our catechists.  In fact, some of us have issues with authority.  

2.  I have seen a catechist clench his fist and yell at a brother.  The catechist team is not perfect as well.  

3.   I have seen brothers in the community arguing over petty little things.  None of us are perfect. 

4.  I have heard brothers pray for themselves and the people whom they love.      

All these show that we are all human.  But this is not what impressed me. These are the things that impressed me.  These are the miraculous things that show the manifestations of the Holy Spirit.   

1.  A week later, the brother who stormed out came back, apologizing to the catechists for his behavior. 

2.  After calming down and taking some time off, the catechist who yelled at the brother called the following day to apologize and asked for his forgiveness. 

3.  The two brothers who were constantly disagreeing and arguing with each other eventually learn to forgive one another and accepted each other's weaknesses.  They even learned to cooperate and become partners in setting up for the celebration.  

4.  In addition to praying for themselves and loved ones, they have learned to pray for those who hurt them.  In other words, a brother prays for the father who abandoned him and the wife prays for the other woman who slept with her husband.  
  
Love is always linked to forgiveness.  You cannot love if you cannot forgive, and if you do not forgive, then there is no love in you.   

The Church is like a hospital.  It is there for sinners.  Christ is the physician who comes to heal our sins.  Christ wants to make us into a new creature.....to rid ourselves of the old man of sin and live as a new creation in Christ.  He knows that as weak creatures, we can fall into sin.  However, Christ instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation so that we can be reconciled back to God and His Church after falling into sin.  Christ comes to do much more than forgive our sins.  He came to heal us of those sins so that we can live virtuous lives like the holy saints.  Holy saints like Mother Teresa of Calcutta show that it is possible with God. Every saint was once a sinner; therefore, it is possible for a sinner to become a holy saint.  The goal of every Christian is eternal life with God.

     
          

17 comments:

  1. Forgiveness belongs to God we have to pray for the grace to forgive. Left to our own devices, we put an end to each other.

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    1. Dear Anonymous at 12:32 pm,

      Christ instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation so we can ask forgiveness for our sins because we do sin from time to time. And our sins offends God. Remember what Jesus said when the Apostle Peter asked how many times he should forgive? Christ also said that if you do not forgive then neither will your Father in Heaven forgive you.

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  2. "And our sins offends God"
    What an admission! The NCW team here has always said we can't offend God.

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    1. Dear Anonymous at 3:27 pm,

      Actually, the NCW team has always said that our sins cannot take away God's glory. Our sins offend God but it cannot physically hurt him the way it hurts humans. Sins can destroy humans, but it cannot destroy God.

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  3. I nominate AAA for Sainthood.

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  4. Will God forgive Tim Rohr for his sins ???? the Man going against the Church WOW!!!!

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    1. Dear Anonymous at 1:44 pm,

      Yes, God can forgive Tim Rohr's sins if he confesses and repents. However, if he only goes to confession because he only wants to receive graces without feeling sorry, then his sin remains.

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    2. Does Apuron feel sorry for his sins?

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    3. Where is that information found? That a person who goes to confession without "feeling sorry" is still bound by his sin? Saying that confession is useless if you don't feel sorry might make some people not even want to go to the sacrament for fear that they aren't "feeling sorry" enough and won't be forgiven. Way to go. Scare people away from the sacrament by burdening them with "feelings".

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    4. Dear Anonymous at 10:53 pm,

      It is found in the Bible. There were two men. One man came before the Lord's altar beating his chest and with his head bowed. He said, "Lord forgive me for I am a sinner." The other man also went before the Lord's altar and said, " Thank you Lord that I am not like this man who is a sinner." One of those men went away justified with his sins forgiven. The other one did not.

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    5. Dear Anonymous at 8:47 pm,

      Worry more about your own sins than the sins of others.

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    6. It says one of them walked away justified not that one of them was forgiven. Can it not mean that one of them walked away justified of God's forgiveness and that the other not? What about the bitter son who confessed that he wasn't happy with his brother's treatment? Was he or was he not forgiven?

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    7. Dear Anonymous at 6:59 am,

      When a person goes to confession, they should be confessing and repenting their own sins, not the sins of the others. The sins of other people are not your own, and it is up to those people to confess their own sins and repent from it.

      So, if you are not happy with the way your brother treats you, then confess to God your sins of how you hate your brother and are angry at him. Jesus said to love your neighbor. He never said to love your neighbor's sins.....just to love your neighbor. So, if you hate your brother because of his sin....then confess your hatred of your brother and repent from it, then you will be forgiven. Your hate is YOUR sin, not your brother's.

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    8. Of course you confess your own sin! That wasn't the point though. The point was, how do you distinguish "feeling sorry" and "not feeling sorry"? Isn't the mere fact that you are "aware of your sin" that you already "feel sorry for it" because you know that what you did was wrong? Whether that sorrow arises out of love or fear of God is a completely different point. And whether there is satisfaction and justification as a result of the confession of sin is a judgment that is left to God.

      The whole point wasn't about what type of sin was forgiven in confession, but the condition of forgiveness.

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    9. Dear Anonymous at 11:32 am,

      In the confessional booth, that is between you and God. God is the only one who knows a person's heart. God is the only one who knows whether,you are truly repentant or not.

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  5. Hi Diana!
    My name is Abner, i'm a brazilian and i don't know how to speak English properly. But i wanna say that you are doing a really great job telling for everybody the truth about the neocathecumenal way.
    I have a profile in FB: "Defendo o Neocatecumenato"( is all in Portuguese). If you wanna see the profile, here is the link of it: https://www.facebook.com/defendendoo.neocatecumenato
    This text is so beatiful! Can i translate it into portguese and post on the profile?
    Thanks!
    Have a nice weekend

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    1. Dear Criticas de Abner,

      Yes, you may translate it into English, and I can publish it as a post. You may have to make a couple of comments if it is too lengthy. Number your comments as 1 and 2 if it is too long.

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