I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God,
to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.
Do not conform yourselves to this age
but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,
that you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2)
In a world so wounded by selfishness, violence, and the culture of death, conformity is not an option. Instead of being conformed, we are called to be transformed, to be raised up in the renewing transformation we call the Resurrection of Christ.
hey Fr. C!
ReplyDeletethanks so much for your reflection!
i kind of figured that you didn't post a homily because of the mission appeal by Sister Mary Francis.
i love your reflection, though! i agree that your favorite line from St. Paul (from Romans 12:1-2) is an important message, especially in today's age that we're living in. when i was spending some meditation time in church yesterday morning and again in the afternoon, i read and reflected on the Sunday readings during some of that time, too. it really is so important to be transformed rather than to conform. just like the prophet, Jeremiah, it may not be the popular thing to challenge the wrong we see in the world, but we have to if we are followers of Jesus. and, the part in the second reading that says: "be transformed by the renewal of your mind" (from Romans 12:1-2) really speaks to me, especially about the importance and necessity of prayer. receiving the Sacraments frequently, especially the Holy Eucharist, and prayer, especially meditation, can really shut out all of the wordly things that we see all around us. meditation can change the way we think, because when we spend time meditating, we are spending time in the presence of God without using words and without asking God for what we want. for me, meditation is more of a listening to God and the more we do this, the clearer we will hear God's voice. "Speak, Yahweh; for your servant is listening." (1 Samuel 3:10) comes to mind. in a world where there is so much noise and talking, it's good to be more of a listener.
PEACE!
tara t
I would suppose that St. Paul's urging to make our bodies a holy and pleasing sacrifice to God would be a great opportunity to preach on that wonderful text by that other great man of God named Paul: Humanae Vitae.
ReplyDeleteTara and Ben...hmm, "prayer as renewing of mind" and "Humanae Vitae and two Pauls:" parish events for the Pauline year?
ReplyDeletehi Fr. C!
ReplyDeleteyes, these could be great ideas for parish events for this Pauline year!
hope you're havig a nice week so far. see you soon.
PEACE!
tara t