“All have
sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.” Rom.
3:23
I, an ordained deacon in the Roman Catholic Church, am a sinner. I write this not as a boast, but out of humility for regrettable personal decisions I have made in denying God’s love. In essence, I have at times placed myself first and God second because of my need or want for instant gratification.
It is interesting to me that those who say they believe in answered prayer, also complain how difficult it is to pray at times. They seem to be caught up in making sure their phrasing is so correct that whatever they are praying for or about will convince God that not only is it important but that He will not be confused by what is being said. Below is a Scripture passage from St. Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians from the New Testament of the New American Bible which I believe answers their trepidation.
For those of us who frequent the Sacrament of Reconciliation, it is how we begin to ask God for forgiveness for those times we have offended Him in sin through our thoughts, words and/or deeds or by omission. It is our hope through our sincerity in going to Confession that God, through the priest, will give us absolution if we are truly repentant.
‘Trust me, I’ve got your back.’ How many times have you heard someone in good faith tell you that? A dozen, two dozen, more? How many times have you agreed to do just that? And, how many times did the promise of protecting you work? How many times did it not work?
“I
am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through
me.” John
14:6
In seeking a relationship of love with God through wisdom and faith, we begin to look for the truth of what all this means to us now and for the future. As we search, we are provided with numerous paths that take us in multiple directions; many away from God and His ways. Often, this will confuse us because what we are learning is that there are many truths that can provide us with positive outcomes with or without God. It is then that we need to focus on the path which directly connects us with God, avoiding any and all distractions which can lead us toward a life of purpose and meaning.
“Faith
is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews
11:1
Of all the topics indexed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Faith has the most references to provide the clearest picture of all aspects of our theology. For purposes of this blog, I will refer to Paragraphs 26 (Profession of Faith) and 150 (Belief in God).
For those who want a relationship of love with God, it requires wisdom to understand what is required to follow His ways. The Book of Proverbs, in its introduction tells us it is a book of an anthology of didactic poetry, and has as its primary purpose to teach wisdom. The book covers a wide field of human and divine activity, ranging from matters purely secular to most lofty moral and religious truths beginning with “fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” Proverbs 1:7.
Belief in a Supreme Being such as God is based on one’s acceptance that such an entity has one’s best interest in mind. This God, therefore, would have the ability to provide one with a life of peace and joy on earth and eternal happiness after death if he or she follows His ways provided in a plan with parameters for that purpose.
Dear Subscribers –
Beginning
with the first Sunday of 2024, my blog, entitled “A Catholic Deacon’s
Perspective,” will now look into the areas of Commentaries, Scripture and
Theology. Similar to the last three
years in which Gospels and Readings from the New American Bible were used to
offer a perspective on what their messages might mean to you personally, these
blogs will offer an additional aspect in which you as the reader can comment on
by offering your own take if you choose to do so. In doing so, all of us will be able to see
various insights based on where we are at in our life.
My theme is the same as in the past in that I am looking at God’s purpose for creating us. We are tasked to discover what that reason is based on the gifts we are graced with by Him and then using that answer to serve all that God has created. Though many responses will be similar, each and every one of us has a story to tell that is unique unto ourselves. It is my hope that by sharing different perspectives, we will begin to understand our relationship with God and come to realize how oneness with our Lord is truly what makes life work no matter what the situation.
In these new blog presentations, there will be general and specific questions that pertain to the subject matter at hand. Their purpose is to provide you with insights into yourself that may create additional ideas you would like to explore. Based upon your need to receive a response from the blog or others is when you are asked to offer comments at the end of each blog. You and responders can be completely anonymous with what you or they write. My answers will include my name. In all cases I ask that you remember this is a Christian blog and what you write needs to be approached in that manner as it regards verbiage used.
It is my
hope that you will see this as something of value to help you grow closer to
the Lord. If not, I would appreciate
your feedback to improve it or, if necessary, allow me to use a different
format for furtherance of the relationship theme.
Thank you for you openness to this. I look forward to your comments for all of us to grow into a deeper relationship with the Lord.
Deacon
Jim Merle
Please accept my apologies for not receiving the last two blogs of 2023 from “A Catholic Deacon’s Perspective” for the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time and Jesus Christ, King of the Universe in a timely manner. We have taken measures to rectify the system problems and hope future blogs will be uninterrupted and received on time. Any prayer you want to insure that would be greatly appreciated.