Yoked to Jesus

Image
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” †  Mathew 11: 28-30  What is the labour and burden that Jesus is asking me to deal with? Perhaps I have to let go of the compulsive burden (or is it a sort of entitlement?) that my spouse and children should choose a spiritual path that I know to be right. Jesus accompanied Judas Iscariot to the very end but never deprived him of his freedom to choose his own destiny. Jesus on the other hand, uninterrupted by Judas's choice to reject him, continues to accomplish his mission. He does become a victim of Judas's betrayal but he seldom takes on the victim's identity. In divine wisdom, Jesus chooses to die in our place (and that of Judas) in a redeeming act of love. Rather than being compelled to fix those whom God has entrusted to my headship by m
2 comments

The poor in spirit is pure in spirit

The poor in spirit are pure in spirit.  They belong in the kingdom of God. Worry and anxiety does not hinder their vision. They see God face to face.

Poverty is a blessed prerequisite to the kingdom of God. But in todays materialistic world poverty is branded as backward and undesirable. The very first beatitude underlines "blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the the kingdom of God. [Mathew 5:3]

If you want to know how poor you are in spirit, check how peaceful you are within. Worry and anxiety about the things of this world are signs of pride and lack of trust in God.

We are slaves of our own desires. These desires dominate us and blinds our vision. But if our will rises above them, we will have clear dominion over them and experience the fulfilment of all our desires in union with Christ. When our soul is able to see the face of God, It can do wonders with our bodies. When our Body submits itself totally to the soul aligning itself to the will of God, we experience divine life.

The super abundant life Jesus offers is lived out only when one attains an interior detachment to material, emotional and physical pleasures. The enticing offers of the world leave us empty and wanting for more.  Attachment to divine love fulfils all human desires to utmost satisfaction. He who finds his fulfilment in Christ needs no more.

Internal poverty helps us fight our lethargic nature. It makes us more sensitive to the needs of others. Internal detachment from worldly things frees the human heart for attachment to heavenly things

Poverty was not to be found in heaven ...Therefore the Son of God, longing after it, came down from heaven to choose it for Himself, and to make it precious to us [St. Bernard].

Poverty is good and contains within itself all the good things in the world. It is a great domain. I mean that he who cares for nothing for the good things of this world has dominion over them all" [St. Teresa of Avila].

Comments

Post a Comment

I appreciate your comments

Popular posts from this blog

പരിമിതനാമെന്നെ ഒരുക്കണമേ

കലുഷിതമാമെ ന്നുള്‍ത്തടങ്ങള്‍ എരിയുന്നിതവിരാമമീമരുവില്‍ ചെയ്തികളൊക്കെയും തെറ്റുന്നു പാടെ മൊഴിയുന്നതൊക്കെ മുറിവേല്‍പ്പിക്കുന്നു എന്നില്‍ എന്നിക്കുള്ള വിശ്വാസമെല്ലാം കാലഹരണപ്പെട്ടു പോയീ നിസ്തുലം കഴിയുന്നില്ലേ മാനുഷാ  നിനക്കീ ജീവിതം നിന്നുടെ തുണയോടൊപ്പം? ആശ്വാസ മാകേണ്ട  നീ ഇന്നവള്‍ക്കൊരു ഭാരമായി  തീര്‍ന്നുവോ ചിന്തിച്ചു നോക്കൂ തെറ്റിയത് മകനേ അവള്‍ക്കോ, നിനക്കോ? അറിയില്ല സോദരാ, ഈ നാള്‍ വരേയ്ക്കും പരസ്പരം ഉണ്ടായ പ്രശ്നങ്ങളെല്ലാം പരിഹരിക്കാനായി ശ്രമിച്ചീടുകില്‍ പഴയതിലും നില മോശമായി പരിണമിക്കുന്നു എന്നത് പരമ സത്യം വേളിക്കു മുമ്പൊക്കെ നാട്ടുകാര്‍ക്കെല്ലാം ഉപദേശം നല്‍കിയ ജ്ഞാനമൊക്കെ ഇന്നെന്‍റെ കാര്യത്തില്‍ ഉപയോഗ ശൂന്യമെ ന്നാരോട് പറയാന്‍ ആവുമെനിക്ക്‌ എങ്ങനെ മാറണമെന്നറിയാനായ്  യേശുവിന്‍ ചാരത്ത്‌ താഴ്മയായി പ്രാര്‍ ത് ഥി ച്ചതൊ ക്കെയും വ്യര്‍ഥമായോ? അറിയാന്‍ വിതുമ്പുന്നു മമഹൃദയം കേള്‍ക്കും നീ ഒരുനാളെന്‍ മന:ഗദ്ഗദം കാണാമറയത്തെ കാരുണ്യയമേ കാരണമാവണേ എന്‍ വ്യഥകള്‍ തരളിതമാം നിന്‍ മനസലിയാന്‍ പ്രതീക്ഷകളില്ലാതെ സ്നേഹിക്കുവാന്‍ പാ
Read more

I'm a sinner

When we sin and lose the sanctifying grace, there seem to be a futile attempt from our part to ascribe false holiness and false righteousness upon us and pretend to look alright. Eventually we end up having to manufacture fake goodness because pride prevents us from accepting the failure and return to the mercy of God. When we lose the state of grace we are in a state of fear and rejection. God becomes a merciless judge and we stay away from His sight. We begin to doubt the goodness of God. We assume God is angry. So we stop praying, we cave in and start doing useless things, we act weird, our daily duties are postponed, daily prayer is rescheduled, happiness is lost, people around us seem unkind, we find excuses for not doing things we ought to do, And these excuses begin to look serious and original - the church will be noisy, traffic is bad, I have a headache, I must catch some sleep and the list is endless. The best word to describe the post sin drama is 'procrastination'
Read more

Yoked to Jesus

Image
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” †  Mathew 11: 28-30  What is the labour and burden that Jesus is asking me to deal with? Perhaps I have to let go of the compulsive burden (or is it a sort of entitlement?) that my spouse and children should choose a spiritual path that I know to be right. Jesus accompanied Judas Iscariot to the very end but never deprived him of his freedom to choose his own destiny. Jesus on the other hand, uninterrupted by Judas's choice to reject him, continues to accomplish his mission. He does become a victim of Judas's betrayal but he seldom takes on the victim's identity. In divine wisdom, Jesus chooses to die in our place (and that of Judas) in a redeeming act of love. Rather than being compelled to fix those whom God has entrusted to my headship by m
Read more