How Do We Reject Christ?

I preface the following post by saying that I offer it in the spirit of love, and by no means out of a sense of self-righteousness! I have certainly been guilty of countless instances in which I traded Christ’s offer of an intimate relationship for the things of this world and my own selfish desires!

There is no doubt Christ experienced tremendous physical pain and suffering as he went to the cross for us, but was his physical suffering the thing that caused him the most anguish?

I thought of this during Mass today. I thought of all the times I chose to satisfy my physical needs and desires by making and taking the time to do so, rather than making the time to do the things that would help build my relationship with the God of the universe, the God who longs to be a close friend to this lowly sinner! In other words, I REJECTED HIM! I rejected him no less than those who cried out, “CRUCIFY HIM”!

We must ask ourselves, is it the rejection of Christ’s unending and extreme love for us that caused him the most intense anguish and pain as he prepared for the cross at Gethsemane? How do we feel when we are rejected by those we love? Magnify that feeling trillions of times over and we would only be able to begin to imagine what Christ must have felt and still feels today as we reject his love and invitation to share in his divinity!

We always seem to be able to make time for everything else but for the one who really matters, Jesus Christ!

Jesus strongly desires to be with us! Do we strongly desire to be with him? How painful it must have been for our Lord to know that so many would never respond to, or even give a second thought to what he was about to do out of love for us and a desire to be with us for eternity!

Jesus gives himself to us daily in the Eucharist – please consider preparing yourself through the sacrament of Reconciliation to receive him into your heart with all of the praise and worship he deserves, and then welcome him eagerly under your roof by receiving him in the Eucharist!

Nourishment for the Soul!

You eat, you sleep, you exercise.

We take care of our bodies daily by doing these things. We get periodic checkups at the doctors and dentists in an attempt to remain healthy. We clothe ourselves and provide ourselves with shelter and as many physical comforts and pleasures as possible. We try to take good care of our bodies!

But has the hectic pace of life in today’s world kept you from taking the time to nourish and care for your soul? Like the body, the soul needs to be fed and nourished along this life’s journey.

We receive that nourishment through close union with Jesus Christ. As Catholics, we are privileged to receive this nourishment through the sacraments, through which God pours forth His grace via Christ’s passion, death and resurrection.

Our souls are brought to life through the Sacrament of Baptism, or as our evangelical brothers and sisters in Christ like to say, our souls are “BORN AGAIN”. That’s right! We are ALL “Born Again Christians” when we are baptized.

The Sacrament of Confession / Reconciliation / Penance heals the sick soul and restores it to the state it was in at the moment we were baptized. Frequent trips to the confessional are as important to the health of our souls, as visits to the doctor’s office are to our bodies!

Finally, and most importantly, Christ, through His Church, makes Himself available to us daily in the Eucharist. Christ in the Eucharist provides the ultimate nourishment for our souls as He unites intimately with us to give us the strength to love and serve as He has taught us to do!

There are many good resources available to those of you who are seeking the truth and looking for answers. I urge you to take some time to care for your soul. Explore the many good websites out there that can provide the information you're looking for, or at least point you in the right direction!

The following video is from the website, http://www.catholicscomehome.org/. It’s a good place to start. On the right side of this page are links to other good sites with great resources such as EWTN, THE REASON FOR OUR HOPE FOUNDATION, NEW ADVENT, and SCRIPTURE CATHOLIC.