A Sunday Thought About How Much We Need a Real Leader in This World
We need a real leader as we march through our days in this world, one who will both protect and guide us each day. God protects and guides us. And so we pray for the faith to understand this and to follow God even as we take our steps in a world fraught with distraction and danger.
The Devil, defeated by Our Blessed Lord on the Cross, yet remains the prince of this world, has nothing to do but try to drag us down. Pope Francis has spoken strongly and eloquently recently about the Devil, as if to remind us of his evil presence in this world - not to frighten us, but to remind to warn, to encourage us to turn to God and His ways, not to heed the words and works of Satan. Our faith - understood and believed - moves us to live our lives consistent with that faith, looking always to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, for our protection and guidance in this life.
A couple of weeks ago, Father Zuhlsdorf posted a discussion of the Collect for the third Sunday after Pentecost, that addresses all this in a few words, words full and rich, words meant to protect us from an inordinate infatuation with this world, words meant to turn our hearts and minds to God:
Click HERE to read the whole post.
The Devil, defeated by Our Blessed Lord on the Cross, yet remains the prince of this world, has nothing to do but try to drag us down. Pope Francis has spoken strongly and eloquently recently about the Devil, as if to remind us of his evil presence in this world - not to frighten us, but to remind to warn, to encourage us to turn to God and His ways, not to heed the words and works of Satan. Our faith - understood and believed - moves us to live our lives consistent with that faith, looking always to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, for our protection and guidance in this life.
A couple of weeks ago, Father Zuhlsdorf posted a discussion of the Collect for the third Sunday after Pentecost, that addresses all this in a few words, words full and rich, words meant to protect us from an inordinate infatuation with this world, words meant to turn our hearts and minds to God:
Father Z then comments:O God, protector of those hoping in You, without whom nothing is efficacious, nothing holy, multiply Your mercy upon us, so that, You being our guide and leader, we may pass through temporal goods in such a way that we do not lose the eternal.
We must never forget that we are members of the Church Militant, the part of the Church which is in the world, on the march, as a pilgrim people. We must be clear in our minds that the Lord says this world has its prince (cf. John 10:31 and 14:30). Satan and his fallen angels desire our everlasting damnation and agony with them in Hell. Jesus broke their power over us, but we still for a time are in this world which they dominate. We are living in a state of “already, but not yet.”If you have a few moments on this Sunday, a day of rest, a day specifically devoted to God, where we spend time with Him and take a break from the concerns of this world, you could do worse than spend that time reading the whole post about this Collect, as Father Z takes us through the origin and various translations that have come down to us. In the course of the discussion, you will regain your sense of perspective about this world, our place in it, and Him to Whom we turn for protection and guidance each day. You will know who the real leader is and must be in your life.
Click HERE to read the whole post.
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