{"id":20163,"date":"2015-07-16T15:17:40","date_gmt":"2015-07-16T21:17:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/?p=20163"},"modified":"2017-04-17T21:58:39","modified_gmt":"2017-04-18T01:58:39","slug":"come-be-still","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/come-be-still\/","title":{"rendered":"Come… Be Still!","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Thursday, July 16th, 2015
Opt. Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel<\/p>\n

Liturgical texts here<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

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SOMETIMES, <\/b>in all of the controversies, the questions, and confusion of our times; in all of the moral crises, challenges, and trials we face\u2026 there is the risk that the most important thing, or rather, Person <\/i>gets lost: Jesus<\/i>. He, and His divine mission, that are at the very center of humanity\u2019s future, can easily be sidelined in the important but secondary issues of our time. In fact, the greatest need facing the Church in this hour is a renewed vigour and urgency in her primary mission: the salvation and sanctification of human souls. For if we save the environment and the planet, the economy and the social order, but neglect to save souls, <\/i>then we have utterly failed.<\/p>\n

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Here there are certainly immense material, economic, and social needs; but, above all, there exists the need of this salvific power which is in God and which Christ alone possesses.<\/b> \u2014ST. JOHN PAUL II, Homily at St. Gregory the Great in Magliana, n. 3; vatican.va<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It is only through Christ\u2019s saving power, which transforms hearts, that a husband and wife can encounter the source and summit of their sacramental love; that families can discover the peace that surpasses all understanding; that a truly just and peaceful society can begin to emerge.<\/p>\n

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It is this power that frees man from sin and directs him towards good <\/b>in order that he may lead a life really worthy of man\u2026 that real Christian life may flourish here, so that hatred, destruction, dishonesty and scandal may not prevail\u2026 that real culture may be developed, beginning with the culture of everyday life.<\/b> \u2014Ibid.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Here, then, is the point of Satan\u2019s attack at this hour, as I wrote in The Parallel Deception<\/a>: <\/i>to create a mindset within the Church and the world that real human progress can be achieved through a combination of technology, tolerance, and good will without<\/i> the power of the Gospel that liberates men from sin and the powers of darkness. In effect, the deception is to make Jesus irrelevant, religion unnecessary, and therefore, the Church extraneous, if not dangerous to progress.<\/p>\n

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JESUS AND YOU<\/p>\n

Jesus! Jesus!<\/i> He is the answer to every human illness, whether in society or the body itself. It is, at its core, an illness of the heart<\/i>.<\/p>\n

But it is impossible for us to bring this message of hope and salvation to the world unless we ourselves know<\/i> Him. The Scripture comes to mind:<\/p>\n

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Be still and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:11)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Here, my brother and sister, is the key to knowing God: being still. <\/i>And so, Satan sends whirlwind after whirlwind into your life and mine in order to keep us \u201con the surface\u201d of life where the waters remain rough, unpredictable, and fearful. To keep us in a constant state of motion, noise, and busyness. To keep our eyes off of the horizon, the compass, and if possible, the wheel that steers the rudder of the soul so that one\u2019s life becomes not only lost, but if possible, shipwrecked.<\/p>\n

Be still, be still.<\/i>\u00a0[1]<\/sup><\/a>cf. Stand Still<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/span>