{"id":32037,"date":"2017-11-23T11:39:50","date_gmt":"2017-11-23T17:39:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/?p=32037"},"modified":"2017-11-24T11:28:46","modified_gmt":"2017-11-24T17:28:46","slug":"the-art-of-beginning-again-part-iv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/the-art-of-beginning-again-part-iv\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art of Beginning Again – Part IV","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
\n for November 23rd, 2017
\n Thursday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time
\n Opt. Memorial of St. Columban<\/p>\n

Liturgical texts\u00a0here<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

OBEYING<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JESUS\u00a0<\/strong>looked down upon Jerusalem and wept as He cried out:<\/p>\n

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If this day you only knew what makes for peace \u2014 but now it is hidden from your eyes. (Today’s Gospel)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Today, Jesus looks upon the world, and many Christians in particular, and once again cries out:\u00a0If you only knew what makes for peace!\u00a0<\/em>A discussion of the art of beginning again would not be complete without asking, “Where<\/em> exactly do I begin again?” The answer to that, and to “what makes for peace”, are one and the same: the will of God<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As I said in Part I<\/a>, because God is love, and every person is created in His image, we are made to love and be loved: the “law of love” is written on our hearts. Whenever we deviate from this law, we deviate from the source of true peace and joy. Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ, we can begin again.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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With a tenderness which never disappoints, but is always capable of restoring our joy, he makes it possible for us to lift up our heads and to start anew.<\/strong>\u2014POPE FRANCIS,\u00a0Evangelii Gaudium<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>n. 3<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But start anew where? <\/em>Indeed, we need to lift our heads away from ourselves, away from the paths of destruction, and set them on the right road\u2014God’s will. For\u00a0Jesus said:<\/p>\n

If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love…\u00a0I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you….\u00a0\u00a0For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, \u201cYou shall love your neighbor as yourself.\u201d (John 15:10-12;\u00a0Galatians 5:14)<\/span><\/p>\n

Think of the earth and how its orbit around the sun produces the seasons, which in turn give life and fecundity to the planet. Were the earth to deviate even slightly from its course, it would set off a chain of ill effects that would eventually culminate in death. So too, says St. Paul, “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”<\/em> [1]<\/sup><\/a>Rom 6:23<\/span><\/span>