La meva estada a la regió d’Ottawa / Kingston, al Canadà, va ser poderosa al llarg de sis vespres amb centenars de persones assistents a la zona. Vaig venir sense xerrades ni notes preparades només amb el desig de parlar la "paraula ara" als fills de Déu. Gràcies en part a les vostres oracions, molts van experimentar el de Crist amor i presència incondicionals més profundament a mesura que els seus ulls es van obrir de nou al poder dels Sagraments i la seva Paraula. Entre molts dels records persistents hi ha una xerrada que vaig oferir a un grup d'estudiants de secundària. Després, una noia es va acostar a mi i em va dir que experimentava la presència i la curació de Jesús d'una manera profunda ... i després es va trencar i va plorar als meus braços davant dels seus companys de classe.
El missatge de l’Evangeli és perenne bo, sempre potent, sempre rellevant. El poder de l'amor de Déu sempre és capaç de perforar fins i tot el més dur dels cors. Amb això en ment, la següent "paraula ara" va estar al cor tota la setmana passada ...
DURANT the missions I gave around Ottawa last week, the image of an fletxa was foremost in my mind. After my last two writings on being careful how we witness with our words, there were still a few comments from readers suggesting that I am promoting cowardly “silence” and “compromise” or that, with all the crises happening in the hierarchy, I’m living “in another world.” Well, to that last comment, I truly hope that I am living in another world—the realm of the Kingdom of Christ where amor a Déu i al proïsme is the rule of life. To live according to that rule is qualsevol cosa but cowardly…
Perquè Déu no ens ha donat un esperit de covardia, sinó de poder, d'amor i d'autocontrol. (2 Timoteu 1:7)
It is precisely when one operates in that spirit that their witness has the capacity to conquer the world. [1]1 John 5: 4
THE DIVINE ARROW
In order for an arrow to fully reach its target, there are five elements required: the bow; the tip or arrowhead; the shaft; the fletching (which keeps the arrow straight in flight), and last, the nock (the notch that rests against the bowstring).
Jesús va dir: “the words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.”[2]John 14: 10 It is the Father who speaks; Jesus who gives veu to that Word; and the Holy Spirit who carries it into the heart of the one for whom it was intended.
Therefore, think of the Archer as Jesus Christ. Indeed, the Book of Revelation describes Him as such:
I looked, and there was a white horse, and its rider had a bow. He was given a crown, and he rode forth victorious to further his victories. (Revelation 6:2)
Ell és Jesucrist. L’inspirat evangelista [St. Joan] no només va veure la devastació provocada pel pecat, la guerra, la fam i la mort; també va veure, en primer lloc, la victòria de Crist. —Adreça, 15 de novembre de 1946; nota a peu de pàgina de La Bíblia de Navarra, “Revelació”, pàg
The Bow is the Holy Spirit and the Arrow forms the Word of God. You and I are the bowstring, that part that must be docile and obedient, abandoned to the hand of the Divine Archer.
Now, an arrow without a strong shaft is not only incapable of direct flight but of the strength that would drive it into its target. If the shaft is weak, it will either break under stress or shatter when it hits its target. Veritat is the shaft of the Divine Arrow. Authentic truth has been given to us by means of the natural law and the teachings of Christ in Scripture and Sacred Tradition. This is the unbreakable shaft that Christians are commanded to carry into the world. However, to ensure that the shaft is truly the Truth, it must be affixed to the fletching, that is, the Magisteri or teaching authority of the Church, which assures that the Truth never deviates to the right or left.
All that said, if the Truth does not have an arrowhead or tip, that is amor, then it remains a blunt object that, while capable of reaching its target, is unable to penetrate the heart of another. This is what I am referring to in my last two writings. To speak the truth in a way that contradicts charity and justice ends up bruising rather than piercing. It is Love that opens the heart of another for the shaft of Truth to penetrate. Brothers and sisters, we ought not question Our Lord in this regard:
Us dono un nou manament: estimar-vos els uns als altres. Com us he estimat, també us heu d’estimar. (Joan 13:34)
And here is what the tip of Divine Love looks like:
Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. (1 Cor 13:4-8)
L'amor mai falla, that is, never fails to penetrate the heart of another because “God is love.” Now, whether or not that Love is received; whether or not the shaft of Truth finds good soil is another matter (see Luke 8:12-15). The Christian’s obligation ends, so to speak, at the free will of another. But how tragic if Christ’s arrows fail to even reach their target due to our own apathy, neglect, or sin.
APOSTSTOLS DE L’AMOR
In Our Lady’s apparitions around the world, she calls Christians to become her “Apostles of Love” who are called to “defend the truth.” The Divine Arrow is not just charity. Christians cannot reduce their mission to simply being social workers. A shaftless arrow is equally incapable of piercing the heart of another without the force of that truth which “sets us free.”
Cal buscar, trobar i expressar la veritat dins de l '"economia" de la caritat, però la caritat, al seu torn, s'ha d'entendre, confirmar i practicar a la llum de la veritat. D’aquesta manera, no només fem un servei a la caritat il·luminada per la veritat, sinó que també ajudem a donar credibilitat a la veritat, demostrant el seu poder persuasiu i autenticador en el marc pràctic de la vida social. Aquesta qüestió és avui poc rellevant, en un context social i cultural que relativitza la veritat, sovint no hi fa cas i mostra cada vegada més reticències a reconèixer la seva existència. —PEDI BENEDICT XVI, Càritas a Varitate, n. 2
Truth without love risks becoming “proselytism” as opposed to evangelization. Love is what leads, what cuts the air, what opens the other to the saving truth. Proselytism, on the other hand, is a blunt force that while winning an argument may fail to win a ànima.
L’Església no es dedica al proselitisme. En canvi, ella creix per "atracció": de la mateixa manera que Crist "atrau tot a si mateix" pel poder del seu amor, que culmina amb el sacrifici de la creu, també l'Església compleix la seva missió en la mesura que, en unió amb Crist, realitza totes les seves obres en i imitació pràctica de l'amor del seu Senyor. —BENEDICTE XVI, Homilia per a l'obertura de la cinquena conferència general dels bisbes llatinoamericans i caribenys, 13 de maig de 2007; vatican.va
DANGEROUS TIMES… A CALL FOR THE COURAGEOUS
Brothers and sisters, we are living in dangerous times. On the one hand, a “state-sponsored” totalitarian spirit is rapidly spreading that seeks to silence the Church with a progressive agenda that is rightfully called “antichrist.” On the other hand, there is a falsa església 
rising from within the Catholic Church that is rightfully called an “antichurch” promoting an “antigospel.” As St. Paul warned:
Sé que després de la meva marxa vindran llops salvatges entre vosaltres i no estalviaran el ramat. (Fets 20:29)
Ara ens trobem davant del gran enfrontament històric que ha viscut la humanitat. Ara ens trobem amb l’enfrontament final entre l’Església i l’anti-església, entre l’evangeli i l’anti-evangeli, entre Crist i l’anticrist. —Careinal Karol Wojtyla (POPE JOHN PAUL II) Eucharistic Congress for the bicentennial celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Philadelphia, PA, 1976; cf. Catòlic en línia
How do we face this “final confrontation” then? By permitting the Rider upon the White Horse to use us to fire His Divine Arrows into the world.
[St. John] says that he saw a white horse, and a crowned horseman having a bow… He sent the Holy Spirit, whose words els predicadors llançaven com a fletxes reaching to the human heart, that they might overcome unbelief. — St. Victorinus, Comentari sobre l'Apocalipsi, Cap. 6: 1-2
The question is, will we allow the nock of the Divine Will to press against us? Or are we cowards afraid to speak the truth? On the other hand, are we too worldly, proud or quick-tempered for love to guide our every thought, word, and deed? Do we ultimately doubt the effectiveness of God’s Word, of both truth and love, and instead take matters into our own hands?
Speak the truth in love. It is both.
LECTURA RELACIONADA
El vaixell negre - Part I i Part II
Mark arriba a Vermont
July 22nd for a Family Retreat
veure aquí per més informació.
Mark interpretarà el magnífic so
Guitarra acústica feta a mà per McGillivray.
veure
mcgillivrayguitars.com
The Now Word és un ministeri a temps complet que
continua amb el vostre suport.
Beneïu-vos i gràcies.
Per viatjar amb Mark in El Ara Word,
feu clic al bàner següent per subscriure.
El vostre correu electrònic no es compartirà amb ningú.
