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October 17, 2005
A shepherd's responsibility
"Here we do business with souls" were the words summarizing the work of St. John Bosco, a 19th century Italian priest. God had given him a heart as vast as the sands of the seashore to love and care for young boys of Turin, a 19th century Italian town. This can be said of every church that does business with the souls of people in search of God. Today, shepherding a congregation entails lot of responsibility before the Maker because the shepherds are his representatives.
How sad then it is to see some shepherds act like hirelings that Jesus refers to in the Gospel of John chapter 10! Shepherds who think it is okay to compromise the flock by accommodating the wishes of the wolves in some segments of society, wolves that come in sheep's clothing. Do these shepherds know of their compromise? Of course they do. Why do they do so, then? In order to comply with the wishes and demands of a segment of society that no longer cares for faith nor morals.
"A priest never goes to heaven or hell alone" said St. John Bosco. Borrowing his words, we may say that minister never goes to heaven or hell alone. It is expedient, that the flock decipher who their leader is: a shepherd or hireling. If your minister instructs you in the ways of God, founded in Scriptures and in the Tradition of the church, then you are in safe hands. Should your minister compromise your soul and tell you that sin is not sin, and that is okay in every way because everyone does it, its time to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit. You ought to know that such a leader is out to expose his flock to ferocious wolves while running for his own life.
The recent decision of the ECUSA church in Fayetteville to go ahead and support the blessing of the same sex, a little short of marriage(because it's illegal in Arkansas), and call it a rite is definitely deplorobale. Our issue is just not with homosexuality, it is with abortion, euthenesia, adultery or anything that is abominable in the sight of the Lord. If we have sinned, it is right to acknowledge our sinfulness and ask for forgiveness from the Almighty and get on the path towards holiness. Well, is that not the duty of the church - to safeguard the faith and morals of its faithful? But when a church in its teaching confuses its followers about what is sin and what is grace, it is time for the faithful to do some soul searching. Perhaps they are in a building called the church but without a heart - the heart being the grace of God. Perhaps they are in the wrong place. It's time to reconsider, to make a metanoia-a total change of heart towards God.
Posted by frleo at 9:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 14, 2005
Times of Disaster... times to reconsider
It seems that the planet earth has been ravaged by natural calamities that have taken a deadly toll on people's lives. The earthquake in Pakistan and India, the mudslides in Guatamala or the torrential rains and floods in the New England states or the infamous Katrina and Rita... What's going on?
Some are mad at the fact that God is in control and therefore he has failed to fix it. Is God then aware of the struggles and pains of loss, sorrow and misery of the victims? I am sure He knows.
Then our question proceeds to, Why does he permit these calamities anyway? Wish we could know the answer.It may be easy for pundits and preachers to engage in the debate from their desktops about God's role in all these and His irresponsibility in mishandling these chaotic conditions.
But perhaps instead of questioning, we can at these times extend our hands in loving concern to the suffering humanity, that way we could be fulfilling the law of love to its utmost. Simultaneously, may be it is time for us to think as to how responsibly we have handled this planet earth so far and how we might better handle it so that we can pass on a safe home for our posterities.
Maybe its time for us to return to the Lord and be faithful to His commands, so that when He returns He will find enough faith on this earth. Maybe it is time to shun sin and embrace GRACE. Our lives have been demarcated by their deadline, that is death. It is important to consider reality from the ontological perspective, in terms of ultimate things, things that really matter than what is mundane. May God grant us the discernment to do His will.
Posted by frleo at 11:06 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack