Who is Yeast?

+AMDG+

The Readings for today.

Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like?
To what can I compare it?
It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden.
When it was fully grown, it became a large bush
and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.”

Again he said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God?
It is like yeast that a woman took
and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”

-Luke 13:18-21

You know for the longest time I thought that the Parable of the Yeast was about us. That it was about the effect of Christians in the world. Well, I really thought it was about my effects as a "Christian" in the world. How can I inspire, and how can I bring people to God, and how can I convert people, and how can I make the world a better place for the children; because they really are our future.

If I was honest about it I'd say that God was the vehicle I used for my own personal glorification. In prayer yesterday Our Lord laid some truth on me. He didn't start with the words, "You Hypocrite" thankfully, but He could have. Our Lord said to me, "Louis, I am the yeast not you. You are the three measures, your body, mind and heart. I make you grow."

It was a revelation to me to remember that this is all about Jesus. He is King, He is Lord, He is God.

Pray well!

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

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(I wrote this throughout the day)

3:58pm

I watched some movies yesterday. Here they are:

Iron Man 2

X-Men: Wolverine Origin

A Serious Man

And the The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. (Please see first picture)

That is a lot of movies for one day. At first I woke up late because it takes forever to get home now from the city. Then I planned to go to mass at night and I didn't go. No big excuses, no big emergency preventing me from going, just the lack of will to go give praise and worship to God. So now I am on my way to confession and mass. I need to be right with God again.

4:52pm
(right before confession)

Lord, how do you have so much mercy? How have you not annihilated me yet? You don't ask for much and I can't even give you that? Lord, thank you for not smiting me, thank you for your patience. Your love knows no boundaries. Help me not to despair for my own soul.

5:14pm
(after confession)

Thank you Lord for your forgiveness!

Lord you call me out of the world and you call me to live in the Kingdom of God.

The Gospel today makes more sense when you are the person with whose back is bent because of the weight of sin. When you feel like you can't web pray because your sin is so heavy that it causes you to forget that you are in the presence of God. Then Jesus comes and heals you by releasing you of your burden. At that moment you are able to stand up and look at God and pray to him with a clean heart.

The sacrament of confession is such a beautiful sacrament because Jesus makes us whole again and clean again. I absolutely encourage you to go if you have not gone in a while and get right with God.

Pray well!

The Great Divider

+AMDG+

The readings for today.

"Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?

No, I tell you, but rather division."

-Luke 12:51

Jesus, the Great Divider... Sometimes the Lord says things like this and you don't know what to make it it.

"Why would the Prince of Peace say this?" we might think. Most people are comfortable where they are, in the sense that they are not going out of their way to change their current situation. Everyone, whether they know it or not, wants stability. For example, if you have iTunes on your computer, you dread seeing this:

All I think is, "Oh great, now what have they changed!"

I know for me I associate peace with being comfortable, at least that is the message the world tells us. People buy little Zen Gardens for a desk at work or a Bonsai tree because they see a monk use this to get some "peace." We want this look-at-the-ground, pour-water-slowly, no-one-yelling, no-one-making-demands-on us, everything-is-great peace; that is one way we define earthly peace.

But Christ offers us something different. He offers us a peace that no matter what happens to us, the world can't touch it. This peace comes from remembering something that people never want to mention. We do not mention it outside, or sometimes even inside churches. Its a secret.

Shhhhhhhhhhh!!!! I will tell you. No one is looking right?!?!

You are ALWAYS in the Presence of God.

You just don't realize it.

Do you really think Our Lord's Presence ends when we put him in a pretty golden box?

Do you think Our Lord is limited by cement blocks and wooden doors?

Do you really believe that Our Lord's Presence is limited by a certain number of feet or yards? or by time? or by space?

You are always in the Presence of God. Once you believe this, and you start thinking, "wait, if I wouldn't do these sins in the church then why would I do them outside of the Church?" It is difficult to undo a lifetime of sinful habits but leave that to God, He will do that, you, just remember you are in His Presence.

When a person upsets the world's understanding of peace, they have to be prepared for the division it will awaken in others no matter how close they might be now. People don't like boat rockers sometimes they might even crucify them...

Pray well!

Jesus, the Great Divider, have mercy on us.