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Jesus' humanity appears most clearly in the Passion Narratives, where death is approaching and threatening Him. While we worship Him as Son of God, it is always very fruitful to meditate on His human nature as well. For we will discover what is affirmed to Him: He is a man like us in all things except for sin. We will also discover in Him admirable human qualities which we can strive to imitate. In imitating Jesus, we should especially try to cultivate the inner personal qualities which the Scriptures reveal in Him. As a man without sin, His intelligence and will were more vital than ours. Jesus was a very perceptive and attentive person. He knew what was going on in Judas' heart, not because He was Son of God, but precisely because He was a highly sensitive and perceptive human being, one who could read the heart of others in their attitudes and gestures. He read the threat of death stalking Him in the circumstances surrounding His last visit to Jerusalem. Yet that did not lessen His fidelity to God or to His mission on earth. In the joy of His inner being He saw the glory that would come with His death. Lord Jesus, give us the wisdom and courage to follow You in fidelity and joy. |
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P R A Y I N G W I T H T H E C H U R C H
| INTENTION : |
For the ecclesial organisations and groups engaged in social
action, that in their testimony they may proclaim strongly and consistently
the Gospel of Love.
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It is the Church's desire that all social-charitable initiatives might
always be inspired, in their implementation, by the immutable principles of
the Gospel. There is danger, however, that professional organisations
engaged in the social field risk losing the fundamental motivation for their
existence: that is bearing witness to Christ's charity which the Church has
the duty to communicate and to share with others. In order to be effective, then, continual spiritual formation is needed for voluntary co-operators who wish to devote themselves to social action. All these initiatives tend to develop the awareness that the foundation and centre of our action is Christ, in whom the God of love revealed himself and gave himself to men and women. Consequently all those who welcome Christ follow him and answer the call to be faithful witnesses to it. This awareness must totally imbue the hearts and minds of individuals so that it also inspires the Communities they set up for organised action in support of underprivileged persons and communities suffering from material and moral poverty. Being thus imbued and formed it becomes necessary that volunteers pray to draw Christ into their midst and have him accompany them. | |
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