Good News Reflection
Friday of the Third Week of Advent
December 18, 2009
Today's Readings:
Jeremiah 23:5-8
Ps 72:1-2, 12-13, 18-19
Matt 1:18-25
http://www.usccb.org/nab/121809.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/09_12_18.mp3
Guidance from holy angels
Sometimes, no matter how much we want to do God's will, we make mistakes and interpret him wrongly. Saint Joseph, in today's Gospel story, desired only to do what was holy and compassionate. He assumed that the right thing to do was to end his betrothal to Mary quietly, rather than subject her to the penalties of the law, which called for her to be stoned to death for having relations with a man outside of marriage.
If our desire truly is to do God's will at all times, he won't let us stray very long into the field of mistakes or the sea of our sins. He knows we're trying to do what's right, and that's what enables us to be corrected, because a true desire to do God's will automatically means that we have the humility to accept correction.
One day, many years ago while I was driving faster than the speed limit because going slower was too boring for my fast-working mind, I told God that he would have to re-create me if he wanted me to obey this civil law. The highway had little traffic and other dangers; speeding 20 miles an hour faster than the limit was actually quite safe. Anything slower seemed ridiculous.
No sooner did I finish my brief prayer when suddenly I lost all desire to exceed the speed limit. God had re-created me! In one single moment.
Have you given God permission to change you?
When humility is lacking, any desire that we claim to have for obeying God's will is only a disguise. It's a mask that hides a prideful attempt to seem important, or to seem respectable, or to seem superior to other sinners. This is the difference between legalism, like that of the Pharisees, and true obedience. The latter comes with a desire to be corrected and to stay in constant discernment, never trusting our assumptions about what seems obvious.
God's will doesn't always cooperate with civil law, or else he would have wanted Joseph to submit Mary to the law's penalty. God could have healed her from death after she was stoned, but no, he had a more loving plan. And he revealed it through an angel.
Angels are messengers from God. Evil spirits sometimes disguise themselves as angels in an attempt to lead us in the wrong direction while letting us think we're okay, but every time this happens, God makes his will clearly visible. Mistakes are corrected when we notice where Christ is standing on the issue and head toward him, i.e., we go where the Holy Spirit's inspiration leads us into a deeper, closer, more humble relationship with Christ.
Our guardian angels and other messengers from God help us find the right path. TheHoly Spirit within us is confirming their guidance.
Think of a choice you need to make today. There's an angel leading you to the correct path. Your spirit recognizes it by sensing the presence of holiness, the peace of Christ, and the courage of God. Go with it!
© 2009 by Terry A. Modica
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