Thoughts on the purpose of life

Thoughts on religion

The entire point of religion is to make us humble before God and to open us to the path of love. Everything else is more or less a footnote. Liturgy, prayer, the precepts of the Church, the Commandments, sacraments, sacramentals—all of it—are finally meant to conform us to the way of love. When they instead turn us away from that path, they have been undermined.

Both St. Paul and the Gospel writers—as well as Jesus himself, of course—are intensely aware of this danger. This is precisely why Paul speaks of the dangers of the law. He knew that people often use the law as a weapon of aggression: since I know what is right and wrong in some detail, then I am uniquely positioned to point out your flaws. And when I point out your flaws, I elevate myself. In short, the law, which is a gift from God, has been co-opted for the purposes of the ego.
Reflect: How can pride stand in the way of love? Why does true humility encourage love? 

Bishop Robert Barron

 

More thoughts on success

Thoughts on bearing fruit

What a marvelous parable in the Gospel reading today! A man goes into the vineyard, he goes into that same vineyard for three years to look at the same fig tree, and it's bearing no fruit. He tells the gardener, “Cut it down. Get rid of this tree. It's not doing us any good.” And the gardener says, “Hey, let's give it one more shot. Let me pay it some attention; let me fertilize it; let me be sure it has water; let me take care of it. Let's see what happens, and if it's still not bearing any fruit, then you cut it down. What do you say?”

I suspect that there are people who look at you and look at me and say, “You know what? He or she—they’re just not getting it done when it comes to that faith thing. He tries to help a friend every now and then; she tries to be generous. He tries to pray and listen; she tries to be patient—but they just don't seem to make much progress. They're not bearing much fruit.”

But God looks at you and me and says, “Hey, I'm gonna give you another chance. Yeah, there’s still coming a day when I'm gonna cut down the fruitless trees, but I believe in you. I know you've got it in you to bear fruit because I put it there in the first place—the seeds of faith, the fruit of greatness are right there inside of you, so I'm gonna tend to you again. I'm gonna pay special attention to you and take care of you. I'm gonna help you bear fruit—I'm gonna help you find your greatness. Now is your time.”

That's because Jesus wants more for your life than you even want for yourself. When Jesus sees you not bearing fruit or headed in the wrong direction, he asks you, he invites you to stop and turn around—because that's what repent is. That's what repent means. It means a hundred-and-eighty-degree complete turnaround, a total new direction. Stop going one way—not make just a little course correction, but stop, and go the opposite way as fast as you can. That's what repent is.

Where do you need to turn around? What part of your life do you need to start a new direction in? Because now is your time to bear fruit. Your time is now.

Allen Hunt

Thoughts on fruits of the spirit

Grafted like branches into the Vine (who is Jesus), you and I are meant to bear fruit. Adopted into God's family, our subsequent fruitfulness that is meant to feed the needs of others is not an extra plus, but a strict necessity.
Jesus compares us to a fig tree in this Sunday's Gospel. If we are not fruitful towards others, even after extra cultivating by the Lord, we will be cut down, for we are not fulfilling our purpose. 

What are these fruits that Jesus is speaking about? They are twofold. First, they are the fruits of the Holy Spirit, meaning the Holy Spirit must be evident and active in our souls. Galatians chapter 5 lists these fruits, in order, as: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are the signs or fruits that the Holy Spirit is clearly operating within us. Our fig tree will stand.

The other fruits Jesus is speaking about are Godly works. Being grafted into Jesus' body by the gift of faith warmly received, I begin to walk in all the good works God has prepared for me beforehand (Ephesians 2). Living within these works of the Holy Spirit, my tree will stand.
How is Jesus calling me today to surrender my life more completely to the Holy Spirit, to let him be the Lord of my life in all things, and not only occasionally? Radical surrender to his Holy Spirit is not only what Jesus is asking of us, but more than that, requiring of us in order for our tree to remain.

-Fr. Anthony Wieck, SJ

More thoughts on silence

In our noisy, cluttered world, we need silence. Silence heals, refreshes, energizes, inspires, sharpens, clarifies. It simplifies. It is the medium of truth. And it is the font of the pure single Word that both perfectly communicates it and leads back to it. If we consciously turn off the TV or close the computer, restrain unnecessary speech, avoid out smartphones, look people lovingly in the eye, we are enhancing the same direct work of silence that we return to meeting in our meditation. And we are making the world a more silent and awakened place.

—from the book Sensing God: Learning to Meditate during Lent by Laurence Freeman, OSB

Thoughts on silence