We don’t ask, “What can I get away with?”

We can mislead ourselves to think that simply claiming being a believer without having practiced the Faith faithfully will somehow be enough to gather the aimed goal. This is precisely the spiritual danger that confronts those who do not practice the Faith but claim to be practicing Believers because they come e.g. to Mass at Christmas and Easter. Or let me put it this way: they “practice” the Faith on their own terms and not according to true ones.

In a similar manner, we can mislead ourselves to think that as long as we avoid wrongdoing, we will be ok (saved). Though I believe that it is not enough to merely avoid sin. My perception is that He expects us to render fruit. Rendering fruit does not come about by merely avoiding failures. Rather, it is growth in virtue that produces the fruit.

I m going to give you a simple analogy could help to understand what I do mean by this: We, as athletes do not train for our sport by merely avoiding injury and doing the least amount of preparation. We don’t ask, “What can I get away with?”

Instead, we work hard to build muscle and endurance and skill so as to win our competition. We ask, “What more can I do to get ready to win?”

If this is not our attitude — if we are merely living our lives of faith based on the desire to avoid sin, without a desire to build virtue — we will soon find ourselves ill-equipped to produce the fruit that He expects of us.

We should always call to mind the first axiom of the moral life, “Do good and avoid evil.” And yet, many around us spend too much time avoiding evil without giving adequate attention to doing good. If we are committed to good works, avoiding evil becomes more achievable and, eventually, habitual.

Yours Robert

So we have some choices to make

I literally love and say to me oftentimes this powerful line in scripture that says, “If God is with us, who can be against?” A powerful saying, indeed, because God is always with us and for us. There’s just one problem: Too often we’re not with God, at least not entirely.

There’s something in us that makes us flee from definitive choices. 

Given a list of mutually exclusive options, our preferred choice all too frequently is “all of the above,” which, of course, can never work.

I cant enter my car and jump on my bike at the same time. We can’t give our heart to one person in relationship and then continue actively exploring the alternatives. We have to choose. In every blessed day and in every part of life, we have to decide what our commitments will be; and that starts with the biggest commitment of all: To whom shall I ultimately give my heart? Everything else will flow from that, but what if that key commitment is ambivalent or half-hearted? What will happen to the rest of me?

It stays in the Scripture obviously  “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

So we have some choices to make, all of them hinging on the great

choice: To whom shall I give my heart? Will it be God or just one of his many little creatures? If you’re tempted to delay, just keep in mind Jesus’ words: “Whoever is not with me is against me.” That does cut through the fog and set things clear: It’s time to go with him, wholeheartedly, and get a life.

Check your business plan first

 "Give it a try and - God helps you as well" one of the most

 notoriously misused statements/sayings I hear next to every blessed

 day in my workplace . And it honestly bothers me up to certain degree.

 It should be plain and obvious that all of us are blessed with a broad

 array of talents and abilities, but many of us have accomplished less

 than we might have hoped for. There are lots of reasons, but one

 particular reason does stand out among those possessing a strong

 belief, and that is the inclination to voice/express our

 desires/wishes and then leave matters up to Him. I good peer of mine,

 for example, who prayed for an attractive post for 6 years and is

 surprised that he never got it. The same guy wouldn't think of

 starting a new enterprise without a business plan. Yet the fact is

 that across those 6 years he never once had a concrete plan for

 growing toward patience. I assume that praying without using our

 brains is mere wishing and not praying at all.

 I m certain that God wants to be my partner, but He doesn't provide

 limit service. We are supposed to meet Him half way (as we use to say

 that in business terms), and we do that by using to the fullest the

 "tools" He's given us. Then He will indeed give what is needed and

 fill in what is lacking.

 So check your "business plan" first and assure yourself that you've

 used everything that God put in your tool box. Then get back to him

 (pray). You'll be amazed at how God helps those who help themselves.

The labyrinth behind the fog-curtain

Those are the moments when you are just keen to extend your rides over and over again. The planned 2.5 hour becomes 3 and then finally 4hours in the foggy, dense mist out there in the trees.

It’s cold and moisty, one would call it a literally depressive weather. We just think the opposite is true. After hitting the trail-head, there no such thing as second-guessing; we are literally feeling this urge to plummet deeper and deeper into the darkened, fog-curtain littered labyrinth of the forest. It’s enigmatic and in a way so mystic. There are barely any living souls out there, just the valiant breed of us seeking the edge and keen to find out the secret of this whole thing.

We and up in total darkness and our light-floods are barely able to penetrate the still solid haze.

That’s so gorgeous, so enigmatic. That makes us all the more infectious and wants to get back again.

Don’t wait for a painful wake-up call

In my bible reading yesterday I encountered this wisdom, though so obvious:

 “Blessed are you poor, the reign of God is yours.”

 In a word, God is going to give the poor the kingdom, for no reason except that God is generous.

The same beatitude, however, can be read on another level, “Blessed are you who know you are poor….” Recognizing that deep down we are all poor, and that we own nothing at all, not even our own lives, comes slowly to many of us.  We can take ourselves too seriously.  And unless we’re brought up short by some tragedy, we can think that we’re quite self-sufficient and can dispense with bothering too much with God.  An occasional bow in his direction will suffice — we think.

In fact, I m certain  that’s a recipe for disaster, because it locks out Him.  Its nothing but a presumption of “I don’t need God’s help,” which is the biggest lie of them all.  In that circumstance, a wake-up call, even if it comes in the form of a tragedy, is a blessing, may this even sound so weird, because it gets us back to reality.  It gets the doors open and lets Him in.

The stakes here are high, so some questions of mine are going like this:

Have you faced what it means to own nothing, not even your own life? 

Have you really accepted the fact that everything you have is strictly on loan, even your greatest talents?  Has that recognition led you to a deep gratitude and a total reliance on Someone?

If so, you’re, lets call it on your right way. If not, you’re in trouble and don’t even know it. And even though, you will, don’t wait for a painful wake-up call. Face the facts now, and give your life into His hands. Nothing else is needed.

Robert