Each day, we human beings are one day closer to death. "Death is at work in us" (2 Cor 4:12). Some would wryly agree with the observation that our churches are full of dead people. Jesus Himself told the church of Sardis: "You are dead!" (Rv 3:1)
In one sense, our churches should be filled with dead people. We Christians are called to die to ourselves (Lk 9:23; Jn 12:24), to daily put to death our sinful nature, to renounce ourselves, our desires, and our possessions to become Jesus' disciples (Lk 14:33). We empty ourselves (Phil 2:7) and count all as loss (Phil 3:8). We are, at this point, a dead body. In this state of emptiness, we receive Jesus, Who is Life (Jn 14:6), and His life is revealed in us (2 Cor 4:10) in such a way that it is obvious to all that anything we do is God's doing and not our own (2 Cor 4:7).
This is the essence of the Paschal mystery. Jesus, shortly before He died, broke bread and said, "This is My body to be given for you" (Lk 22:19). We in turn receive Him in the Eucharist and tell Him, "Jesus, this is my body, to be given for You." We offer our bodies to Him as living sacrifices (Rm 12:1). We have so completely died to ourselves that nothing in us can block the flow of His life through us.
Die to yourself daily; take up your cross; receive the eucharistic Jesus; and "make known the glory of God shining on the face of Christ" (2 Cor 4:6).
PRAYER: | Father, "to me, 'life' means Christ; hence dying is so much gain" (Phil 1:21). I offer You every moment of my life. Bring many to Yourself through my sacrifices. |
PROMISE: | "Everything is ordered to your benefit." –2 Cor 4:15 |
PRAISE: | Martha counts her life as beginning with her Baptism. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College