Choosing Who is Your Master (Rom 6:14) by Joshua Bachman

21 Oct Choosing Who is Your Master (Rom 6:14) by Joshua Bachman

“For sin is not to have any power over you, since you are not under the law but under grace.” ~ Rom 6:14 (full readings)
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Joshua’s Reflections:  Choice. What has power over your choices? In today’s Gospel, Our Lord discusses the servant who is always ready and doing his master’s will versus the violent, gluttonous, and drunken servant who has so little fear of his master that he will risk being found derelict in his duties. Whatever we fear is what has power over us. What we fear (viz. what we most want to please) is manifested in our choices. Does Our Lord have power over us, or does our flesh? Do we fear depriving our flesh or Our Lord? This challenge to follow Our Lord at all times can drive us to scrupulosity, but it need not do so. We shouldn’t fret about every moment spent relaxing on the porch at the expense of time volunteering in the food kitchen. Instead, let us seize the opportunities that clearly present themselves. Form your conscience from where it’s at right now. A few years ago, a client shared with me in passing that her teenage daughter was unexpectedly pregnant, and she didn’t know “what they were going to do about it.” I had other hearings and clients to tend to that afternoon, but I felt an overwhelming tug from my conscience. I found the number for our local pregnancy resource center and gave it to this woman. I’d like to think that because I followed that clear tug of my conscience that day with my client, my conscience continued to form and become more sensitive. Do I feel a tug from my conscience to do sidewalk counseling at an abortion clinic? No. But I now feel a clear compulsion to act on things that a few years before would only have been a passing thought. Of course, the opposite is true, as well. Ignoring a clear leading of our conscience will make its sensitivity more dull. Jesus should be our master, and all our actions should be a choice to please Him. He is not hiding, so when He makes the opportunity clear, seize it. If we do this, there will be no questions as to what has power over us.
* Joshua and his wife, Lindsey, are attorneys and (and along with their hound dog, Molly) are LIFE Runners in St. Joseph, Missouri..

Faith Challenge:   Act on the clear promptings of your conscience and become a greater servant of Our Lord.

Counter-Culture News: LifeSiteNews, LifeNews, American Family, Vatican, Project Rachel..
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Our Prayers: Pray LIFE Runners Creed to End Abortion.  Add Prayers. Pray with meals, bedtime, wake up, unceasingly. Consider mid-week Family Rosary (17 min). Let’s pray now.
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Feast Day:  St. Hilarion
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Faith Quote:  “Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.” ~ Thomas Jefferson

Through Christ our Lord,
Joshua Bachman
Matthew 16:19