30 May Godly perspective (Mark 10:35) by Fr. Justin Damien Dean
Welcome God now with this LIFE Group Devotion (FB), provided by LIFE Runners (FB). Leaders. Guest Authors.
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“James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.“ ~ Mark 10:35 (full readings)
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Fr. Justin’s Reflections: With this opening statement, the reader knows the conversation can only go downhill. James and John are not interested in Jesus’s plan nor the position of the other Apostles (which would certainly be subordinate to their own). In their drive to achieve their goal of egocentric self-exaltation, the collateral damage is not a concern. That is the scenario when a new life intrudes into the myopic world of a self-absorbed woman and/or man. If that new life will cause discomfort, inconvenience or embarrassment, he or she is expendable. And though we may have the right perspective on the particular issue of the sanctity and inviolability of human life from the moment of conception (Praise God!), we must all be aware of the possibility of losing a godly perspective in other areas of our lives. I lose this viewpoint whenever I start my prayer request with the mentality of “my will be done” instead of “thy will be done.” With the former mentality, I lose the bigger (eternal) picture to my small-world, selfish perspective and I become capable of doing evil (even great evil) to get “my way.”
* Fr. Justin Damien Dean was born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama. He has been a priest of the Archdiocese of Mobile, AL since 1991 and is now a Junior Monk of St. Benedict’s Abbey in Atchison, KS. He currently serves as Assistant Campus Minister at Benedictine College and assists in Abbey Development.
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Faith Challenge: Let us ask God to rouse our collective conscience in relation to the life issues and our individual consciences in the area of our personal blind spots!
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Counter-Culture News: LSN, LifeNews, Priests for Life, AFA,Vatican, Project Rachel.
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Our Prayers: Prayer to end abortion, Spiritual Adoption,Alpha Center, Peters family (JP). Add Prayers on ourwebsite. Pray with meals, bedtime, wake up, LIFE Runners, etc. Consider mid-week Family Rosary (17 min). Let’s pray now.
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Feast Day: St. Gregory VII.
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Faith Quote: “In every country, even the poorest of women is permitted to take a lawful husband according to the law of the land and by her own choice; but, through the desires and evil practices of the wicked, Holy Church, the bride of God and mother of us all, is not permitted lawfully to cling to her spouse on earth in accordance with divine law and her own will.” ~ St. Gregory VII
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Through Christ our Lord,
Fr. Justin
Jn 6:68-69
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* Pray/Fast: Prayer connects us with God’s will and His miracles, changing us & helping others. Fast from things that take your eyes off Jesus. Those who pray together stay together, and close to God!
* Save Unborn (and families): Abortion (images) is #1 death cause (22% pregnancies). Prov 24:11 and Jer 1:5. “A great poverty that a child must die that you might live as you wish.” Mother Teresa.
* Evangelize: Make room for unbelievers and re-evangelization of self, by way of prayer (relationship) and following Christ’s example of love (service/sacrifice/mercy). Matt 28:19.