UNITY CONGRESS V –
APOSTOLIC VICARIATE OF NORTHERN ARABIA (KUWAIT)
YEAR OF FAITH 11
OCTOBER 2012 – 24 NOVEMBER 2013
DOOR OF FAITH –
PORTA FIDEI Pope Benedict XVI
25th September 2012
LAW & MORALITY
His Lordship Bishop Joel Baylon
Definition of
GRACE
G od’s
R iches
A t
C hrist’s
E xpense
I.
When God created man in His
image and likeness He also gave him the gift of freedom. Jesus is the revelation of the mystery of the
Father.
Read and Reflect Genesis Chapter 3 – THE FALL
THE THREE PRIMORDIAL QUESTIONS
FOUND IN THIS TEXT ARE AS FOLLOWS:
1)
Where are you? Gen 3:9
2)
Who told you that you were
naked? Gen 3:11
3)
What have you done? Gen
3:13
1) Where are you? Gen 3:9
God is always in search of
us. He wants to see us before Him. We are His greatest creation.
The questions we must always ask
ourselves are
i) Where do I stand before God?
ii) Am I faithful?
iii) Am I obedient?
In the parable of the Prodigal Son
Luke 15:verse 20 gives us a very moving description of the father who was on
the lookout for his wayward son’s return.
It says, “ He was still a long way off when his father caught
sight of him. His father was so deeply moved with compassion that he ran out to
meet him, threw his arms around his neck and kissed him.”
This is a portrait of our heavenly
Father and us sinners. Salvation is the
homecoming of human beings to the love of God.
Sin makes human beings homeless and God lonely.
The greatest gift after the gift
of life given to us by God is the gift of freedom. It is a powerful gift because we can say ‘no’
to Him.
2) Who told you that you were
naked? Gen 3:11
At
our baptism we are clothed in the truth and righteousness of God. When we sin innocence and righteousness go
out and malice and shame come in. Sin
makes us naked and homeless and we seek to wrap our nakedness with worldly
things. The things we surround ourselves
with indicate that we are naked. We feed our undying desire for God and the
emptiness caused by His absence with things
that can never satisfy.
3) What have you done? Gen
3:13
With the gift of freedom comes responsibility and accountability. We have to be righteous before God, before
ourselves and before others.
II. BEING CLEAN AND LIVING
CLEAN
What is true religion?
God established a covenant with His people and gave them the 10
commandments. These were a symbol of the
greatness of their nation. They had a
God who loved them and made Himself manifest to them through the law.
Moses would say to the people, "What
great nation is there that has its gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever
we call to him? What other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as
this entire law that I am setting before you today?" Exodus 4:6-8
Through the Law they were expected
to lead lives which were different, better than their ‘pagan’ neighbours. There
was great emphasis on the observance of the Law as a sign of commitment and
obedience to God. But, by the time of Jesus, the law had become so hopelessly
complicated in its applications that only experts could interpret it in the
many practical problems which would arise in daily living and often the
law was being interpreted literally.
When we examine ourselves the
question of paramount importance that we ought to ask ourselves is, “Did I hurt
someone?” What is important is our
relationship with God and with people.
We must not become bogged down by
the letter of the law and forget to love
Isaiah
29:13 Yahweh has said;
“These people approach me in words; they honor me with lip-service, while
their hearts stay afar. The worship they offer me is useless, these are no more
than traditions and human rules.
III. TRUE MORALITY
Lord
what must I do to gain eternal life?
What is the right way? What is
the wrong way?
CCC 2052 "Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?" To the young man who asked this question, Jesus answers first by invoking the necessity to recognize God as the "One there is who is good," as the supreme Good and the source of all good. Jesus then cites the commandments and sums them up positively saying : "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
CCC 2053 To this first reply Jesus adds a second: "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." This reply does not do away with the first: following Jesus Christ involves keeping the Commandments. the Law has not been abolished, but rather man is invited to rediscover it in the person of his Master who is its perfect fulfillment.Jesus calls the rich young man to follow him, in the obedience of a disciple and in the observance of the Commandments, and to that call is linked the call to poverty and chastity.
Each time we ask ourselves what must I do our advise must
be, “What is the loving thing to do?”
We must be instruments of communion and peace for Jesus
will say to each of us, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to
one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' Mt 25:40
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