The Primacy of Grace

Well, it's a beautifully warm morning here in the western parts of Howard County, MD. Driving out to work today with the windows down, driving west past all of the bumper to bumper eastbound, citybound traffic made me very thankful for ChristLife's remote location in the cornfields west of Ellicott City.

I've been "running" the last few days with a lot of ministry and life activities. My wife is now five months pregnant - a very exciting time! Though this 90+ degree heat in April isn't too welcome.

Every time I mention Ally's due date - at the end of August - to mothers, they all pity her/us for a mid-summer - never can get cool enough - third trimester.

Anyway, with my wife's help, this past Sunday night ChristLife and the Newman Club concluded Spring 09's Following Christ course... A very awesome course building upon the foundation of Discovering Christ, with lots of people deepening or renewing their commitment to Christ as Catholic Christians and (re)learning the bare essentials of our faith - something, unfortunately, many never hear of - discipleship; importance of daily private prayer; reading Scripture as the Word of God; listening to God guide us; the charisms of the Holy Spirit; the importance of the sacraments for a disciple; we are at war (really!)- the world, the flesh, and the devil; and evangelization. All of these talks in the context of passionate praise and worship, small groups, and fellowship. Here's most of the group that went through the course:

This course combined with lots of developments with the summer 09 young adult Discovering Christ course (lots of very exciting info coming soon - especially if you are signed up for our eupdates) - make it a very busy time for us! Not to mention, the boss, Dave is out of town in MI doing a two parish mission right now on Jesus and evangelization.

So, this morning prayer was extra good... In that, I'm tired and really in need of God. Prayer wasn't a "religious routine" but as necessary as drinking cool water on a hot day in the desert. Yeah buddy.

In these times I'm reminded of an excellent section from an Apostolic Letter by Pope John Paul II, Novo Millennio Ineunte. Read this slowly and digest, especially if you are a "Martha" from the Gospel who found herself very good at "being busy" in "serving the Lord" but neglected the "unum necessarium," the "one thing necessary," intimacy with Jesus. This section is called the primacy of grace:

38. If in the planning that awaits us we commit ourselves more confidently to a pastoral activity that gives personal and communal prayer its proper place, we shall be observing an essential principle of the Christian view of life: the primacy of grace. There is a temptation which perennially besets every spiritual journey and pastoral work: that of thinking that the results depend on our ability to act and to plan. God of course asks us really to cooperate with his grace, and therefore invites us to invest all our resources of intelligence and energy in serving the cause of the Kingdom. But it is fatal to forget that "without Christ we can do nothing" (cf. Jn 15:5).

It is prayer which roots us in this truth. It constantly reminds us of the primacy of Christ and, in union with him, the primacy of the interior life and of holiness. When this principle is not respected, is it any wonder that pastoral plans come to nothing and leave us with a disheartening sense of frustration? We then share the experience of the disciples in the Gospel story of the miraculous catch of fish: "We have toiled all night and caught nothing" (Lk 5:5). This is the moment of faith, of prayer, of conversation with God, in order to open our hearts to the tide of grace and allow the word of Christ to pass through us in all its power: Duc in altum! On that occasion, it was Peter who spoke the word of faith: "At your word I will let down the nets" (ibid.). As this millennium begins, allow the Successor of Peter to invite the whole Church to make this act of faith,which expresses itself in a renewed commitment to prayer.

A great invitation to deeper conversion, by a wonderful, saintly, courageous man who lived the primacy of grace.

How does this invitation to enter the primacy of grace stir you? Do you find yourself more often in the primacy of self and busyness?

Jesus I love you and thank you for everything!

Reaching Men for Jesus Christ

Well, if you're on the East Coast today, chances are that you are enjoying some fantastic spring weather. It's gorgeous here in Maryland.

Though, don't be fooled by this picture, that isn't MD, but on top of a mountain in NC. A awesome spot called Linville Gorge.

What does this have to do with living for Jesus Christ?

Well, something I've enjoyed for much of my life is going with guys on backpacking trips to the mountains. In recent years, once God grabbed a hold of my life and set me free in His Son, I've enjoyed the trips even more.

Almost like if you're at a famous museum and you're looking at a masterpiece, and you announce to the group, "I know the artist who created this personally."

Well we know the incredible God whose creative, divine mind thought all of this up!

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One thing I believe God is teaching me is to "create space" where He can act and bring His love and truth and freedom. So, if I'm at the grocery store and I mutter a "hello" and that's it as far as my interaction with the clerk, well, God won't have as much "space" to work with.

The outdoors have always been a "space" where God seems to work. Especially among guy friends that I go with. Good conversations, shared meals, fellowship, mutual enjoying of beauty and great weather, and praying - all seem to create "space" where He works.

Well, two friends and fellow brothers in Jesus Christ, who've started a full-time Catholic men's apostolate called the King's Men, are creating such a "space" this June. It's going to be a gigantic outdoor experiential weekend for men, called Into the Wild. It looks pretty awesome.

So, check it out. It's happening, June 4-7, in the wilderness of PA. The weekend will focus on growing as men and experiencing the outdoors, etc. There will be opportunity for mass, etc. But it isn't exclusively for Catholics/Christians - which I think is a good thing to create space for God to work.

Let every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!

On the Day of Atonement,the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people, the high priest, carrying the blood of the sacrifice would enter the holiest part of the Temple. Once a year he would pass through the temple curtain and enter the Holy of Holies and there he would pronounce the name of God. The name consisted of four letters and was so sacred that it was never spoken at any other time or place. The Jews would substitute the name, Adonai, which means ‘Lord’, when saying the divine name. When the High Priest spoke the holy name, it made God present; and atoned for the sins of the nation of Israel.

This holy week, as Christians, we celebrate The Great Atonement (Heb.4:14;9:12) with the death of Jesus the Messiah, not only for the sins of Israel, but for ‘the sins of the whole world’(1John2:2; Romans 3:25).

St. Paul sharing a hymn of praise of the early church that existed before he wrote his letters tell us:

Christ humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the Name which is above every name,

St Paul does not use the divine name rather he uses Adonai (in Greek Kyrios, Dominus in Latin, and Lord in English). He goes on to tell us:

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2: 8-11

By using the word Lord, St Paul means exactly the name that means God! This is the incredible truth of our faith! Jesus is the ‘I AM’. He is the everlasting almighty God. He has 'all authority and all power.' (Matt.28:18-20).

After the first Easter the proclamation, “Jesus is Lord!” took the place of the proclamation that our Lord made, “The Kingdom of God is at hand!” The early disciples were telling everyone that, ‘Jesus is risen, He is the Messiah, He is Lord!’ They were telling the most incredibly good news that Jesus, the King was at hand and, He is the Lord!

This was the heart of the good news! It is what is called the kerygma, the basic Gospel message. In these words are the power and authority of God that transforms lives as nothing else can. For those who have come to know the truth of this profound self -revelation of God it is revolutionary and imparts a confidence in what He can do through our proclamation. It elevates our faith in the Lord Jesus present among us in the Holy Spirit to save and continue his mission of redemption.

This proclamation, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ is like a buried treasure that must be uncovered and restored to the rightful place of prominence in our preaching and in our sharing with others. Yet currently it is a point of spiritual warfare and there is great resistance within the church to embrace the simplicity and humility that this proclamation calls us to. St. Paul tells us, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel!” (Rom. 1:16). We too must not be ashamed of the kerygma. For, “it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith…”(Rom 1:16b)

St Paul tells us, ‘every knee shall bow.’ That is the posture we need to have if we are to proclaim the essential gospel, that ‘Jesus Christ is Lord.’ It is a call to humility, and it is a call to obedience to God.

This Holy week, let’s seek the Lordship of Christ for our personal lives, families and friends, and reflect on his great mercy displayed at Calvary for sinners like you and me! Let us like the early Christians proclaim the joy of Easter, He is risen, Jesus is Lord!

If you have never asked Jesus to be the Lord of your life, of your everything, ask Him. Tell Him you want to surrender your entire life to his Lordship. Ask him to come as your God to lead you!

Ralph Martin and Personal Prayer

Yesterday I had lunch with a dear friend of mine, Ralph Martin. It is always special to have time with Ralph, we've know each other for 38 years! Ralph lives in Ann Arbor Michigan so we don't get to see much of each other, but recently he has been finishing up his Licentiate in Sacred Theology in Washington, D.C. So Ralph drove up to get a chance to see our ChristLife offices and for some time to catch up with each other.

Back in 1971 I attended a workshop on Union with God in

Prayer, that Ralph was presenting. That workshop inspired and instructed me how to begin the discipline of a daily personal prayer life that continues right up till this morning! Ralph has written two incredible books on prayer: Hungry for God- Practical Help in Personal Prayer and, The Fulfillment of All Desire.

I want to encourage anyone who would like to establish a daily personal prayer life, which is so crucial to living as a Christian, to get hold of Hungry for God. It will be life changing.