Jan 24 Sat
Is Christian life a set of religious practices?
Christ passes through Jericho and heals. He converts Zacchaeus and heals two blind men in the city of palm trees.
Come closer to Him. Your disposition is very important. But don't stop approaching Him, even if your soul is filled with nothing but curiosity.
If you approach Jesus as He passes by, even if it's just to snoop, you will be healed.
Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they began to shout:
“Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
There was no curiosity, only a need for encounter. That is why when people rebuke them to be quiet, they, far from being moved, shout even louder:
Then Jesus stopped, called them, and said,
“What do you want me to do for you?”
“Lord, open our eyes!”
Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes, and instantly they regained their sight. And they followed him along the road.
You see? We have to draw close to Him. Why do you think He instituted the Sacraments? Separated from Christ, we achieve nothing.
Christ passes by and heals diseases of the body and ailments of the soul.
In which category would you include yourself? Are you a man with dirty eyes or rotten flesh? Are you blind or a leper? Are you weighed down by misery?
Well, look. That man, “covered with leprosy,” went to the Lord, fell to his knees, and declared: If you want, Jesus, you can cleanse me! And God, merciful, answers him: I want, be clean!
Christ passes by us and heals the foolish fantasies of those who think of eccentric heroics when it comes to living as Christians. You don't need to withdraw from the world. You only need to live interior life, but you should not associate it with the darkness of temples or the rarefied atmosphere of sacristies.
The life of an ordinary man who has received the Christian vocation is found in the open air, in the middle of the street.
The Founder of Opus Dei encourages us to abandon "the mentality of those who see Christianity as a set of practices or acts of piety, without perceiving its relationship to everyday situations, to the urgency of attending to the needs of others and striving to remedy injustices.
Following Christ does not mean taking refuge in the temple, shrugging our shoulders at the development of society, at the successes or aberrations of individuals and peoples."
There is not a single day in the life of an authentic Christian without concern for one's neighbor.
Life is not to be made up of individualistic selfishness: “A man or a society that does not react to suffering and injustice and makes no effort to alleviate them is still distant from the love of Christ's Heart.”
We have been established on Earth to enter into communion with God himself. Jesus has promised us neither temporal comfort nor earthly glory, but the house of God the Father, which awaits us at the end of the road.