Questions for Reflection for January 12, 2023 HD

Reflection on Reading 1, Hebrews 3:7-14 1. The Holy Spirit, we are told in the letter to the Hebrews, says "If only you would listen to Him TODAY!" This admonition was not just for the recipients of this powerful letter to the early Jewish Christians, it is directed toward every one of us. Yesterday’s prayer. Yesterday profession of faith. Yesterday’s decision to follow Jesus Christ and live our whole life for Him, is not sufficient for today. Living Faith and fruitful Christian discipleship require a daily decision. The author of the letter gives the example of the chosen people wandering in the desert for forty years because they hardened their "hearts" to God. The "heart" in the biblical sense is what the Catholic Catechism calls the "seat of our moral personality". (CCC #2517) It is where we make our choices to obey the Lord, to choose to follow him. We are called to "purify the heart". And, as the letter says not "allow our hearts to be hardened by the allure of sin" How are we doing? Reflection on Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 95:6-7, 8-9, 10-11 2. The Psalmist David underscores the same admonition in these words "If only you would listen to him today! Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as at the time of Massah in the desert, when your ancestors challenged me, put me to the test, and saw what I could do!" At the foundation of Catholic Moral teaching is a fundamental insight, our choices not only change the world around us, but they also change us. In a sense, we become what we choose. Are we choosing the Lord and His Kingdom first? Reflection on Gospel, Mark 1:40-45 3. Jesus healed the leper. He willed him to be free. This is a physical miracle, a sign of the kingdom of God breaking through in the earthly ministry of Jesus. But it is also a metaphor. The early Fathers of the Church saw sin as a form of spiritual leprosy, corrupting our soul. Saint Gregory of Nyssa provided an insight concerning our choices in an ancient homily quoted approvingly by John Paul II in his masterful encyclical letter on the Moral Life, entitled Veritatis Splendor which means in English, The Splendor of Truth. It is cited in the section on the Moral Life in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: And I quote: “All things are subject to change and to becoming never remain constant, but continually pass from one state to another, for better or for worse. Now human life is always subject to change; it needs to be born ever anew. But here birth does not come about by a foreign intervention, as is the case with bodily beings; it is the result of free choice. Thus, we are, in a certain sense, our own parents, creating ourselves as we will, by our decisions." What we choose determines who we become. Choosing what is good changes the chooser, empowering him or her to proceed along the pathways of virtue and develop the habitus - or habits - which promote Christian character. The Catechism of the Catholic Church addresses human choice, action, and freedom: "The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to "the slavery of sin". (Cf. Rom 6:17) (CCC#1733) Have we chosen the Lord TODAY? Support Catholic Online by Subscribing to our Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/catholiconl... More on Daily Readings: https://www.catholic.org/bible/daily_... Catholic Online School: Free World Class Catholic Education for Anyone, Anywhere https://www.catholiconline.school/ Catholic Online: World's Catholic Library https://www.catholic.org/ Catholic Online Shopping: World's Catholic Store https://catholiconline.shopping/ Catholic Online Learning Resources: Free Printable Educational Resources for Students, Parents, and Teachers https://catholicresources.education/ We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away. Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of viewers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you. https://ycvf.org/products/donate