When we read about, listen to, discern, pray about, then do God’s Will, we are like the wise man building on rock which is solid and can weather the storms of life. The foundation of our thoughts and actions is best based on infinite Truth, unconditional love, peace, compassion, forgiveness, patience, joy, wisdom, and self-control, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, rather than on the selfish, oftentimes fickle, values of this world.
It’s not enough for us to be able to quote Scripture, study the Word, and perhaps even win at Bible trivia; we must live out the Word. If we learn the Word of God and use it to help us submit more fully to God’s Will, thereby becoming more Christ-like, then we will be constructing interior castles based on solid foundation.
We are all offered the gifts of faith and grace. None of us is forced to accept them or use them. We’ve been given free will which allows us the room to decide what we’d like to make the strongholds in our lives.
Are we focused on living out the Ten Commandments given to Moses on the stone tablets or do we take our code of conduct from what our own emotions, family, friends, co-workers, and/or society say we should or shouldn’t do?
Diamonds in the Rough
In many ways, our souls are like diamonds. They are precious and valuable. Diamonds, the hardest substance known, are formed under tremendous pressure and extreme heat over time. A great deal of internal and external pressure and heat from people and situations in life are often what refine our souls to become more beautiful. As we sing in De Colores a diamond “sparkles when brought to the light.” Diamonds refract light—they bend or slow it so it is more easily seen—but they aren’t the light itself. God is the source of Light and Truth, and when we allow Him to cut, polish, and clean us up, we become much better at reflecting the Source of Light and Life.
One Foundation That’s Out of This World
“He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:15-18) There are many different interpretations of the above Scripture passage, but one that’s particularly interesting to consider is how Jesus points out that Peter, who is open to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and thereby knows that Christ is ‘the Messiah, the Son of the living God,’ is the rock on which the Church will be built.
This Truth and revelation that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Lord is the basis for everything. The fulfillment of all the prophets and the Old Testament come together when the Father reveals His Son as Savior of the world. It is the rock upon which the Christian faith, the Roman Catholic Church, the pontificate, and the Magisterium are built. Only this Infinite Truth and Divine Revelation will stand up against evil and the principalities of the dark. This is the only foundation on which the Church can be built and survive for all time.
Lord, help us to accept and rejoice that the foundation of our faith is based on the fact that You became man and through Your life, death, and Resurrection You overcame the two biggest evils: sin and death, thereby reconciling us completely to Yourself.
Note: This reflection, written in honor of the participants of the Men's Cursillo taking place March 3-6, 2011 at Mary Mother of the Church Abbey, first appeared in the January 2011 issue of the Rooster Review.
