TGIMMlove

November 18

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Monday, November 18

LUKE 18:35-43
When you cry out in faith to me, I will always hear you.

Prayerthoughts
a. We see many people who are begging around us. Should I do more for them than I am
doing?

b. The blind man’s words: “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.” We have many things that bother us in our lives. Have I taken the time to seriously speak to the Lord about them in prayer?

c. Jesus's words: what do you want me to do for you? What most of all do I want from the Lord right now in my life?

d. Obviously, the blind man asks that he may see. What are the things that I should “see” in this world that the Lord has given me? (This is the task of the meditation.)

e. The most used spiritual word in the Gospels is “faith.” What are the most important parts of faith that I should have?

f. The blind man and all the people gave praise to God. Do I call to mind my praise of God often enough?

g. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will answer letter d.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

REFORM

+ The book of Revelation is one of the most difficult books of the Bible to interpret

- and you can’t learn too much about it with spot readings which the Liturgy will do the next couple of weeks

- but there are spiritual insights which we will refer to that can help our lives

- here in the first part of Revelation, there are 7 letters to 7 different churches

- probably not actual letters, but allegorical statements concerning spiritual activity

- today’s reading was to Ephesus, praising certain behavior, but criticizing the fact that in general, the people had turned aside from early love and therefore the directive: reform

+ It could easily be a directive to people who want a deeper spiritual life

- there have been areas in our lives, perhaps, that have been compromised by outside things, usually material things, whether it be TV, work or play

- whereby we have lost some of the original love of God and God’s action in our lives

+ The answer to that is to open our eyes again to see Jesus and what he wants

- the Gospel given at the end of Luke’s Gospel in a sense summarizes Jesus’ ministry to the poor

- and it says to us that it is only through faith that we can open our eyes to Jesus

- and once we do, the only action is to follow him, as the blind person who can see does in the Gospel

+ The pattern is an important one

- we return to our early love

- by continually crying to the Lord, begging to be able to see more of what he wants of us

- our faith guides us to Scripture and meditation on who Jesus is

- and then the only action once we have seen is to follow

- that following, you are led to believe

- is a giving up of a former life and setting up a new one which includes the thoughts and principles of Jesus

+ The criticism of the church in Ephesus in Revelation is a good one to consider, because we are open to complacency in our modern world with all of our distractions

- and the only way to get back to the early love is to see and understand Jesus.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Love Me Harder" -- Ariana Grande featuring The Weeknd

TRY, TRY, TRY AGAIN

The Gospel

MARK 10:17-22

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered him, ... "You know the commandments: ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.’” He replied and said to him, “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Gospelthink: I know that the thing to make you closer to God is not to allow material things dominate your life. Have I allowed that to happen?

"Tell me something I need to know 'cause if you want to keep me, you gotta love me harder, and if you really need me, you gotta love me harder. So what would I do if I can’t figure it out? You got to try, try, try again. So what would I do if I can’t figure it out? I’m gonna leave again.”

The man described in Mark's Gospel had tried all his life to live a good life. He knew that it meant that one must keep the commandments of Moses. So, when Jesus counseled him to keep those commandments, in all honesty he could say that he had accomplished it even at a young age. But Jesus, knowing that a good spiritual life meant that he had to do more, told him in effect that he had to try even harder, giving him a formula for living which proved that he really wanted eternal life.

Such a thought is basic for the spiritual life, but it is also the foundation of good living, and in particular for a person who desires the romantic love of another. In Ariana Grande and The Weeknd's song "Love Me Harder," the premise is that there had been love in the past. But in order to keep it, both had to show a little more effort, or else it would be over.

Perhaps one of the most important words in our description of maturity is the word "try." To be mature in the spiritual life or good living and certainly in romantic love of another, one must constantly try again and again to make things the way they should be. The secret of achieving anything that we consider important is that we will continually try to make it better than it is already.

Jesus knew that growth in the spiritual life could not end at any particular time. It had to be continual, always paying attention to our innermost desires. Human love is exactly the same way. We can never rest with a feeling of contentment; we must always try even harder than we are already.

It is no accident in Jesus' story that the spiritual person could only achieve eternal life once he/she had placed material possessions in their proper place. Perhaps in all of living, including romantic love, we must learn that love is more important than any possession.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son gave us one of the secrets of maturity when he told us to keep on trying to do better than we are. He told us to do it principally by controlling our desire for material possessions. Give us the grace to honestly understand his thinking. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: It takes effort to follow through with something that we promise.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. In your opinion, what are the three most important things that we must do to inherit eternal life?
2. In your opinion, why did Jesus mention these commandments and not the others?
3. Text analysis: "Jesus looking at him, loved him." What is the meaning of the sentence?
4. Jesus is speaking in an exaggerated way. In your opinion, why did Jesus often use exaggeration?
5. Analysis: Most spiritual commentators feel that we all have too many possessions. Do you agree and why?
6. Analysis: Why does the lady in the song "need to know" what she is asking?
7. In general, if you want to "keep" a friend, what three things must you do?
8. Text analysis: "Love me harder." What does the sentence mean?
9. Why is it so difficult to give away our possessions?
10. What are the principal reasons why a love relationship fails?
11. In general, do most people honestly try to lead a good life? Yes or no and why?
12. In human love, what are the signs that a person is honestly "trying"?
13. What is your understanding of the spiritual life? See Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, number 1699.
14. In general, have we learned that "love is more important than any possession"? Yes or no and why?
15. What does the song "Love Me Harder" teach young people?