http___www.josipradnik.hr_rijec-gospodnja-za-i-korizmena__1.xml
1.1 2.1 4.1 5.1 6.1 7.1 8.1 9.1 10.1 11.1 12.1 13.1 14.1 15.1 16.1 17.1 18.1 19.1 20.1 21.1 22.1 23.1 24.1 25.1 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 26.5 26.6 26.7 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 27.5 27.6 28.1 29.1 31.1 32.1 33.1 34.1 35.1 36.1 37.1 38.1 39.1 40.1 41.1 42.1 43.1 44.1 45.1 46.1 47.1 48.1 49.1 50.1 51.1 52.1 53.1 54.1 55.1 56.1 57.1 58.1 59.1 60.1 61.1 62.1 63.1 64.1 65.1 66.1 67.1 68.1 68.2 68.3 68.4 68.5 68.6 68.7 69.1 69.2 69.3 69.4 69.5 69.6 69.7 69.8 70.1 70.2 70.3 71.1 71.2 71.3 71.4 72.1
When, Not If. Responsorial Psalm (cf. 15b) Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble. You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, say to the LORD, “My refuge and fortress, my God in whom I trust.” Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble. No evil shall befall you, nor shall affliction come near your tent, For to his angels he has given command about you, that they guard you in all your ways. Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble. Upon their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the asp and the viper; you shall trample down the lion and the dragon. Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble. Because he clings to me, I will deliver him; I will set him on high because he acknowledges my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in distress; I will deliver him and glorify him. Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble. Reading this today, I had a small epiphany -- it says "when." Not "if." We will be in distress. We will suffer. We will get into trouble (often of our own making!). That's life on this rock. But God will deliver us, God will be with us, all we need to do is cling to Him and we will survive. We are not God, we are not in control, and we can't stop every bad thing from happening through prayer, maximum effort, or anything else. Bad things are coming. We don't know what they are. We don't know when they'll happen. But rest assured, they will -- one need only to look at history (no matter how recent or ancient), let alone prophecy, to see evidence of that. And WHEN (not if!) the bad stuff happens, the handbook for survival is found right here in this Psalm. In the Gospel today, Jesus gave us another concise "survival guide" -- the survival guide for temptation: Gospel Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, One does not live on bread alone.” Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. The devil said to him, “I shall give to you all this power and glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship me.” Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written: You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.” Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you, and: With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.” When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time. When Jesus said, "One does not live on bread alone," He referenced Deuteronomy 8:2-3: "Remember how for forty years now the LORD, your God, has directed all your journeying in the desert, so as to test you by affliction and find out whether or not it was your intention to keep his commandments. He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your fathers, in order to show you that not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD." Afflictions and temptations are not just part of life on Earth -- they're part of God's plan for us. The "silver bullet" to conquer both is found in a single, simple, simultaneously joyful (because we know it will work) and terrifying (because we're afraid we can't do it) concept: Obedience. Cling to the Lord. Love Him. Obey His commandments. Keep the faith. By doing this, we can and will survive anything the Lord, the adversary, or everyday life throws our way. "It is written ... it is written ... it is written." Jesus faces each temptation the exact same way, with obedience to the Word of God. My old pastor at the megachurch gave a great sermon on this several years ago -- the main concept being that when the devil tempts you, you go to the Word and find an irrefutable reason not to give in. Just say "It is written ... !" It's kind of a "Don't shoot the messenger" thing -- like saying, "Hey, these aren't my rules, they're God's. I'm just following orders. Take it up with Him." And we all know Who comes out on top whenever the devil attempts to "take it up" with God. So our answer to every temptation should be, "It is written ... !" And as Catholics, we have a lot more writing to use to back us up -- seven more books of Holy Scripture, plus two thousand years (give or take a few) of written teaching and exposition by the Fathers and Doctors and great Saints of the Church. That means we should have absolutely no trouble finding ample justification for our obedience to God if we just take a moment to look for it. And on those occasions when despite our best effort (or even due to a complete lack of effort), we fail to engage the enemy with our most lethal weapon (our obedience to God) and we are broken, weary and afraid of the battles to come, then we can head to the great Hospital for the walking wounded throughout the Church Militant, the Confessional. The Sacrament of Reconciliation will heal us, restore our soul and make us stronger and better equipped for the next battle. Losing one battle doesn't have to mean losing the war, so be encouraged and grateful for the opportunity to try once more to get it right. And be always armed with the most effective weapon against evil: Obedience. Labels: Bible study, daily, sacraments, thoughts
1.1 3.1 3.2 3.3 4.1 4.2 4.3 5.1 6.1 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 8.1 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7
„Ne živi čovjek samo o kruhu…„ U ono vrijeme: Isus se, pun Duha Svetoga, vratio s Jordana i Duh ga četrdeset dana vodio pustinjom, gdje ga je iskušavao đavao. Tih dana nije ništa jeo, te kad oni istekoše, ogladnje. A đavao mu reče: »Ako si Sin Božji, reci ovom kamenu da postane kruhom.« Isus mu odgovori: »Pisano je: Ne živi čovjek samo o kruhu.« I povede ga đavao na visoko, pokaza mu odjednom sva kraljevstva zemlje i reče mu: »Tebi ću dati svu ovu vlast i slavu njihovu jer meni je dana i komu hoću, dajem je. Ako se dakle pokloniš preda mnom, sve je tvoje.« Isus mu odgovori: »Pisano je: ’Klanjaj se Gospodinu, Bogu svomu, i njemu jedinomu služi!’« Povede ga u Jeruzalem i postavi na vrh Hrama i reče mu: »Ako si Sin Božji, baci se odavde dolje! Ta pisano je: ’Anđelima će svojim zapovjediti za tebe da te čuvaju.’ I: ’Na rukama će te nositi da se gdje nogom ne spotakneš o kamen.’« Odgovori mu Isus: »Rečeno je: Ne iskušavaj Gospodina, Boga svojega!« Pošto iscrpi sve kušnje, đavao se udalji od njega do druge prilike. ISUSOVE I NAŠE KUŠNJE Započelo je vrijeme korizme, vrijeme u kojem smo pozvani na intenzivniju molitvu, post i djela ljubavi. U ovih četrdeset dana dublje nam je uranjati u otajstvo križa i trpljenja Kristova i tako se pripremati za najveći kršćanski blagdan – blagdan Uskrsa. Velikani duhovnosti na poseban su način ljubili samoću. Najveći među svim velikanima, Isus Krist, povukao se u pustinjsku samoću punih 40 dana prije svoga javnog djelovanja. Na kraju svog 40-dnevnog posta u pustinji, Isus dobiva neobičnog »gosta«, posjećuje ga Napasnik, Sotona – varalica ljudi. U jednom trenutku Bog i Sotona, ljubav i mržnja našli su se zajedno licem u lice. Isus dopušta da ga Sotona kuša, i to prije svega da nama poruči da ćemo i mi također biti napastovani i iskušavani, ali nam daje i primjer kako se hrvati i othrvati napasniku. Isus sa Sotonom ne raspravlja mnogo, već samo daje kratke odgovore na tri pitanja, na tri kušnje. Napasnik prvo traži od Isusa da pretvori kamenje u kruh. Tu je na djelu grijeh požude tijela, napast imati pošto-poto, ne mareći puno za Božje zakone. Isus svojim odgovorom pokazuje da postoji nešto što je puno važnije od kruha, a to je riječ Božja. Čovjek nije samo tijelo već je stvoren i za jedan drugi rast, važniji, a to je rast duha, rast srca u dobroti za svakog čovjeka. Druga kušnja je napastovanje vlašću. Varalica ljudi pokazuje Isusu sva kraljevstva svijeta koja će mu dati uz uvjet da se Isus pokloni pred njim. On želi dati Isusu ono što je već njegovo, što mu pripada. Na taj način zaveo je i prve ljude lažući im da će biti kao bogovi ako uzmu plod sa zabranjenog stabla. A oni su već bili slika Božja, prijatelji Božji. Isus ne želi takvu moć, moć vladanja nad drugima, već pokazuje da postoji nešto jače od sile, od nasilja, a to je ljubav prema Bogu i svakome čovjeku. Treća kušnja je kušnja čašću. Ako se baci s Hrama i ne bude mu ništa, narod će ga smatrati čudotvorcem, povjerovat će da je Mesija. Isus na sve te nagovore, napastovanja spremno i odrješito odgovara. Nije mu stalo ni do časti ni do vlasti – njegov je put – put križa i služenja u ljubavi. Na taj put pozvani smo i mi – i ove korizme. Pozvani smo nasljedovati Isusa u stavu služenja i ljubavi prema Bogu i bližnjemu – ne bojeći se Sotoninih zamkâ i zavođenja. Naša molitva, post i djela ljubavi neka budu odraz raspoloživosti našega srca da budemo istinski svjedoci i nasljedovatelji Isusovi.