Thursday, December 5, 2013
Tollhouse
The pope used a great image of how we too often treat the sacraments in my church. We act like a tollhouse. You don't get through the toll until you pay the fee. Sacraments become a reward for living a good life, following the right rule, having the catechism faith. Sacraments rather are supposed to be for those who need the grace to live a better life, or who feel that they just need grace to get through the day. Sacraments are not rewards. They are food for us who are starving for some of God in our life.
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Fr Terry, I have been learning about the teaching of St. Francis. I started on this inquiry because I wanted to understand more about him and how he influences Pope Francis. From what I'm reading, I'm discovering that he was a mystic who professed the true self - that we all inherently have God in us all the time. It is out challenge to let our God nature come out and that contemplative prayer is a path to discovering our God nature. Am I understanding this correctly? I am seeing how Pope Francis, as a Pope of the everyday person, is like St. Francis in that he sees God in everyone and wants to bring out that in all of us. This is what I suppose from my readings, but I was wondering if I'm on the right path. Your post about the sacraments let me to thinking about my reading and how the sacraments would be food and celebration.
ReplyDeleteThank you ---that's what keeps me going. I read somewhere once ." The Church is not a museum of saints but a hospital for sinners." Our new pope seems to reinforce this sentiment---thank heaven.
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