THE TABERNACLE -- PRISON / SACRAMENT OF FREEDOM

Hebrews, 12;22 - 24

22 But what you have come to is Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem where the millions of angels have gathered for the festival,

23 with the whole Church of first-born sons, enrolled as citizens of heaven. You have come to God himself, the supreme Judge, and to the spirits of the upright who have been made perfect;

24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant,  to purifying blood which pleads more insistently than Abel's.

Wow !! I have just read this Scripture about the church. Now I realize that the message found in this is about the wholeness of the church (the Catholicity).  I am just taking this a bit closer to home, a little bit more personally.

Every time I enter “St. Christopher’s Catholic Church”. The meaning of these Scriptures comes to come to my mind.

I enter into the **Presence of our King Jesus Christ**, not only in spirit but in physical form also. There is a metal container on the side (my right side as I face Center Stage) where the Host of the Eucharist is . Considering the belief that this Host is the Presence of Jesus Christ, this would mean that I am therefore bathed in the very Presence of God !!

I am not going to elaborate on the many gyrations that others manifest before this metal object, as I have witnessed many doing, throughout my years of Eucharistic Visitation.  I personally behave differently as I reverence the Reality of the Presence of the Lord Jesus Christ found at the tabernacle.

The Presence and Face of Jesus Christ is also found at such places as a beautiful sun rise, sun set, a star filled sky, and the smile of a baby. Let’s also see His Face in the many less cheerful settings throughout the Earth. The Lord’s

Presence is also where the hurting, starving victims of political manipulation, and the deceived intellectuals gather.

I am praying that the many that gaze endlessly at the metal container will open their hearts to the fact that Jesus Christ arrived here on Earth, to set the captive free. May I with Love as my motivation, begin to tell others of this need to be set free. The need we all have to see His Presence in the many every day moments of our lives, and the many faces of those who are suffering.

It is through action that we can begin a liberating effect that will cause many others to perceive the Presence and Face of Jesus Christ everywhere. The Scripture states this fact of liberation in the Second Letter to the Corinthians; that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty. [2 Cor. 3;17] Little by little, each of us sharing with each other the Love of Jesus Christ, will finally fill this Earth with the Kingdom of God .

                                                                                                 Br.Phil Bara

AUTUMN THOUGHTS

   How wonderful it is to realize that our Father Creator’s thoughts are about us and for us. We find in the Scriptures that we ought to cast our cares upon Him because He cares for us.  Now with this in mind, how many times do we focus our thoughts upon His things?

Our thoughts take many forms:

We allow our thoughts to be about such subjects as a better job, a bigger, newer vehicle, a larger house, next week’s entertainment, and even where we will have our vacation two years from now.  Oh !  How many more thoughts clutter our minds throughout the day!!   

Many of us have been taught that our Father in Heaven, will and does provide us with all that we need. Many of us have also awakened to the fact that when we delight ourselves in Him, He calms the nervous desires of our hearts.  

How many times have we prayed in desperation in our lives? How many times did we find that what we had requested had not been granted, or when it was granted, anxiety, worry, and responsibilities were increased.   Why did this happen?  The answer to this is revealed in the Bible, both in the Old Testament, and also in the New Testament.  During the historic days of the Book of Exodus, we read that the Israelites were set free from slavery. The first days of their deliverance were filled with Joy, and Celebration. As the days of travel turned into weeks, and months, the people began to turn their attention to the new requirements of ‘free’ living. Their focus of attention became filled with thoughts of; How? Where? Why? Who ?  The more these questions filled their minds, the more they forgot about the *One* Who had set them free. Complaining about the journey became a daily routine, and Joy became a memory. The anxiety caused by their comforts not being provided for, caused them to travel in circles for years.   

 In the New Testament we can read about a married couple who also placed their material desires ahead of the spiritual needs of the community. The Book known as ‘The Acts’ tells of this husband and wife who thought that it was more important to dishonestly keep a part of their material blessing for themselves. The result of their self centered behavior had a very detrimental effect on their future plans.  

Taking just these few historic events into consideration. We can see the importance of the statement “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His Way of doing things...” in our journey here on Earth. The aim of our dedication here is to be focused upon how we devote ourselves to our King Jesus Christ.

As we do this we also need to keep our desires aligned with His purpose for us. When we do this we find that we receive ‘Blessings’ and that these ‘Blessings’ are given so that we may ‘Bless’ others.  We are entering the colorful months, the months of Harvest. These months ahead are filled with many beautiful changes in Nature for us to admire. We receive these many ‘Blessings’, not to horde them only for ourselves, but to share them and allow others to be ‘Blessed’ with us. Together we can remind each other to give Adoration and Dedication to the *One* that ‘Blesses’. 

As this has been said by many of the Saints before us; “It is in Blessing, that we are Blessed.”  So, Let’s be ‘Blessed’ in this month of September!!

                                  Br. Phil Bara

 **May All Students be Blessed, In the Name of Jesus Christ, our Blesser!!**