21.marec 2019 Are you spiritually Healthy? – Si duchovne “zdravý človek“?

Domáca úloha z minulého týdňa

Porozmýšľaj nad jednou, dvomi, tromi Božími charakteristikami/vlastnosťami a nad tým, ako sa tieto Božie charakteristiky prejavili / prejavujú v tvojom živote.

9 Are you spiritually Healthy?

Am I spiritually healthy? That question is a hard one to answer and I guess it really should be! After all, there is no surgery, pill, nor amount of money that can cure spiritual unhealthiness. Only God, the physician, is capable. Thus, spiritual healthiness is a constant journey towards and with God. Like never-ending flights of steps, we are constantly climbing. However, every flight has a landing, a respite from the long and arduous climb. This is a time to take stock of your spiritual health. Are you thankful for the journey, recognize your short comings and ask grace to continue to climb? Do you think “Just look at how holy I am!” Do you say “I’m good right where I am!” The first is spiritual health, the second is spiritual pride, and the third complacency or “lukewarmness,” the worst of them all.

I would love to say that I fall into the spiritually healthy category, but depending upon the day, I guess it really depends. How many times I have thought that I am doing enough for God; praying enough, serving enough, and loving enough- thus complacent! It is then that I know that I need to do more. There have been times, especially early in my seminary life in which I experienced spiritual pride. Recognizing the spiritual growth that I had made and using it to judge others. St Paul’s admonition humbles me as he calls us to be patient with the faults of others. After all, it’s not like my faults are somehow less offensive to God than another person’s. When we recognize that we have our own issues, it’s much harder to blame others for theirs.

So how do we obtain spiritual health? How do we obtain holiness? As I said last week, it’s not about being perfect in the modern sense, but rather vigilant. The greatest Saints in history are not great for their ability to not sin, but rather to recognize quickly when they do sin and seek forgiveness from God in the Sacraments. Maybe one day we too can become spiritually healthy and perhaps one day Saints.

Quotes From Scripture

“Spend your time and energy in training yourself for spiritual fitness. Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important for it promises a reward in both this life and the next. This is true and everyone should accept it.” (1 Timothy 4:7-9)

“Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.” (Proverbs 3: 7-8)

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name? Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’” (Matt 7: 21-23)

“I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” (Rev 3:16)

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.” (Psalm 28:7)

Tu si môžete pozrieť krátke video, v ktorom Matthew Kelly a  Matt Scherr hovoria o dnešnej téme.

Otázky na zamyslenie (zdielanie)

1. Ako vyzerá tvoje ráno? Prvá hodina dňa?
2. Zastavíte sa niekedy v kostole mimo sv. omše?
3. Akú knihu ste naposledy čítali, ktorá pozdvihla Vaše „duchovné zdravie“
4. Pociťujete niekedy strach, hnev, smútok, depresiu, … ? Čo vám pomáha prekonať tento stav, a znovu získať „chuť do života“?
5. Cítili ste v niektorom okamihu  minulého týždňa silne Božiu prítomnosť?

Domáca úloha

Skús si každé ráno upriamiť svoju myseľ na jednu, dve alebo tri veci, na ktoré sa v ten deň tešíš.

Skús si každý večer pred spánkom spomenúť na jednu, dve alebo tri veci z uplynulého dňa, za ktoré môžeš Bohu poďakovať.