Timestamps
0:25 – 1:52 = Topic Introduction and Context (Easter)
1:52 – 3:10 = Easter Story
3:11 – 5:50 = Challenging time Christian Faith acceptance (Celebrating the Resurrection)
5:51 – 15:04 = Internal Factors Affecting Christians
15:05 – 22:05 = How can we overcome those challenges?
22:06 – 22:24 = End of the Episode
22:25 – 24:07 = Truth Beauty and Goodness
24:08 – 25:35 = Prayer
25:36 – 26:26 = Closing and Patreon plugin
We celebrate the Resurrection and bear witness to it.
We need to open by talking about the Easter story, was crucified, died, was in the tomb for three days and rose again, to share in a new life, which he asks that we partake in this new life. A life of assurance, but with tons of turbulence.
It’s hard to bear witness to the Resurrection
- We don’t have a culture that openly accepts Christian values
- Faith and spirituality can even be seen as ‘weird’ and ‘wacko’
- Lack of formation in the faith – misunderstandings, or only a very general understanding, and a lack of thirst to want to know more
- Compounded by the fact that we live in a materialistic and rationalist culture which makes it hard to interact with things which are not immediately objectively measurable to our senses.
What in the culture is making it harder to be a witness to the Resurrection of Jesus?
- Lack of Hope in anything but self – self-sufficiency, unable to trust another which also means we will struggle with trusting God. Thinking WE make a good Lent and Easter. Not much interior happening, and we focus on the externals, the liturgy, prayers and practices, obscure our understanding of the interior focus.
- Can be a lack of trust. Trusting someone doesn’t mean expecting that person won’t ever hurt you, it means trusting that if they make a genuine mistake and you get hurt, you can trust that person enough to work through it.
- We don’t have to worry that God will make mistakes, the way we make mistakes and make poor choices that hurt him. Rather, we can trust that he will be the first one to say ‘come, let’s work it out’ and he trusts us enough to know that all we have to do is want it, and he’ll show us how to work things out.
- Placing all our hopes in people of status/influence and then being bitterly disappointed when they aren’t perfect. Happens in the Christian world, as much as the secular. Where is your faith, if you lose trust and faith if you’re disappointed in speakers, preachers, priests or popes. Our faith needs to be in God.
- Hope is hard when it is challenged – a major challenge in your life. Losing hope in the face of challenges – health, mental health, financial security, job security, housing etc. When you have had these challenges it can wear you out and beat your hope out.
What can we do about that?
- Pray for the virtue of hope. Have a gaze for the next world – have our hearts are fixed on the next life.
- Tell people you’ll be praying for them especially when they suffer,
- Sit with people in their suffering and don’t be afraid to let others sit with you in yours. Be present to the suffering.
- When we struggle with conviction and zeal – we need to ask for it, but also do the practical to bust open lies that might creep in – including the ones that sound like they’re simply fact checking when in reality, if we don’t follow through on checking the question and finding an answer, we will find it sowing seeds of doubt. Seek out answers to the questions that come up, to renew our understanding.
- Have confidence, in God and that includes that he will equip us if we remain true to him
- And remember, ultimately Jesus is risen, alleluia, alleluia! He calls us to rise with him!
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TBG
Padre – Staff Spirituality Day at a school
Stina – Fr Jacques Phillipe – In the School of the Holy Spirit
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