Oduory Ben

[Oduory Ben @beodne]

Are you greater than our father Abraham?” —John 8:53

[Oduory Ben @beodne]

That thread of hope runs strong and resilient through our lives, caught at each end by the grace of God’s merciful love.

[Oduory Ben @beodne]

The hope of Lent is clearly Easter and the resurrection. But there’s a deeper hope that is with us each and every day, that knows no times or seasons. It’s the ground on which we stand, the bedrock of our foundation.

[Oduory Ben @beodne]

Saint Patrick is the Patron Saint of:

Engineers
Ireland
Nigeria

[Oduory Ben @beodne]

The holiness of a person is known only by the fruits of his or her work.

[Oduory Ben @beodne]

When one considers the state of Ireland when he began his mission work, the vast extent of his labors, and how the seeds he planted continued to grow and flourish, one can only admire the kind of man Patrick must have been.

[Oduory Ben @beodne]

What distinguishes Patrick is the durability of his efforts.

[Oduory Ben @beodne]

Surely not all diseases can be treated this way; medical help should not be abandoned. But notice that Salvator urged his petitioners to reestablish their priorities in life before they asked for healing. The liturgical feast of Saint Salvator of Horta is celebrated on March 18.

[Oduory Ben @beodne]

In Healing Life’s Hurts, Matthew and Dennis Linn report that sometimes people experience relief from illness only when they have decided to forgive others. Salvator prayed that people might be healed, and many were.

[Oduory Ben @beodne]

Medical science is now seeing more clearly the relation of some diseases to one’s emotional and spiritual life.

[Oduory Ben @beodne]

Their route is the same as ours: gradual exchange of our standards—inclinations to selfishness—for God’s standard of generosity.

[Oduory Ben @beodne]

The temptation to selfishness certainly didn’t vanish when Agnes walked into the monastery. It is perhaps easy for us to think that cloistered nuns “have it made” regarding holiness.

[Oduory Ben @beodne]

Agnes spent at least 45 years in a Poor Clare monastery. Such a life requires a great deal of patience and charity.

[Oduory Ben @beodne]

We must realize it is through us, those whom Jesus has called as his disciples, that this work is being accomplished.

[Oduory Ben @beodne]

We must look beyond what is not yet redeemed and open our eyes to the overflowing torrent that is God’s love in our world, transforming and renewing the face of the earth.

[Oduory Ben @beodne]

What is it that we always pray? “Send down your Spirit and renew the face of the earth!” If we want to follow after Jesus, we must let go of our cynicism and bleak outlook on the world, and instead believe with all our hearts that Christ is in control of this mission.

[Oduory Ben @beodne]

In the way we love one another, work for justice, and offer sacrifice—doing as Jesus did—we can actually make a difference in our world because it is in these moments that Christ dwells in us and the Holy Spirit is sent forth from us.

[Oduory Ben @beodne]

The kingdom of God is at hand. It is not simply a far distant reality, but something that is inbreaking here and now, something that can be felt and brought about by those who live in communion with him.

[Oduory Ben @beodne]

Better yet, he came not simply to announce this path and carry us there as passive recipients of grace, but empowered his followers to bring about the kingdom of which he spoke.

[Oduory Ben @beodne]

The Good News of Jesus Christ is precisely that things have changed and that they are going to change even more. He came to a world that was stuck, to a people that could not find a way out of their sinfulness, to announce that there was another way.