1- Three Tools to Holiness (Mt. 6)

by Fr. Dave Kueter, OMV

This talk is available on tap/CD through St. Joseph Radio. More info http://www.spccom.com

 

"We are not living in a normal way and not according to God's plan... refer to the creation of God. How he created us. We have the extraordinary gift of sanctifying grace. Adam and Eve sinned. They lost those gifts of God.

 

They passed on the abnormal to us. The Church wants to remind you of this fact. How far we are away from God. The first day of LENT we have always the same Gospel. St. Matthew chapter 6: 1-6, 16-18....

 

The Lord in challenging us to love... He challenges us to be holy. What is holy? 1) It is not like putting things in their proper place. Trying to create things that are normal...Holiness is our relationship with God, the world, with people and with ourselves. Sin destroys the truly normal.

 

Before sin Adam and Eve had a perfect relationship with God and with each other.  After sin this relationship with God was destroyed... This is the normal that we inherited. How can we reinstall these three relationships.

 

This is what holiness is all about. It is Jesus' plan for holiness. He gave us three fundamental tools to bring us holiness... Prayer - Almsgiving -Fasting... 1) The most basic is prayer, to rebuild us with God destroyed by sin.  We are helped with Baptism and the other sacraments. You must dialogue with others and to communicate is what prayer is with God.

 

"Without prayer there is no hope for salvation much prayer our relationship is best." ... We must dedicate ourselves with prayer... express from our hearts... listen to this heavenly communication with us... contemplation prayer. Prayer is the first tool of holiness....

 

2) The second is our relationship to the world and the people around us... The things of this world are for people. All are created by God for him... to serve God by serving others... Gifts are not for ourselves and for the good of others. Now people are used for things, for materialism. The world is turned upside down. (cinops be gone, Sat. Feb. 23, 2013)