You are on the Invite list...
DISCLAIMER: In the matters contained herein, we have not conquered, but earnestly desire to be conquered. The great expanse between these marks our "ultimate drama" - our journey deeper in Jesus Christ. Join us.
This weeks' LIVE IT Video (YouTube Direct) is going to impact many lives. IGNITE worship leader Nicholas De La Torre blends Matt Maher's "Alive Again" and next Sunday's Gospel (the Wedding Feast), with his personal testimony.
To set the stage, a funny story.
Many moons ago, surrounded by a few of my five brothers in our kitchen in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, I was very moved by awareness of my life, and expressed: "Mom, thanks for making me." Without thinking, my somewhat Victorian "proper" Mom replied, "It was our pleasure." We all laughed.
As sacramental people, we know human, physical realities point to eternal ones. And no reality is more revealing of the nature of God, more sacred, than God's design of the relationship between man and woman.
When living with Dr. Ted Sri and Dr. Tim Gray (working at Franciscan University), we were privileged to sit at the feet of Scott Hahn. One impactful moment was his description of the persons of the Trinity: "Perichoresis... circumincession... it means ecstatic love dance! This is the very nature or Love, persons constantly pouring self out into other!"
So were planted the seeds of this movement. The supreme identity and mission of marriage and family (as a prototype for church and all gatherings): Make love known. Pour self out for other. Image the Trinity. (Get IT?)
In light of this identity and mission, a key insight by Pope St. John Paul II strikes me as having the power to transform the world: the heart of the sexual urge is an urge to a completion that can only be found in God.
Think about this.
The sexual urge is a built-in compass whose Due North is God. Looking around, do we not have overwhelming evidence of the masses being captivated by this God-given desire (good), only misdirected by the force of so many, little magnets (not so good)?
As a result, per the language of this Sunday's Gospel, do we not see many masses "wailing and grinding of teeth?"
Consider this: What if this deepest, megaton, heart desire evidenced among the masses were ridded of their small magnets, that they would be rightly directed Due North? Wow is right. We're talking a culture of saints. We're talking mass impact.
That's what we're about. Global transformation in Jesus Christ.
In the Gospel this Sunday, you and I are in the story. We are on the Invite List, not just to any other wedding feast, but to the Ultimate Wedding Feast. We are invited to a Great Intimacy that captivates the totality of our lives. We're invited to a Holy and Sacred Communion with God, and in Him, with one another... the fulfillment of the deepest aspiration of our souls.
Per the Gospel, the greatest tragedy is not that we, like the servants, have ignored His Invitation (allowing small magnets to distract us) or even that we killed His Son... as horrific as that is! No, the greatest tragedy would be if we fail to recognize, here and now, the depths of His relentless, "all in" Love for us personally. If we fail to connect with the Almighty God's real desire for intimacy with us, to be eternally wedded to... Him. If we fail to see this in Him sending His only Son to pay our price.
Today, know the depths of your heart were fashioned for Him. Know these longings are His Invitation to you, to surrender all to Him, that you might be deeply united in Him, Whom alone can satisfy the deepest longing of your heart.
Mindful of God's abiding mercy and love, here are some honest questions we're considering in this week's Live IT Gathering Guide: - Are you on the Invite list? In what ways do you respond like the servants? In what ways is God’s constant love and mercy transforming you to more fully accept the Invite, and be His Inviter?
- Think of someone you know personally who is already experiencing the painful results of rejecting the Invite (hell). How might you approach them if your heart was truly broken by what breaks His, particularly for this person? Pray for it. [Invite them to an IGNITE]
This week, schedule just 30 minutes to talk and pray as a family. Light your Live IT Candle. Bring it to an IGNITE.
Abundant blessings in Jesus through Mary.
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