Lo, I have come to do thy will O God” (Hebrews 10:7; Cf. Psalm 40:8). The INCARNATION, this is, the union of the human nature and the divine nature (the WORD becoming man as well as God) in the one person of Jesus Christ in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, has meaning solely in the complete WILL of the Most Blessed Trinity. The word was sent by the Father in complete obedience of the Son (who is the word) by the power of the Holy Spirit. Consequent upon the complete obedience of the word to the will of the Father by the power of the Holy Spirit, the incarnation and the subsequent birth of Christ became a reality. It is his Will of the Father in complete obedience of thy Son by the power of the Holy Spirit which the Blessed Virgin Mary in her Most unreserved humility consented to when she exclaimed; “fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum” Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38) which is simply: fiat voluntatuam = they will be done. Here, the fullness of the Grace of the ALL INVOLVING PARTICIPATION of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the total fulfillment of the WILL or MISSION of the Most Blessed Trinity is unequivocally made manifest.
Thy will be done is the essence of the birth, that is, the coming of Christ as man into the world. Christ's birth is Christ's Mission otherwise referred to as Christmas. Christ the word of God and God Himself became flesh to be born solely in order to fully execute the WILL of the Most Blessed Trinity. This will of the Most Blessed Trinity is the total salvation of the world from eternal Damnation. This is the Mass, the Mission which through Christ, with Christ and in Christ, in the full unity of the power of the Holy Spirit, has been achieved by all means to the glory of God the Father.
THE MASS IS THE MISSION.
The word mission is from the Latin word missio meaning a sending forth, the act of being sent. The English word, Mass, originates from the word mission. Hence, at the end of the celebration of the mission of Christ, the Holy Mass of Christ, in which the life and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on mount Calvary for the salvation of the world is re-enacted, all are enjoined to go in peace to live and carry what has been packed, given and authorized so that the individuals can and should now go out and spread or distribute that eternal and infinite gift of God to all and sundry. In other words, the mass is ended means the at packaging of the mission (Mass), that is, all that the sending forth entails, has been well put in place and therefore all those who are authorized to receive the package are to do so and allow themselves to be sent and do the WILL of the one who has sent them.
NO CHRIST WITHOUT MASS AS NO MASS WITHOUT SACRIFICE.
Christ is the author and finisher of both the true Mass and the true Sacrifice. He is truly the vine and all others are branches. For this reason, it ought to, normally, be more logical to say that no mass without Christ. Yet, the reasoning here is that the appearance (the INCARNATION) of Christ at all should necessarily denote first, “Mission” or “Mass” before it should be seen as connoting the same. With this understanding, it is contradictory for anyone to claim the possession of Christ without the celebration of, and participation in the Holy Mass (Holy Mission) of Christ. In other words, anyone who consciously or unconsciously excludes the Holy Mass, which is the Mission of Christ, from his life, belief and worship excludes Christ entirely, for Christ Himself has made this abundantly clear when he states: “and he who does not take (up) has cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:38). “He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Manete in dilectione mea = remain in my love (John 15:9). No one can actually claim to remain in THE love of Christ and indeed in Christ himself if the person excludes the Mass (Mission) of Christ which is his suffering and sacrificial death on the cross of Calvary for the salvation of the world.
MISSIONARIES ARE NOT MERCENARIES
Missionaries are not mercenaries. Missionaries follow strictly the mandate of their master, Jesus Christ, the Lord who commanded the apostles specifically and all his followers in general to: “God therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always to the close of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).
How are the missionaries supposed to conduct themselves? The missionaries are to avoid the running after earthly possessions for personal gains (cf. Mark 6:8; Luke 10:4; Matthew 10:9). It is not part of the missionaries' mission to be trouble makers especially engaging in trading and such like business for personal gains (cf. Luke 10:4; 12:15). It is a missionary spirit and culture to accept and take only what is given to the missionary (cf. Luke 12:7). It is the missionary spirit to bring healing, that is the message of salvation to all and sundry (cf. Luke 10:9). The missionary is always ready and willing to do good, build and salvage the good name of the Church not destroying and savaging it even if he has to die (cf. Luke 23:10-21).
“The mercenaries on the other hand are paid workers. They are only interested in money. They are ready to do anything provided they get whatever they want not minding about whether their actions are right or wrong or about the effects of the actions on other people. It is the culture and spirit of mercenaries to look for every available opportunity to loot and destroy. With this understanding, it will not be too difficult to distinguish between missionaries and mercenaries among the worker in the Lord's vineyard.
As we celebrate the two thousand and ten (2010) Christmas. Let us be mindful of the will of our Almighty God for the whole world and be committed to pursuing and fulfilling that WILL to the fullest for the salvation of the whole world and the glory of God come what may. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment