And a voice came from the heavens, saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17)
While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." (Matthew 17:5)
And about three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46)
Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit"; and when he had said this he breathed his last. (Luke 23:46)
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father's hand. (John 10:28-29)
Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
We all know that Jesus is the "beloved Son" of our Heavenly Father. But what about you and I as Catholic men? Do we believe that we also are beloved sons of our Heavenly Father? When we were baptized, Jesus took up residence in our hearts. He came to live in us in all his divinity. How awesome to think that we are temples of the Holy Spirit, whose light remains constantly burning within us! How great is our dignity, we who are chosen to bear Christ to the world just as Mary did! When the Father looks upon us, he sees his own beloved Son-and it is pleasing to him and he rejoices in us!
It is easy to lose sight of this reality when we find ourselves in difficult circumstances, when we feel confused or bedraggled, or when we're keenly aware of disappointing our Father through our own sins. We sometimes hear negative and judgmental whisperings all around us. We are aware of others who wait to pounce on our slightest misstep. During these times, it can be hard to believe the truth that we are "beloved sons" and we are pleasing o the Father.
During this Holy Week, as we reflect on the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, remember that even he felt abandoned as he tasted the depths of our alienation from the Father (Matthew 27:46). Yet he clung to what he knew to be the truth. At what looked like his moment of utter defeat, he confidently placed his life into his Father's hands (Luke 23:46). In the Gospel of John, he declares that no one can snatch us from his and his Father's strong, capable hands (John 10:28-29).
Whatever the outward circumstances of your life, whatever your feelings of discouragement, anchor yourself in these humbling, awe-inspiring, overwhelming truths: Your Heavenly Father looks at you as his beloved son. The Lord of heaven and earth, Jesus Christ, has chosen to make his home in you!
"Almighty Father, I thank you and praise you that through Jesus' passion, death, and resurrection, he is alive in me, and through him I too am your beloved son. I ask for the grace to draw on the power of these truths, so that I may live them out every day."
[Maurice Blumberg is the Director of the National Fellowship of Catholic Men Center. Many thanks to The Word Among Us (http://www.wau.org) for allowing us to adapt material from daily meditations in their monthly devotional magazine. Used with permission.]
Questions for Reflection/Discussion by Catholic Men
1. Reflect a few moments on the Scriptures at the beginning of the article. What truths do they reveal to you?
2. The article begins by asking the question: "Do we believe that we also are beloved sons of our Heavenly Father?" How would you answer this? Why?
3. What steps can you take to remove any obstacles in your life that make it hard to believe that you are a beloved son of the Father?
4. If you are in a men's group, end your meeting by praying to the Lord for one another that each of you would grasps the truth that you are indeed beloved sons of the Father and that each of you would have the grace to live this truth out each day. Use the prayer at the end of the article as the starting point
