The Catholic Message Board

343. Only men


To know ourselves to be Loved by God and to let him Love others through us is a miracle in itself. We allow Love to touch people. We understand more and more the will of the Trinity.

A man listens to Paul’s words:
“He listened to Paul speaking, who looked intently at him, saw that he had the faith to be healed, and called out in a loud voice, ‘Stand up straight on your feet.’ He jumped up and began to walk about.” Acts, chapter 14, verses 9 to 10

In a leap, the man walks! What faith does Paul demonstrate in his Lord and how much he listens to the man’s faith that he’s brought back on his feet! What seems extinguished in this man was waiting only for a thoughtful look from the Apostle, in the name of Jesus, to set his faith on fire and “give him back his legs” to walk.

Paul discovers gifts he didn’t know, perhaps. Paul gives what he receives, the gift of healing, but even more, he receives the gift of perceiving faith in people. Paul saw that this man had faith in the words he said, received from Jesus.

The crowd is amazed by what Paul realizes before their eyes:
“When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they cried out in Lycaonian, ‘The gods have come down to us in human form.’” Acts, chapter 14, verse 11

We can imagine that Paul didn’t expect what has just been proclaimed. The danger against faith is to believe that there are gods, idols, even humans who think they take the place of God or give to humans God’s place.

This is perhaps the most corrosive tendency that exists against faith, that is, placing our faith in anyone or anything but Jesus. And even worse, thinking about taking ourselves or giving them God’s place.

Paul declares his faith by his enlightened reason of the divine Light. He defends himself vividly, immediately, to be a “god” at the whim, to the fantasy of humans. He seems aghast, demolished and he tells them:
“Men, why are you doing this? We are of the same nature as you, human beings.” Acts, chapter 14, verse 15

Paul is a man like all men. No better, no worse. He did not heal anyone. The good news that Paul conveys is that the human is transformed by faith in Jesus Christ. It’s Christ who heals this man. Jesus heals. Paul believes it for saying these words.

Let’s look deeper into our hearts and we will understand that only Jesus is God. This is not a healing operated by Paul:
“We proclaim to you good news that you should turn from these idols to the living God, ‘who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them.’” Acts, chapter 14, verse 15
With these words, many converted.

As for Paul, Jesus sends us the Holy Spirit so that we can live with contagious faith. Jesus sends us help, support:
“The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name - he will teach you everything and remind you of all that (I) told you.” John, chapter 14, verse 26

Jesus announces that there will be people like Paul to intercede with others:
“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” John, chapter 14, verse 23

Jesus dwells in Paul to proclaim the truth and the Word with tenacious faith, but with human words. Paul conveys the truth and the Word of Jesus and it is Jesus who heals.

Of all that Jesus teaches it invites us to welcome him, then to understand and live it. Paul understood it very well. We also know holy people now who work accordingly to the will of God.

Let’s ask Jesus to adjust our faith to our reason and our reason to our faith, so that we may be more and more in the image of our Saviour and Lord, in the midst of the world into which he sends us.

The new American Bible, 2011-2014
Book: The Fruit that lasts, Normand Thomas

344. Peace to the people


Jesus says to the Apostles:
“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” Luke, chapter 10, verses 23 to 24

We’re sent to our contemporaries, not to say the same words as them just to make them comfortable, but by speaking a different language. If it’s possible for us to get used to their language, it’s also possible for them to get used to the language of faith and reason.

We can see Jesus in our hearts and receive our mission from him. Let’s ask him to help us prepare ourselves and to illuminate the mission, so that we may walk and evangelize with his words.

Let’s pray that our moods and attitudes become holier, so that we may remain peaceful people for ourselves and for those we meet.

The new American Bible, 2011-2014
Book: The Fruit that lasts, Normand Thomas

345. Boldness


Paul says to the Corinthians:
“What anyone dares to boast of I also dare (I am speaking in foolishness).” 2 Corinthians, chapter 11, verse 21

Audacity, we have it all. Many situations in life require a certain amount of audacity. Starting to walk, to talk, to be a teenager, to become an adult, to work, to begin a family, each stage of life requires audacity.

We often see that the audacity of a person can become recklessness or unconsciousness when misused.

On the other hand, audacity allows us to go beyond a usual situation, in order to realize a project that’s beyond us. The project of evangelization requires daring.

The audacity of the word is particularly important because it leads to sharing faith when it’s credible and attentive to the need of the person. It takes daring to talk to someone:
“If anyone does not fall short in speech, he is a perfect man, able to bridle his whole body also.” James, chapter 3, verse 2

James also allows us to understand that our words can carry seed of sins. These words would hurt all the best evangelistic initiatives. But the good word edifies people and reveals our good intentions.

The new American Bible, 2011-2014
Book: The Fruit that lasts, Normand Thomas

346. Evangelization doesn’t tire


Isaiah thought to himself:
“I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength.” Isaiah, chapter 49, verse 4a

It would not be surprising that many faith people have this thought someday during their life: “I uselessly spent my strength.”

Of course, sometimes we’re exhausted, sometimes we feel like going in circles. And even sometimes we run everywhere, in all directions, and we lose time. These are opportunities to learn how to properly manage our efforts and the time we’re allowed.

It’s important to ask whether Jesus was evangelizing with us, or whether we were all alone. Were we thinking of getting everyone to convert to Jesus, for example, but trying too hard to convert and not enough to unite ourselves to Christ who is the only one who can convert people? Have we placed our trust in Jesus or tried to do his work?

God thinks differently. Isaiah reflects on what God says to him:
“You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory.” Isaiah, chapter 49, verse 3

It’s very sweet to the ears: “through whom I show my glory”. God passes in us.
It would be important to give ourselves time to meditate and return to the importance of Jesus in our lives, so that Jesus has plenty of room to touch the hearts of those around us. Only Jesus converts.

The new American Bible, 2011-2014
Book: The Fruit that lasts, Normand Thomas

347. Free for Jesus


Paul seems to be proposing a wise phrase to free us from tension and its consequences and keep us in peace as much as possible. By not having too many worries, we will also be freer to walk and follow Jesus:
“The world in its present form is passing away.” 1 Corinthians, chapter 7, verse 31

Time passes, our existence on earth passes. All we currently have is going to stay here. May nothing hold us back, may nothing disturb us.

Sometimes we create our difficulties searching for what we cannot get. But, let’s trust in Jesus. All the relationships we have built with people will remain. The love shared and received remains. Let’s be happy as we are, with the Trinity. To be happy in God keeps us in reality.

We may have been hurt during our existence, but our existence is not an injury, it’s a person. A person Loved by God. A person who, in the present, adjusts to the will and joy of God. Evil and suffering last only in time, our life in God is eternal.

The new American Bible, 2011-2014
Book: The Fruit that lasts, Normand Thomas

348. Return to Jesus


We have a good example when Jesus says, “woe to you”. He doesn’t make a judgment saying that the person will be unhappy, he rather reveals truth. He knows what remoteness from the Love of God produces:
“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep.” Luc, chapter 6, verses 24 to 25

He observes that the person who moves away from the good, the beautiful, the true, the Love of God, becomes unhappy. He becomes unhappy in evil. He’s unhappy and he loses his joy. He becomes unhappy, scared. Finally, fear takes over. This fear isn’t of God, but the result of a distance from him.

Let’s always receive God’s joy, let’s return to Jesus, in order to remain happy, in spite of the pains and the temporary difficulties of existence.

The new American Bible, 2011-2014
Book: The Fruit that lasts, Normand Thomas

349. Let’s go !


Jesus invites the disciples:
“Let us cross to the other side.” Mark, Chapter 4, verse 35

The Apostles are on a boat and Jesus offers them to continue rowing, not to look back. This is normal, since Jesus wants to evangelize new people who will be on the other side, people whom the Apostles probably don’t know.

He invites them to row once more to join the people. And he will invite them down from their boat to walk in the crowd. It’s as if he’s telling the Church right now, to us, to dare to go to others, to welcome them and to talk to them about values until we are comfortable talking about the faith. Let’s descend from our established security and move together, in a common project of faith, to people thirsty for God’s Love.

The security we have will be transformed into new means and they will help us to remain confident while we learn to evangelize. The experience gained will help to organize the foundation of the testimony we’ll bring to the people.

We cannot talk about faith all of a sudden to a person we don’t know, but we can listen and detect in him where he is at in faith. We can go one step further with each person we meet. A little word there, a little phrase here of peace and joy. We can help a person to improve their faith little by little.

It would be interesting, when we go to our home church and when we meet other people from our parish, to ask, “How is your faith doing?” This could involve in sharing the discoveries and learning of the faith. It would help us to get used to talking about it to each other.

Even without questioning, for people who are not in church, it would help us to dare to discover more where their faith is at, just listening to them. We can pray Jesus to join them where there is a fault, the one that prevents them from converting to Jesus. Jesus knows where the fault is. May he take care of it.

Also, we can discover in a person in church or not, that his greatest quality of faith is in his joy, the love he has for others, how he receives them. We can tell him that what he does touches us. He would discover that he has talents from God.

By recognizing and encouraging an aspect of faith in people who are far from church, we allow them to discover that they have qualities. This will bring them to be more aware.

This will replace the traditional: “I like your hair, I like your dress, or your coat and your shoes”. We can change this simple habit and talk about the values we discover. By “crossing to the other bank”, let’s let people know that we are aware of their personal values. This will create an evolution in our parish and it will spread in neighboring parishes.

Then, when we feel the storm, the fear of speaking, we can ask Jesus to lower the wind that rattles us. Jesus will be happy to say:
“Quiet! Be still!” Mark, chapter 4, verse 39

Relax, come back to what’s simple. And the wind of our bad habits will calm down. The wind of the Holy Spirit will be revealed in silence and this will allow us to reach people in a renewed way.

May the Spirit renew us in Jesus under the Father's lovingness and we’ll do a lot of good to people.

The new American Bible, 2011-2014
Book: Up! Let's go!, Normand Thomas

350. Values


Nothing is simpler than what Jesus tells us:
“Of all the nations make disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew, chapter 28, verse 19

“Make disciples”. It's easy to invite someone to have a drink with us. We can also simply invite people, friends who trust in us to convert and become believers in Jesus Christ. Jesus only asks us that. The attention, the gestures and the words, the listening and the living of faith with the people, it’s the mission that Jesus proposes to us.

What is more difficult is to convert ourselves and find ways for people to gradually adhere to Jesus. Today is no different than when Jesus passed on the mission to the Apostles. The world we’re in is not very different. People always have the same thirst, the same desire to find meaning in their lives, to discover true Love.

Love, values and the meaning of life are in God and nowhere else.

The new American Bible, 2011-2014
Book: Up! Let's go!, Normand Thomas

351. God-like


John tells us:
“Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” 1 John, chapter 3, verse 2

We are children of God. Our parents offered us the grace of Baptism and we became children of God.

We grow in faith every day. We come to Mass, we listen to the Word and we live the Eucharist. We are privileged: “We are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed”. We know at least that by abiding in God we will freely enter, through the resurrection of the Son, into his Kingdom.

We’re always between two realities; God's children and at the same time, we are not yet complete in the faith. Faith allows us to hope in God and to feel his Love in our hearts, but it’s not complete for us simply because we’re not fully restored. We hope, however, to experience the fullness of Love in God.

We want to be totally transformed into God. Some people are quickly transformed and others are transformed gradually, according to the rhythm of each person. We are never stationary when we walk with others in the Church.

Sometimes people are already saints, but it’s because they dare a conversion of each day strongly supported on the graces received at their baptism.

The more we find ways to walk with Jesus, the more our lives are transformed, often without our knowledge. We have everything in us to become saints. We have everything in ourselves to follow Jesus indefinitely. The more we are with him, the more we are connected to the essence of existence.

The new American Bible, 2011-2014
Book: Up! Let's go!, Normand Thomas

352. Jesus is real food


Jesus confirms to us that he is God:
“I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John, chapter 10, verse 11

Jesus is the true Shepherd. We have no other shepherd than Jesus. Yes, there are people in the Church who help as shepherds, who help in conversion and keep the flock together to lead it to fresh pastures.

But Jesus alone gives real food. Jesus is also the only one who gave his life for us, who saves us and guarantees eternal life.

The new American Bible, 2011-2014
Book: Up! Let's go!, Normand Thomas

353. To be released


Jesus says that we are not the only ones to be saved:
“I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.” John, chapter 10, verse 16

People follow Jesus without knowing it and Jesus welcomes them as they are. As christians, we’re invited to seek, with Jesus, the people who don’t seem from his enclosure, to encourage them to follow and talk to them about his Love.

Too many people today live in fear and rejection, violence in many forms. Let’s pray for these people to be released from the tormentors of violence, scorn, hatred.

Let’s pray also for the violent and unhappy people to become converted and models of faith, love and peace. May their hearts be healed from the injustices they also experienced in their childhood.

Let’s continue to evangelize them with values, joy, hope, peace. Because these values are worth more than gold. The presence of Jesus in a life is worth more than anything.

Happy are we to know that Jesus is in our life! Let’s pray for Jesus’ presence to spread in the world. Joy will grow in us each time we present to the Trinity a person interested in adhering to his Love.

The new American Bible, 2011-2014
Book: Up! Let's go!, Normand Thomas

354. Hopefully


Paul speaks of Abraham's faith:
“He believed, hoping against hope, that he would become ‘the father of many nations,’ according to what was said, ‘Thus shall your descendants be.’” Romans, chapter 4, verse 18

We know about the mission of Abraham and the promise of God to give him many descendants. Now let’s imagine that we’re evangelizing and that many people are converting to Jesus Christ. We too will have many descendants.

For this, we must carry on, let ourselves be lifted up by the Spirit and set to work. We must accept to evangelize if we want God to give us strength. It’s when we are in motion that we receive God’s graces. Otherwise we’ll not discover the missionary grace that God offers us.

We may have the grace to pray. The grace of the missionary is also to be discovered, to remove the cover of what closes and freezes us to receive all the graces of evangelization.

"Hoping against all hope," Abraham believed. Let’s imagine if we believe it too, the spiritual descendants we’ll have, and the grace we’ll live every day! We too can, we too must hope.

The new American Bible, 2011-2014
Book: Up! Let's go!, Normand Thomas

355. A happy exchange


Jesus reminds us of what the grace of evangelization confers on us:
“Everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God.” Luke, chapter 12, verse 8

We will enter into a happy exchange, between us and the Trinity, then between us and the people on the road.

We invite our families and friends to come for coffee, a meal, shop, play, practice recreation and sports, we can also invite people to a mass, to a teaching of faith, to an evening of prayer.

The new American Bible, 2011-2014
Book: Up! Let's go!, Normand Thomas

356. Let's sow peace


Jesus said to the disciples and Apostles:
“As you enter a house, wish it peace. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you.” Matthew, chapter 10, verses 12 to 13

This affirmation of Jesus, “Let your peace return to you,” is twice comforting and once disappointing.

It’s twice comforting because it guarantees us that the peace we offer will bring Jesus’s peace to the person who receives it. It's nice to know that when we do good, it transforms people. This brings us joy and that’s the second comforting.

Peace, joy, hope, love and the other goods that God offers are free and they are to share with great deployment. The world is improving day by day with those graces received from God.

What is disappointing is that it’s possible that people do not want it. Hard to believe that a person would refuse God’s graces. But that seems possible. We will find it painful for this person.

The grace of God will not be lost since it’s already there. If what we offer comes from God and not from us, and if the person refuses the graces, we’re sure not to lose peace. It’s a sign that we’re working with Jesus and not for our own sake to add a number of conversions to our acquisition rather than giving to the person their freedom and responsibility to choose. God leaves him his freedom and his responsibility, we must also leave it to him.

Let's pray for him and give him to Jesus. Let's continue the road with the Trinity in search of interested souls who ask for a little push, a small encouragement of sweetness and accompaniment.

The new American Bible, 2011-2014
Book: Up! Let's go!, Normand Thomas

357. Implementation of the mission


The saints sometimes had to leave a lot, they had to deprive themselves of the “well-being” that they had acquired and they started following Jesus.
They agree to let their person be formed, to change their rules of conduct.
They let themselves be led by Jesus. They remain the same, but they improve inside, when they accept the Lord’s presence. From the outside, we will be able to perceive the light of God, especially in their eyes.

Some will say that they let themselves be led by the ear. With God, this is never the case. When the saints follow Love, it’s easy to be attracted and to adhere freely. They follow the Shepherd to the enclosure of peace. Paul states:

“I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace”. Ephesians, chapter 4, verses 1 to 3

Let's place our interests in something lasting, in the Heart of Jesus. Let’s set ourselves the task of bringing our interest received from the Lord to as many people as possible, so that our heavenly bank-building spiritual capital increases.

The more we find people who walk and pray with us, the more we’ll increase our chances of remaining firmly anchored in Christ. Let’s evangelize to receive from God and receive from others and evangelize ... again.

The evangelists realized their evangelization by writing, painters by painting. And us? What will be the defect that we can transform or the quality, by the grace of God, which will be used as a springboard of holiness for us and for our neighbor?

May we offer our failings to Jesus and he will come and have a meal with us. He will then entrust us with the grace to watch over his flock.

The new American Bible, 2011-2014
Book: Up! Let's go!, Normand Thomas

358. The best possible intentions


The first condition for the evangelizer, after a sincere encounter with Christ, is to put one step in front of the other and to go forward, to place one word after the other, in the best possible intentions, and to share them is to use one's arms and legs, one's heart to reach and embrace the hearts of others.
The idea here is crystal clear. This sentence of Paul is a reminder of his meeting with the Lord and the precise moment when he decided to train for the mission and to evangelize: “The Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it”.

We’re invited to the same evangelization as Paul, by who we are and where we are. It takes “me”, “us”, with the evangelizers, with Jesus.

The Holy Spirit promises to help us, after our agreement and the decision to walk, to offer us his strength to proclaim the Gospel everywhere and “all the Gentiles might hear it”. It's major. The decision to evangelize allows God's action to unfold within us and to assist us. We will observe and feel the difference.

The decision to evangelize will prepare us to receive what we need for the journey of evangelization. Let’s be evangelized by God, then let him evangelize from our heart.

Let's feel what is said here:
“Lord, I am your servant, the child of your maidservant; you have loosed my bonds. I will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Hallelujah!” Psalm 116, verses 16 to 19

In the church and in the world, I will give thanks to the Lord by telling his wonders. Let’s become servants of the Word of God and let's go, and evangelize!

The new American Bible, 2011-2014
Book: Up! Let's go!, Normand Thomas

359. As sweet as lambs


The setting in motion to evangelize will become strength and salvation of God, with God.

Jesus tells us to pray:
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Luke, chapter 10, verse 2

The two quotes are one. Let’s pray to the Trinity and act. Since the following sentence is:
“Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.” Luke, chapter 10, verse 3

We seem to have nothing at first, but we have the Lord; we have everything. Let's not be afraid to challenge gently, with respect and charity and many wolves will become as sweet as lambs again.

The new American Bible, 2011-2014
Book: Up! Let's go!, Normand Thomas

360. The effects of grace


Paul informs us:
“Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.” 2 Corinthians, chapter 6, verse 1

It’s never a waste of time to spend time with God, especially if we know how to discover Jesus and recognize the manifestations of God's Love in the hearts of others. The grace of God is found in a contact with other people.
The most beautiful mission is the works with God. We sometimes think that spending time with God keeps us away from precious time with our family.
But, we can easily unite both. This will improve the lives of everyone in the family without adding pressure. It’s possible to always live with God, whatever we do. Our journey will be filled with wisdom and meaning.

Every moment of our life can be transformed into thanksgiving when God is present in our activities, as in restful moments. Our entire life can bear witness to the presence of God.

The new American Bible, 2011-2014

361. Naturally


A testimony isn’t only when we tell about our conversion, but also when we live naturally with Jesus. This is what Jesus proposes in his speech on the mountain:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.’” Matthew, chapter 5, verses 38 to 39

Often, our attitude testifies to the presence of Christ in us. We try our best not to react to hatred by hate, evil by evil. By not responding to evil with evil, we will help people to walk in faith.

May the Lord, through his Word, continue to be, with our agreement, the light that guides our steps and illuminates the road.

The new American Bible, 2011-2014
Book: Up! Let's go!, Normand Thomas

362. The different intersections


Paul is familiar with us, he is also a brother in faith with Titus, so much so that he confides freely, simply. He tells him and to us too:
“He [God] revealed his word in the proclamation with which I was entrusted by the command of God our saviour.” Titus, chapter 1, verse 3

Paul mentions to Titus the proclamation of the Gospel entrusted to him. The mission, lived faith, begins with the meditation of the Word and then with the Eucharist. The mission is transformed into evangelization by shared faith, by the invitation to share at the crossroad.

The crossroad is the place of the encounter of faith with another believer or not. This crossroad encounter of faith is where we meet a person and we share faith spontaneously, without waiting in return. We sow. Then we leave it up to the Lord to continue to increase faith in the person we met.

This doesn’t necessarily mean the crossroad on street corners, though the idea is good, but also the crossroad of our families, our friends, at the crossroad with people in class, at work or in leisure time, in other parts of the city, everywhere and for all.

The new American Bible, 2011-2014
Book: Here, where we are, Normand Thomas