08/17/2023 – “Blessed are this who know they are poor, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs”. Matthew 5:3 / “Jesus identified the mystical tradition of the Anawim (the humble remnant who compounded a sense of personal powerlessness with unfailing confidence in the love of God and total surrender to the guidance of his will) with himself (‘I am gentle and humble of heart’) and gave that tradition pride of place in his preaching.” (pgs. 126 – 127)
“If in the end, you can neither be holy, nor perfect, nor good, nor wise because of the weight of your sins, then carry this weight before God and surrender your life to his divine mercy. (*Question below).
If you do this, without bitterness, with all humility, and with a joyous spirit due to the tenderness of a God who loves the sinful and ungrateful, then you will begin to feel what it is to be wise, you will learn what it is to be good, you will slowly aspire to be perfect, and finally you will long to be holy.”
* This is original sin; this is all of us is it not? Our saving faith is a gift of God; all good things come from the Lord. Our privilege in this world is to share in the sufferings of Christ.
6 Bible verses on participation in Christ sufferings:
https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Participation-In-Christ-Sufferings
This ties into our study of Peter Kreeft’s “How to be Holy”: “We can’t lose, because God can’t lose! Insofar as we believe that identity, we will love His will as we love our own. We will then fully embrace it and become holy.”
Finally, here is a link that elaborates on the “Anawim , the humble remnant”:
Anawim
Bible verse references: Matthew 5: 3-4 / 1 Corinthians 28 – 31 / Zephaniah 2:3
Soli Deo Gloria!