baby steps
"It was I Who taught Ephraim to walk, Who took them in My arms." —Hosea 11:3
When we were baptized, we received a new nature. We became new creations (Gal 6:15) and infants in Christ (1 Cor 3:1). Like all infants, we need to learn how to live. God our Father wants to teach us how to walk (Hos 11:3), eat, feel, think, hear, see, talk, pray, work, etc. If we realize our total dependence on Him, we will not stunt our growth by trying to teach ourselves how to live. Then we will learn how to do everything our Father wants us to do. We will learn to "cure the sick, raise the dead, heal the leprous, expel demons" (Mt 10:8). Our Father will make us "fully mature and lacking in nothing" (Jas 1:4). He will make us holy as He is holy (1 Pt 1:16) and perfect as He is perfect (Mt 5:48).
During this year of 1998, as we prepare for the year 2000, the Great Jubilee, the Church calls us to focus on the Holy Spirit. Let the Holy Spirit cry out in our hearts "Abba," that is, "Father" (Gal 4:6; Rm 8:15). Trusting in Him and completely dependent on Him, we will learn to live to the point that we will do even greater things than Jesus has done (Jn 14:12).
Prayer: Abba, if necessary, may I unlearn what I know so You can teach me how to live.
Promise: "The kingdom of God is at hand!" —Mt 10:7, our transl.
Praise: Marvin built a church building for his town and a motel that he managed for many years. In his seventies, Marvin acted on a life-long call to the priesthood. He was ordained at age eighty. He converted his motel into a successful retreat center, and was appointed pastor of the church that he built, doubling his congregation by the time he died at age ninety-five.
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, November 29, 1997
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, December 2, 1997