St. Nathaniel
March 8, 2019
Montserrat Jesuit Retreat House- Chapel
Lake Dallas, TX
You have heard the calling to go forth.
To move forward.
But Christ calls not as man calls,
For His calling commands not only an embracing,
But also a relinquishing.
How shall these things go forth?
How shall His Church be cleansed?
How shall His shepherds speak His words?
It is in the nature of the calling that this is shown.
Listen to the words that He has spoken
And you will find that every word He speaks
Is a two-edged sword.
For first comes the relinquishing,
The abandonment of the status quo,
The narrowing of the path that has become so wide
That sin has crept into the halls of His Church.
Next comes the embracing
Not of the Pharisaic method of patting each other on the back
And soothing ruffled feathers
And ignoring sin’s blatant intrusion into holy places.
No, this calling calls for the embracing of Him,
And in that embracing is a movement forward.
For an encounter with Him changes everything.
In His presence, men hear His calling to holiness, to sanctity, to purity,
And the path is narrowed so that sin has no ground on which to walk,
And His Church is cleansed.
Oh shepherds, you have heard His calling.
Feed His sheep.
It is in the exposure of the wolves and the expelling of them from the halls
That His sheep will be fed.
Oh shepherds, where is your voice?
You have heard His calling.
He calls you into His presence
Where you will find His sword of righteousness to take forth to the Church.