For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. ---Ephesians 6:12


"The age of casual Catholicism is over; the age of heroic Catholicism has begun. We can no longer be Catholics by accident, but instead must be Catholics by CONVICTION." ---Fr. Terrence Henry TOR, Franciscan University of Steubenville

Thursday, April 21, 2011

What I Love About Jesus... (A Lenten Meme)

Four whole days ago I was "tagged" with a "Lenten meme" by Jeff Miller at The Curt Jester, who himself had been tagged by Fr. Jay Finelli at iPadre.  And so it continues...  With hope the Lenten meme will become an Easter meme for those whom I tag.

Here are the rules:

Those tagged will share 5 things they “love” about Jesus/ Or why they love Jesus Those tagged will tag 5 other bloggers. Those tagged will provide a link in the comments section here with their name so that others can read them.

Here are mine:

1)  I love Jesus for being active in my life, for giving me hope when I was on the brink of despair and strength to accomplish what I needed when I felt too weak to achieve.

2)  Because of His endless fount of Divine Mercy.  I needed a lot of forgiving for the years I didn't make Him a part of my life.  And yes, I still need forgiving today...though not as much nor as often (thanks to His Grace).

3)  Although He is all powerful, He is also humble, and showed this in His washing of the Apostles' feet.

4)  He is in the Eucharist, His body and blood in the way He instructed us on Holy Thursday.

5)  He loved me enough to die a cursed death on a tree to remove Adam's curse from me.


And now for the tagging...

1)  Lisa Graas

2)  T. Paine @ Saving Common Sense

3)  The Frat Pack + Me

4)  Cmom @ From Beginning To End...And Back Again

5)  George @ Convert Journal

5 comments:

Darrell Michaels said...

Matt, this is a great meme, but in looking at my fellow bloggers and commenters on my site, I find that many do not acknowledge Jesus as God, let alone love him. (I am not certain what this means about me. Am I having any positive effect on these folks at all, or am I simply a source of amusement for them?)

Regardless, tagging five others for me will prove to be difficult unless I do so via emailing friends, which is the course I will have to take, I suppose.

By the way, thanks for all of the wonderful posts you always do, Matt.

I hope you have a blessed remaining two days of the Triduum and a glorious Easter.

I have the priviledge of lectoring at the communion service for Good Friday this evening and then as a member of the RCIA team, we will be bringing forty new Catholics into the church from our parish on the Easter vigil. I feel so blessed and grateful to be a small part of it.

I am thankful to for good folks such as yourself staying true to Christ and His church that he built upon the rock of Peter.

May God bless you and yours, Matt!

Darrell Michaels said...

Here are my five from this meme, Matt:

1.) Throughout history most religions’ gods required sacrifice on behalf of the worshiper before a quid pro quo was seemingly returned by the deity. With Christ, He already made the glorious and terrible sacrifice for me. I only need to acknowledge and accept His sacrifice for my sins to be forgiven in His Divine Mercy. Christ is a God that has chosen to love a sinner like me, before I ever even knew Him.


2.) Since my coming to Christ, my awe and sense of wonder with God’s creation and my fellow man, who are all children of God whether they acknowledge him or not, has been magnified from the tiniest of embers to a steady burning conflagration. Indeed, through my studies of Christ and science, I continue to see myriads of places where the two are inextricably intertwined, which serves to astound me in reverence for Him and the glory of His ways all the more.


3.) Though I often fall far short of doing my Lord’s will, being the indefatigable sinner that I seem to be, He is always there to accept me back into His grace with His forgiveness and love.


4.) My desire to attempt to live as my Lord wills me to do has made me far less selfish and far more understanding and compassionate towards my fellow brothers and sisters. When I follow Christ’s commandment to love my God with all of my heart and soul and love my neighbor as myself, I feel far more of a sense of purpose and profound meaning in my life and am so often rewarded with His love and grace accordingly.


5.) I love Christ because he is not a remote and removed God but rather He is a loving God who cares and is the best part of my daily life. My love and worship of him brings me joy and contentment. Not unlike the woman at the well having drunk of the living water, my thirst has been forever quenched. Not unlike the man born blind, my faith in Christ has opened my eyes with new sight. And not unlike Lazarus, my Lord has restored my life. While years ago I was dead and living an empty and meaningless existence for only myself, I now have His life within me, particularly as I partake of the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, and I have been greatly blessed daily by God because of this.

Lisa Jacques Elam said...

I hope I did this right. In case I didn't link properly...here is my link:
http://frombeginningtoendandbackagain.blogspot.com/2011/04/lenten-memewhy-i-love-jesus.html

Matt@StBlogustine said...

Cmom, you did great!

T. Paine, that was a really good assessment of what makes Jesus so endearing to us. Even though you might not have 5 Catholic blogger-friends to tag, I wish you had put your 5 reasons on your blog.

Even though several who comment on your blog might not see Jesus in the way that you do, it is YOUR blog and YOUR writing. Why not allow them to see what Jesus has done for you in your life? It's not considered bible-thumping to do so, IMHO. Thanks again for your wonderful contribution. You more than out-did mine.

Darrell Michaels said...

Matt, I did indeed place this on my blog and am absolutely not ashamed or afraid to do so. As you said, my friend, it is my blog, not to mention my faith and my Lord! :)

I managed to inspire one of my Christian friends (though not Catholic) to join us via tagging her. She did a wonderful job with her list. Look at Annie's accordingly if you have a moment.

I hope your Easter was a joyous one, Matt!