To be forgotten, to by by-passed, to
be a but of a sarcastic joke, to be a human object of derision, to be looked
down upon as insignificant or even useless, to be treated like an animal or like trash--- all of these are
ways in which the human person can experience the horrible reality of being
rejected! However, the most painful form
of rejection comes about when those who are considered our loved ones--- the
ones who really “should” love us most, turn a cold shoulder to us, ignore us,
are apathetic towards us manifested by indifference! How that can pierce to the heart!
This brief essay/ meditation will
address three ideas related to the topic of rejection: three rejections of
Jesus, three ways that we can be responsible for rejecting Jesus even today,
maybe even now, and how we can remedy and repair for rejection by offering
Jesus a warm welcome! (Three different
ways)
FIRST REJECTION OF JESUS! CHRISTMAS NIGHT! Of all times to be rejected, Jesus was
actually rejected before He was born.
Good St. Joseph, sought for lodging in the Inn--- and more than once—all
his pleadings and searching for lodging were responded with a cold and cutting: NO!
“There was no room for Him in the Inn!”
Similar to this in today’s world is ABORTION! Abortion is the rejection and the killing of
the baby before he has a chance to be born.
Jesus was rejected before He was born!
Human life must be respected and defended from conception until natural
death!
SECOND REJECTION OF JESUS: HIS RETURN
TO NAZARETH AS ADULT! Jesus returns to
His home-town and preaches in the
synagogue. Spellbound at His teaching,
the people still rejected Him!
Why? “Is not this the carpenter
son of Joseph and Mary his mother?”
Consequently Jesus responds and says that a prophet is well-received but
not in his own home! All too frequently, fervent followers of Jesus meet most
resistance and even outright hostility and rejection in their own homes, among
their family members!
THIRD REJECTION OF JESUS: GOOD FRIDAY
ON CALVARY! Despite all the good that
Jesus had done, before the eyes of the Public, the healing of the sick, the
expulsion of devils and even the raising of the dead—still Jesus met with
antagonism, hostility, persecution, hatred, and total REJECTION! Jesus’ life ended by being nailed to the
cross between two thieves. Jesus’
reaction to all this was mercy: “Father
forgive them for they know not what they are doing!”
Jesus still receives rejection now
and at this very moment of time! How?
MORTAL SIN is the concrete way that Jesus is being rejected by modern
man. To commit a mortal sin three
conditions are necessary: 1) grave matter, 2) full knowledge, 3) full consent
of the will! The time, manner and ways---
unfortunately—are countless, but here are three that occur with ever greater
frequency!
FIRST REJECTION OF JESUS: SKIPPING SUNDAY MASS DUE TO LAZINESS! This sin pierces deeply and penetrates the
Sacred Heart of Jesus. Before dying Jesus wanted to bestow to the world His
greatest GIFT, the Gift of His very Self
on the cross and perpetuated perpetually in every Holy Mass! In many places fewer than 25% of Catholics
attend Holy Mass, thereby rejecting Jesus. If we are responsible for this
rejection, let us repent, do penance and repair for it by fervent assistance at
Holy Mass and receiving Holy Communion with ever-growing love!
SECOND REJECTION: INDECENT VIEWING OF MOVIES, PROGRAMS AND
WEBSITES! Before, it was exceedingly
difficult to get a hold of Porn—in the back of the Whiskey in liquor stores.
Today, the moral poison can be easily found and accessed at the touch of a
dial, mouse, remote-control. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton made the prophecy that a
black box would enter the homes of America wreaking moral havoc! Could the prophecy have been related to T.V
and the internet?
THIRD REJECTION: TRIAL MARRIAGES! Not only is this a serious rejection of
Jesus, but it is a permanent state of rejection of Jesus. For many specious reasons, the couple decides
to live-together without the blessing of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. Often justified, by these words: “We have to try it out to see if we are
compatible!” In the meantime, God is
rejected, the Sacraments cannot be received, and scandal—public bad example—is
spread!
For our part, we should not reject
Jesus in our lives, but rather to receive Him as the “Sweet Guest of our
souls”. A warm reception of Jesus into
our hearts should be the goal of our lives, every day until Jesus receives us
into our Eternal abode, heaven!
FIRST WELCOME OF JESUS! PRAYER! Our
prayer should be humble, fervent,
attentive, and persevering ! Every time
we pray well, we indeed are welcoming Jesus into our hearts! No better goal in life could we aim at then
striving to pray a little bit more every day and a little bit better! For that
reason Saint Augustine, hit the nail on the head with these words: “He who prays well lives well; he who lives
well dies well; he who dies well all is
well!” Excellent! Let us pray well and
receive the Divine Guest into our souls as often as possible!
SECOND WELCOME: MAKING A GOOD
CONFESSION! Mortal sin is rejecting
Jesus from our hearts; a good confession is receiving Him back into our
souls! A big difference between saints
and sinners is the following. Both saint
and sinner are made of the same cloth—Original sin from conception and birth!
However, the sinner, after sinning, delays in returning to the loving embrace
of God the Father. On the contrary, the saint falls but --- very much like a
SUPER-BALL—is resilient and bounces even higher, trusting even more in the love
and mercy of God that has no limits!
THIRD WELCOME: THE RECEPTION OF HOLY
COMMUNION! To saint Faustina Kowlaska,
the angels revealed two reasons why the angels in heaven experience a holy envy
for us, the human beings, that God
created! The first is that we can
suffer, like Jesus, and attain countless merits! The second
is that we can receive Holy Communion into our bodies and souls. Even though the angels transcend all human
beings in their being, having a much more keen intellect and much more powerful
will, still they cannot receive Jesus in Holy Communion! What a privilege we indeed have!
In conclusion, let us lift our gaze
to Mary who never—even for the slightest moment—rejected God! But in every
moment of her existence she received, welcome and loved God. Mary help us to
receive Jesus in this life so that he will receive us forever into Heaven!
